Kleinzee is a small village on the west coast of the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

province in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

at the mouth of the Buffels River. It is just south of

Grootmis Grootmis is a settlement near the mouth of the Buffels River in South Africa. The name is Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the ...

, 72 km south-east of

Port Nolloth Port Nolloth is a town and small domestic seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, northwest of Springbok, Northern Cape, Springbok. It is the seat of the Richtersveld Local Municipality. The port was previousl ...

and 105 km west of

Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm v ...

. Previously a

closed Closed may refer to: Mathematics * Closure (mathematics), a set, along with operations, for which applying those operations on members always results in a member of the set * Closed set, a set which contains all its limit points * Closed interval, ...

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

, it was known for its diamond-mining operations until the 2000s. The Buffels River "flows" through Kleinsee, but most of the time it is just a dry river bed and only flows approximately every ten years. Bounded by semidesert and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, it has a large underground water table.

History

It was originally the site of a freehold farm called Kleyne Zee. The name means 'small sea', referring to a lagoon at the mouth of the Buffels River. Jack Carstens was searching the coast (later Diamond Coast) for diamonds when he heard word of their discovery on the grounds of Kleyne Zee by locals de Villiers and Alberts in 1926. A crater was opened within a week. The Cape Coast Exploration Company bought it in 1927, which was then incorporated into

De Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...

the following year. The Namaqualand Mines Division of De Beers established Kleinzee as a private

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

diamond mining settlement. At its peak, it reportedly had a population of around 4 thousand. With access from the outside world restricted, Kleinzee was mostly inhabited by middle-class mine workers, managers, and their families. De Beers covered the residents' utility bills and invested in amenities such as pools, a golf course and sports fields, and hobby clubs. The diamonds had begun to run out by the 2000s. The population of Kleinzee generally consisted of around 2 thousand residents, but considerably reduced after the down-scaling of mining activities in 2009.

Economy

With sparse vegetation, Kleinzee relies more so on fishing than farming. One of the few local industries De Beers has continued to invest in is

oyster farming Oyster farming is an aquaculture (or mariculture) practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten. Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Rome, ancient Romans as early as t ...

on the dams left by the mines.

Tourism

Both the nature and man made sites have drawn tourists to the village and its surrounding semidesert coastal area. Despite its reputation as a ghost town, the village, now more accessible to the public, has seen an uptick in tourism since De Beers' departure. Koos van der Merwe opened a resort in 2014, and a number of B&Bs and camping sites have since followed. It is on the

Shipwreck Route A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

and the Spektakel Daisies Pass.

Kleinzee Yacht Club

As part of De Beers' recreational investments, one of the

cofferdams A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for construction or re ...

was converted into a half kilometre-long

artificial lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

for a yacht club with sailing and other water sports. Due to a lack of maintenance, it has a particularly high salt content, which gives the water a reddish-pink hue and enables people to float in it. kleinzee yacht club 2016 1.png kleinzee yacht club 2016 4.png

Boulder Heritage Route and Kleinzee Museum

Boulder Heritage Route is a historic trail through Kleinzee's old diamond mines. Kleinzee Museum also seeks to preserve the village's history.

Education

Laerskool Kleinzee is a private school with an attendance of 111 students. The Primary School became a Centre for learning and Development.

Transport

The village is serviced by the small

Kleinzee Airport Kleinsee Airport or Kleinzee Airport is an airport serving Kleinzee (also spelled Kleinsee), a town in the Northern Cape province in South Africa. Facilities The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway desi ...

(KLZ). It is a 105 km drive from

and the N7.

References

{{Namakwa District Municipality Populated places in the Nama Khoi Local Municipality Mining communities in South Africa Namaqualand