The Big Hole
Kimberley is not a place bursting with tourist attractions, and it did not seem particularly promising that the one attraction they have is called The Big Hole. But we felt duty-bound to pay the Hole a visit on our three-day stopover in the small town.
Kimberley derives part of its identity from the Hole, and particularly the reason it was dug. Diamonds. The Tigers will play today at the Diamond Oval, where they will be looking to climb out of a hole they have dug for themselves. Happily it is not as deep as the big one in Kimberley, which was originally 240 metres deep and is nearly half a kilometre wide.
Diamonds were discovered here in 1872 and the place was sucked dry of 2800 kilograms of the stuff (13,600,000 carats if you are interested in that sort of thing) by 1914, since when it has been a testament to human vision, toil, and greed. It took 50,000 miners to dig the Hole, many of whom -- a plaque informed us as we walked the shaky gangway to the viewing platform -- had died doing the job to 'earn money for their people so that the land which had been forcibly taken from Bafokeng [a Setswana-speaking traditional community historically residing in the area] could be brought back'.
As usual, the result of historical cruelty can be pleasing to the eye. The Big Hole was awe-inspiring, especially the pool of water that has collected over a century and now bears an emerald hue lent by the fallen rock when it was still a mine.
A lift that has quite terrifying sound effects took us down a floor -- but the door remained closed for a long while to simulate the miners' journey down into the depths. It finally opened into a replica of the mine as it must have been back then. The dank, claustrophobic passages led to a brightly lit museum -- an apt metaphor for the suffering that led to riches – that showcased the details of the diamond making process and some actual diamonds.
The team hotel is walking distance from the Hole and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed were seen there. Now Mashrafe can say, whatever the result of the ODI series, that at least they are not down there mining.
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