Kimberley Travel Guide
For details of what to do and see in Kimberley, South Africa check out our Kimberley guide to car hire in Kimberley.
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Kimberley is just about as remote as you want to get in South Africa. About half way between Johannesburg and Cape Town, and more than 500 miles from the Indian Ocean coast in Durban, Kimberley is the centre of the South African diamond industry. Although the viler excesses of the diamond trade - the intensive labour that bordered on slavery, the draconian punishments, and the attendant violence - are largely a thing of the past, Kimberley's diamond trade is still intensive, and there are many mines beaten into the ground wherever you go in the area.
The majority of attractions that you can see in Kimberley are related in some way to the heritage of the area, and there are numerous museums and galleries where you can relive the "good old days".
Within a short drive of Kimberley, you can get out into the wilderness areas of South Africa, where the comforts of home are a long way away, and you can see wild game living a more natural and brutal life than you see in Kruger. The Judicial Capital, Bloemfontein is a couple of hours away, and offers the chance to experience a more refined side of South Africa than you get in the rough and ready town of Kimberley, and the two cities combine rather well to provide an alternative to the mainstream experiences available elsewhere.