Africa

Yes, we're finally back, and as to be expected, we missed some great Google Earth-related news while we were off. Firstly the story that seems to have sprung up everywhere is (of course) a Street View one. The garage419 site…

For our first post from Botswana, let's visit the communities of Orapa and Letlhakane, home to some of the largest diamond mines in the world. While we've seen a "world's largest diamond mine" before, it is no-longer in use. Wikipedia…

Namibia's Skeleton Coast is named so for two different types of skeletons that littered the beaches: whales and ships. Thanks to the end of mass whaling the whale bones are now all gone, but the bones of ships remain, very…

This is the first in an occasional series where we'll be looking at some of the world's most interesting abandoned places. In 1908, diamonds were discovered in the Namib Desert, and one of the towns that sprang up to provide…

It’s Volcano Week 3 here at GSS, which explains why all of our posts over the course of the week are very likely to be volcano related. Mount Nyiragongo is an active volcano in the Virunga mountain range which runs…

In 1998, the tiny truck-stop village of Ilakaka in Madagascar was transformed into a bustling mining town, and one of the most dangerous places in the country. The reason for this dramatic change was the discovery of massive sapphire deposits…