in 1872, construction was started to connect the cape colony’s coastal railway system with the diamond fields in kimberley, the new line started in worcester and entered the lower karoo through the hex river valley, where it followed a course almost midway between the swartberg mountains to the south and the great escarpment to the north. along the way, it passed through the quaint victorian village of matjiesfontein, with the historic lord miner hotel, which is still operational today. the railway reached this point in 1878, before proceeding to beaufort west at the foot of the great escarpment. from there, it reached the top of the african plateau near three sisters along a valley with such a low gradient that passengers were (and still are) hardly aware that they were ascending the great escarpment. from there it continued through the upper karoo, to de aar, and crossed the orange river at hopetown, where south africa’s first diamond, the eureka diamond, was found. the orange river, at this point, forms the local unofficial boundary between the great karoo and the highveld.