Tuesday 3rd October 2017
Kimberley to Pretoria
Wake up once again to clear skies as we continue towards the Diamond City of Kimberley through an increasingly arid region.
Kimberley was one of the towns besieged by the Boers during the Anglo Boer War and the British Army suffered two serious defeats in the battles of Modder River and Magersfontein, both in 1899. This campaign also marked an ignominious defeat for the famous Black Watch Regiment who, exposed to the intense heat and the Boer Mauser fire, were forced to flee.
Today Kimberley is synonymous with the diamond industry and the Big Hole, which lays claim to being the largest man-made excavation worldwide. Whether this remains true today the fact remains that the discovery of a small hill where diamondiferous ‘ blue ground’ Kimberlite ore was found led to thousands of would- be miners converging on Kimberley to try to make their fortunes.
All passengers on the train visit the very impressive Diamond Museum and see the Big Hole at close quarters. Gail and are fortunate to have as our guide a former Scot ( called ‘Scottie’ of course ) who used to work in the mine but now imparts his encyclopaedic knowledge with dry Scottish humour to the hordes who make this pilgrimage to the Diamond City.
Back on the train we head out of Kimberley and in the late afternoon light bonus comes along in the shape of considerable numbers of pink flamingoes along the shores of a small lake.
When we first received our notes on the Rovos Train we were decidedly amused by the following notes for the trip- ” For days on the train dress is smart casual. Evening attire is more formal. For gentlemen a jacket and tie is a minimum requirement while for ladies we suggest cocktail/evening dresses or suits.”
We had not really taken this request too seriously but I had put brought one jacket and tie with me to be on the safe side. As it turned out all of the Aussie men on board wore a tie but no jacket on the first evening although some succumbed on this our final evening. Judging by some of the mismatched outfits on some guys their days of formal wear were long since gone.
Most of the ladies, however, had really come up trumps for this final dinner.
We knew that this was not going to be a normal evening when all of the Rovos staff arrived in dinner suits and bow ties and once again really went out of their way to provide us with a truly memorable evening.
We all congregated in the lounge area for late night cocktails to round off a perfect day.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.
Leave a comment