Kimberley (Northern Cape)

Kimberley is the capital of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Amongst other things, it is famous for its Big Hole, the world's largest hand-dug excavation that was created when thousands of people searched for diamonds at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. By 14 August 1914, 22.7 billion kg of rock had been excavated, yielding 2722 kg of diamonds. == Get in == === By car === The N12 links Kimberley with Johannesburg (about 500 km to the north-east) and Cape Town (about 1000 km to the south-west). The N8 links Kimberley with Bloemfontein (about 160 km to the east) and Upington (about 400 km to the west). ==== Distances ==== Kimberley - Bloemfontein (Judicial Capital): 160 km Kimberley - Upington: 402 km Kimberley - Johannesburg: 480 km Kimberley - Pretoria (Administrative Capital): 535 km Kimberley - East London: 720 km Kimberley - Port Elizabeth: 800 km Kimberley - Durban: 800 km Kimberley - Cape Town (Legislative Capital): 960 km === By bus === Bus services are available from most parts of the country with numerous companies. Intercape has one of the largest networks. === By plane === 1 Kimberley Airport (KIM IATA). Has flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg with Airlink. === By train === Shosholoza Meyl used to operate inter-city trains to Cape Town, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Pietermaritzburg and Durban, but as of 2025, all the trains are suspended. 2 Kimberley railway station, Goodwin St (Just east of city centre, off Quinn St). (updated Sep 2019) == Get around == == See == Kimberley and its environs have a very wide variety of tourist attractions and museums from which the visitor can choose. A selection of these can be seen at Kimberley's unofficial website. 1 Big Hole and Open Mine Museum, S Circular Rd, ☏ +27 53 839 4600. At the western side of the Big Hole is the Open Mine Museum. Consisting of original and carefully reconstructed buildings this museum has preserved a great deal of the city's past. The Eureka, the first recorded diamond discovered in South Africa, can be viewed at the museum. Have some fun sifting through diamond bearing gravel, looking for your own diamond. Experience a diamond mining operation, complete with blastings! Play skittles in the old bowling alley, or stroll through the old buildings which have been reconstructed here at the museum. The Occidental Bar & Restaurant is on site. Entrance R150. (updated Nov 2025) === Other museums === 2 McGregor Museum, 7-11 Atlas St, ☏ +27 53 839 2700. M-Sa 09:00-17:00. Constructed in 1897 by De Beers as a sanatorium, the building has served as a luxury hotel (Hotel Belgrave) and later as a convent school. The museum provides research and advice to a wide range of community projects throughout the Northern Cape. Free on Monday. R30 for adults and R20 for children the other days. (updated Nov 2025) 3 Kimberley History Museum (Alexander Mcgregor Memorial Museum), 18 Chapel St, ☏ +27 53 839 2700. The museum will cover the history of the city. (updated Aug 2021) 4 William Humphreys Art Gallery, 1 Cullinan Cres, Civic Centre, ☏ +27 53 831 1724. M-F 09:30-15:30. One of the most important galleries in the country, the WHAG houses a collection of traditional and contemporary South African graphics, sculptures and paintings. It hosts many special exhibitions from time to time. (updated Aug 2021) Magersfontein Battlefield and Museum (about 30 km south, drive via the Airport Road, or N12 and turn into Modder River). On the site is a small office and restaurant as well as restrooms. Scattered around is look-out sites and information signs, guiding the visitor. The whole area is fenced in and there is a small fee to enter the compound. You need a car, sunscreen and plenty of water - distances can be long, and you will need to walk to some of the monuments. For some of the smaller roads in the area a 4x4 vehicle can be helpful. (updated Aug 2021) 5 Duggan-Cronin Gallery, 17 Egerton Rd. Exhibits indigenous cultures and lifestyles in some 8,000 photographs taken by Irishman AM Duggan Cronin, between 1919 and 1939, are just some of the invaluable ethnographic collection. (updated Aug 2021) === Buildings and memorials === 6 Honoured Dead Memorial. This memorial commemorates those who lost their lives defending Kimberley during the 124 day siege at the start of the 1899 - 1902 Anglo Boer War. "Long Cecil", the gun named after Rhodes and built in the De Beers Workshops during the siege, stands on the stylobate of the monument. (updated Aug 2021) Diggers' Memorial. Erected in honour of diggers past and present. This fountain you will find in the Ernest Oppenheimer Gardens. The gardens are a memorial to the late Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, a mining magnate. He was the first mayor of Kimberley when Beaconsfield and Kimberley were combined into a city in 1912. (updated Aug 2021) Memorial to the Pioneers of Aviation (past the airport on the way to Magersfontein). Established in 1912/13. The birthplace of the South African Air Force. It is a reconstruction of the hangar, with a replica of the Compton Paterson bi-plane used in flight training. (updated Aug 2021) Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, Chappel Street. Only by appointment with McGregor Museum, M-F 09:00 - 16:00. (updated Nov 2025) Rudd House. Formerly the lavish home of HP Rudd, a mining magnate. It was restored to its full grandeur by the McGregor Museum. It was declared a national monument in 1990. This house can be viewed by appointment with the McGregor Museum. (updated Aug 2021) Dunluce. An elegant home built in 1897 for Gustav Bonas. It was John Orr's family home from 1902 to 1975. It was declared a national monument in 1990. This home may be viewed by appointment with the McGregor Museum. (updated Aug 2021) Kimberley City Hall. The City Hall was built in 1899. It was completed just before the start of the Anglo-Boer War. (updated Aug 2021) The Kimberley Club. Established in 1881, and a national monument since 1984. Some of its more famous members were Cecil John Rhodes, Barney Barnato, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer and Harry Oppenheimer. Renovated and upgraded to 4/5 star standards in 2005, it is now also a boutique hotel. (updated Aug 2021) Harry Oppenheimer House, 8 Tiffany Cres, Civic Centre. Diamonds from all over South Africa are sorted daily inside this building. Since diamonds are best sorted by gentle natural light, the building has windows only on the south side to prevent direct sunlight from entering. The building is not open to the public. (updated Aug 2021) The Halfway House Inn, half way between Kimberley city centre and Beaconsfield. "The Half" was, and still is, a drive-in pub (believed to be the only one remaining in the world). Legend has it that the original "driver" was Cecil Rhodes on his horse, en route between his mining interests in Kimberley and Beaconsfield. Another legend has it that, when instructed by the municipality to erect a 6 ft (1.8 m) wall around the front of the premises, the then owners of "The Half" dug a 6 ft (1.8 m) deep trench and erected the wall in the bottom of that. Apparently these both fall into the category of "urban legends", but they seem good yarns to tell visitors! == Do == 1 Mokala National Park. (updated Aug 2021) Flamingo Island. Birdwatchers will be interested to know that this new bird breeding facility has been built at Kamfers Dam (7 km north of the city). The island is home to the Lesser Flamingo and is one of only four places in the whole of Africa (and the only locality in South Africa) where they breed. Kamfers Dam supports the largest permanent population of Lesser Flamingos in southern Africa, with at times up to an estimated 60,000 individuals (comprising more than 50% of the southern African population). (updated Aug 2021) == Buy == Diamond Pavilion Shopping Mall, Corner of Oliver and Mac Dougall St, ☏ +27 53 832 9200. 09:00 - 18:00. The main shopping mall. (updated Jan 2025) North Cape Mall, Memorial Rd, Royldene, ☏ +27 53 832 5181. 09:00 - 18:00. A shopping complex with a few retail stores and restaurants. (updated Jan 2025) == Eat == Kimberley has a very wide variety of restaurants. == Drink == Kimberley has a very wide variety of pubs. 1 Star of the West Bar and Restaurant, 2 N Circular Rd, ☏ +27 87 527 0255. One of the country's oldest pubs, "The Star" still operates near the Kimberley Mine Museum. It was built in the early 1870s from wood and iron and granted its first liquor licence in 1873. The Kimberley tram stops on request outside the pub for those who wish to take a closer look, or to partake of a little light refreshment. This pub was declared a national monument in 1990. (updated Aug 2021) Rio Cocktail Lounge, 28 Woodley St, ☏ +27 53 831 3414. Midnight - 02:00. Night club and social lounge. (updated Jan 2025) Long Street Lounge, Corner of Long St and Anderson Rd, Diamant Park, ☏ +27 72 275 3168. 10:00 - 02:00. Lifestyle lounge and restaurant by day, and night club by night. (updated Jan 2025) == Sleep == Kimberley has a very wide variety of hotels, backpacker hostels, lodges, guest houses and bed & breakfast establishments. Hadida Guest House, 8 Howie Road, ☏ +27 53 861-2323, hadida@kimberley.co.za. A good three-star B&B that is centrally located. It has a TV in all rooms and a swimming pool. From R250. Gum Tree Lodge Kimberley Youth Hostel, Hull street old Bloemfontein road R64, ☏ +27 53 8328577. Dorm beds with own bathrooms. Has a nice swimming pool. R150 per person.. (updated Apr 2015) == Go next == Kuruman Upington Namaqualand Northern Cape Karoo Bloemfontein: Judicial capital of SA, and capital of the Free State Province Barkly West's Canteen Kopje, the site of industrialization of South Africa