Kalahari huntingsafari & Kimberley diamond fields...

Back from another week in the bush. This time we were in the Kalahari desert with 4 guests (1 1/2 hours outside Kimberley on the map ) and its about 8 hrs drive here from Pretoria. Driving down there was just a complete change of scenery consisting of deserted long straight roads and an endless horizon. Dont think Ive ever been that far out before exept some places in Australia maybe. Before driving in to Kimberley we passed a big lake which was all coloured in pink in one end. Turned out to be thousands of Flamingos. Quite a sight!When we finally arrived after the last 60 kms on gravel road we came to this superb **** lodge. At the gate we were met by the danish flag and the south african flag next to each other at two flagpoles. The lodge was runned by a south african couple who were really friendly people and the homemade food they served morning, lunch and dinner was fantastic!! Ive been living like royalty on that front so another week like that I would end up with a good frontpack and look like some of the big Boers down here.. Managed to go for a couple of runs though followed up by a refreshing dive in the big pool...From the lodge you had a spectacular view over a great wide grass plain where rhinos, giraffes, buffalos and various antelopes could be seen. Not a bad place to sit during the lunchbreaks in a comfortable chair with binoculars and a book!It was freezing cold in the mornings because its in a desert. Especially two mornings it reminded me of a cold winter back in DK. There was ice on the water outside. But during the day temperatures went up and it was nice.

The huntingpart went well too. Between them the four hunters got 15 animals: Blue and Black Wildebeests, Steenbucks, Oryx, Zebra, Springboks (SA´s national animal ), Red Hartebeests and Kudus. I was driving the whole time again which of course offered some
nice sights of wildlife and now and then a big herd of buffalos stood on the road not wanting to move.That Toyota Hillux 4x4 has become my "second home" down here... Must have spend something like a week in that if you count all the hours together while Ive been in SA. Managed to have 3 punctures over those 6 days so I got to change a few tyres with the tracker.

On the way back yesterday we visited an old diamondmine in Kimberley. Kimberley is famous for "The Big Hole" which is often called the worlds deepest man made hole. Its a huge pit, almost circular and 215m deep, right in the middle of the town. There was a great platform from where you could look down in the big hole. The diamondrush started in 1871 after a young boy had found one on the bank of the Orange River. At one point Kimberley became the second largest city in SA because of the flood of fortune hunters from all over the world. 2,722kg of diamonds were mined until it closed in 1914. Approximately 22,5 million tons of earth were moved and the underground Kimberley mine was mined to a depth of 1097m. On one of the signs in the museum where you could read about the diamondrush
it said:
" Unkempt and unconcerned with comforts, the rich and poor alike rushed to the Diamond Fields with stars in their eyes and greed in their hearts. Sweltering days, thunderstorms and frosty nights did
not deter the diggers who laboured to turn their optimism into wealth. Some dug op a fortune, others dug their graves".