2 Best Sights in Johannesburg, South Africa

Anyone can go to a jewelry store and bring home South African diamonds, but how many people can say they got their sparkler from an actual mine? At Cullinan Diamond Mine, you can not only buy diamonds, but get custom-made pieces from the resident jeweler, though don't expect your piece to include the world's largest diamond—the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond unearthed here in 1905 is now in the crown jewels in London. Two-hour surface tours of the mine take place daily at 10:30 am and 2 pm (with the second tour commencing at 12:15 pm on weekends and public holidays). The four-hour underground tours, which demand that you be quite physically fit, takes place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 8:30 am. You must reserve all tours in advance and wear comfortable closed shoes; children under 10 are not permitted on either tour. Cullinan has a series of delightful tea gardens to choose from. For pleasant outdoor dining, the Whispering Oaks Garden Cafe (closed Tuesdays) serves breakfasts and lunches.

For more recent history of South Africa's Gold Rush era (as opposed to the ancient history of humanity you'll find in the Cradle of Humankind like Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves), tour the small but fascinating Kromdraai Gold Mine, one of the country's oldest mines begun in 1881. Frankly, it's a little spooky. You don a miner's helmet and wander into the mine's murky depths on one-hour guided tours. It's not a difficult walk, and if you're lucky, you'll see bats roosting.