Kleinzee

Diamonds were found on the grounds of Kleyne Zee in 1926 by two local prospectors. The Cape Coast Exploration Company moved in by 1927, De Beers absorbed it in 1928, and Kleinzee was formally established in 1942 as a purpose-built mining settlement. For decades, access required a permit. The town was run entirely by De Beers, with company housing, a company shop, a company club, and company rules. At its peak it had around 7,000 residents. It was one of the more total examples of a company town anywhere in South Africa.

By the 2000s the deposits were nearly exhausted. Mining scaled back sharply in 2009. The 370 houses were mostly empty by 2011, and the population had dropped from thousands to under a thousand. The gates that once controlled access came down, and Kleinzee became, at least partially, open to the public for the first time in its history.

What's left is unusual. The infrastructure of a proper town, built to serve a mining workforce that's no longer there, sitting on a stretch of the Atlantic coast that is genuinely spectacular. The Buffels River meets the sea just south of the settlement. The coastline is rocky, cold, and windswept, with the Benguela Current running just offshore. It's good for abalone and crayfish, and the cold-water fishing is serious. De Beers has continued to operate oyster farming on the dams left by the old mining operations.

Kleinzee is 72 km southeast of Port Nolloth and 105 km west of Springbok. It's not easy to get to, which means the people who show up are either curious about the mining history, serious about the fishing, or just want to stand on an empty Atlantic beach at the end of a long drive. All three are valid.