Where do all the things we once cherished end up? They say that one person's trash is another person's treasure. But the small mining town of Cullinan in Gauteng transforms this quote by using these found treasures to decorate the town! What a way of preserving history and utilizing it at the same time.
Please join me on this virtual tour on which I will take you. This mining town in Gauteng has so much to offer. From a little slice of Greece to streets filled with previously loved items, cute animals roaming the streets, funny jokes, and awesome oddity shops, you will want to explore here as well!
Similar to the renowned Kimberley open pit mine, the Cullinan diamond mine also has a big hole. In my home language of Afrikaans, the joke is more catchy. "Cullinan se groot gat", literally translates to Cullinan's big hole, but the meaning is lost in the translation. In Afrikaans, it means Cullinan's big butt. Jokes aside for now, the mine is still active mining some of the most important and rare blue diamonds. The mine is named after Sir Thomas Cullinan and as a South African one can only wonder when the town's name will change. But this is not a political post, so enough politics.
Interestingly, some of the diamonds on the British Crown was found in Cullinan. The largest diamond ever was also found here. The Cullinan Diamond weighs around 620 grams, imagine that on your wedding ring!. Enough of the history. Please join me in all of the nice things you can do besides diamonds!
The shocking blue shop is noticable from afar. The excentric owner greets you and tries to guess what drink you want. If he is from Greece, I have no idea, but his shop's name is As Greek As It Gets.
With the stereotypical blue and white finishing, the shop feels as Greek as it gets. The food as well. What a wonderful feast you get. A little pricey, but what can you expect from a town that mines diamonds!
We ordered a meze platter and for the two of us it was way too big. But it was absolutely fantastic. It was so fresh and well prepared.
The meze platter was full of fried potato, kebabs, tzatziki, fried crumb mushrooms, chicken and feta, spanakopita, and fresh salads with more sauces.
After so much lunch, we had the energy to walk through the streets of Cullinan.
But before we left, we took a picture of the painting of the owner. I hope you will be able to see his excentricity and likeness in the painting below.
Everywhere you walk, you will see the walls decorated with previously loved items. I am sure many of these items where used by the miners themselves. Rather than landing on a landfill or dumped in nature, the owners of these shops decided to use them as decorations or even as part of the structure of their buildings.
The local coffee shop has an old bike hanging from the ceiling, and one can only wonder how many deliveries it made when it was in use!
Why not use some of the previous railroad carts for your shop's sign? The shop is now open, and it sells different oddities and sweets and yummy treats.
Old CD discs are used here as decorations. Sadly we are moving away from usings CD's. I cannot remember when last I needed to use a CD. But this shop uses these old dinousaurs as decorations, what ingenuity!
Every second shop sells oldies and oddities. Or, previously loved and used items.
This shop sells old items like phones and guns (which is probably not working anymore). Also, old paintings and various items. What caught my eye was the coffee stand. It sold one of them best espressos I had in a long time. What a treat betwixt the old items.
Various backyards are used to exhibit these previously cherished items. It feels like walking betweem memories of yesterday. In the seemingly chaos there is a different sort of calmness.
How many clothes did these irons not iron?
How many trees needed to be cut down to fire the stove that heated the iron?
But how long did these irons not last? How long did their heat last? Modern technology cannot keep up with these old beasts.
It is sad that we exchanged that lifestyle for the one we have now. But that one was probably not best suited for a good life like we have now. Or maybe not. I cannot tell! Sometimes I want to turn the clock back, sometimes not so much.
How many cups of coffee was served?
How many hungry mouths did these plates not feed?
How many batches of tea did the kettle not make?
Now everything is exhibited for us to walk through, almost like art exibitions. In a certain sense, this is literal trash. Yet, here it is packed in an aesthetically pleasing way. It feels like art!
Inside the shops, you can buy some of the old furniture and oddities. Although, the price tag on these items are a pretty penny when you think about how old they are.
In the seeming chaos of old things, there are some peace and quiet as well. One just needs to find it.
The town is full of jokes and funny things. Entering the tourist district/area, there is a photobooth of an old man sitting in an outhouse (bathroom). A postcard for christmas for sure!
It seems like this shop's owner has figured it out!
In the Greek restuarant, there was also a hidden joke:
You can have dinner at the abandoned train station. Just outside of the main town, there is a lovely restuarant that serves food fit for a king. That is, a fat king because their portion sizes are huge! Rather split the dinner between two because the portion size will let you wonder if you really need that much food.
Or you can visit one of the local cattle/milk farms.
Fresh cow's milk and other produce is available to anyone who stops there. You can even visit the cows!
We sit down to eat some pancakes/crepes and a pack of about 15 mongooses sit next to us in the field. They dig for bugs and critters in the grass. We eat our pancakes and they eat their bugs. What a lovely contrast! But how awesome is it that these creatures still find a way to live between our modern society of concrete jungles.
I hope you enjoyed this virtual town of yet another awesome South African town!
All of the photographs are my own, and the musings as well unless states otherwise.
Happy traveling, and stay safe!
