Jagersfontein

Jagersfontein, in the southern Free State, is famous for its old diamond mine, once home to the Excelsior Diamond, a massive 995-carat stone found in 1893. You'll get there via the R706, linking to Fauresmith and on to the N1 near Trompsburg, about 90 minutes from Bloemfontein. It's flat highveld country, so fill up before you go as charging stations and fuel stops are thin on the ground. The town also made headlines in 2022 when a tailings dam burst, a sobering bit of local history.