Cullinan Diamond Mine - in Cullinan, South Africa
Where the small and greater star of Africa was produced and also the only producer of blue diamonds (worlds most precious diamond). Love how this stone symbolizes hope because of when it was found. The mine had just switched hands after the original owner thought they had mined all there was to
be found and a week after the new miners went down the shaft they discovered this rare beauty!
They believe they will be able to continue mining for at least another 80years! This mine is the worlds #1 producer of diamonds!
The lovely couple with the collapsing volcano where they have many kilometers of tunnels dug for the discovery of many more shiny stones!
The Miss and Mr.
Was really nice to be able to meet Marianna's boyfriend and well - he's a super sweet guy - excited for these two as they seek the Lord for whatever lies ahead!
So thankful for them as they took us all over the country side to see as much as we possibly could for the short period of time we spent with them!
We hiked to the top of one of the mountains surrounding Pretoria - what a view! This is how to maximize on sights seen:)
It was such a lovely day - warm, arguably hot, but I LOVED the heat and sun!
On the Saturday before we left for Swaziland Marianna organized a 7.5km hike and Braai
We tried to beat the heat by starting at 7:30am, but it still got up to 40° by 10am without a cloud in the sky. Needless to say - we all got nicely browned!
Thankfully there was a waterhole along the way - that we all pretty much made use of! Wasn't too high of a jump, but at least now I can say I've jumped into unknown waters somewhere in the middle of South Africa!
Was a lovely day and was so nice to spend this time with old and new friends a like!
Crossing the border between South Africa and Swaziland (I'm told it's much the same in all countries of Africa) was definitely experience!
To give you just a brief idea - basically you get accounted for as you enter this "secure area" and park your car and jump out as fast as you can, It's like a race to the booth. Thankfully the lines weren't too long and we made it through in record time even though we had a minor with us!
You need to get your passport stamped to leave South Africa - then go to another building to get your passport stamped to ENTER Swaziland! Then as you're leaving the "secured area" you need to re-give your count and give stamped receipt!
The drive into Swaziland was breathtaking and much more what I was expecting when I first pictured in my head this trip!
Many more beautifully breathtaking pictures to come!
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