issue 4 digital FINAL

S A Regional Feature
Others include the southern half of the Kruger National Park, the
iconic and breath-taking Blyde River Canyon, stunning waterfalls
such as the Kadishi Tufa Waterfall, Horseshoe Falls, the Lone Creek
Falls, the Mac-Mac Falls, the Lisbon Falls and the Berlin Falls, the Lake
District near Chrissiesmeer, Bourkes’ Luck Potholes, the Sudwala
Caves, the Lowveld National Botanical Gardens, and some of the
oldest evidence of volcanic activity on earth with fossils of the first
oxygen producing plant called the Collenia.
Add to this historical attractions such as Pilgrim’s Rest, the little gold
mining town still stuck in the late 1800s with its bungalows and
saloons; the memorials to Jock of the Bushveld, the famous and
brave Staffordshire Bull Terrier of author Sir James Percy FitzPatrick,
near Barberton and in the Kruger National Park; the interesting
museums in Barberton and White River among others; the Barberton
Heritage Walk; the towns of Waterval-Boven and Waterval-Onder
where Transvaal President Paul Kruger set up government in railway
carriages during the Anglo-Boer War before going into exile in
Europe, and the area in which the fabled Kruger Millions treasure
is said to still be buried; the old Boer forces’ canon called Long Tom,
still standing in the Long Tom Pass from where the Boers fired 38kg
shells across 10km, causing havoc among British forces; and more.
Among the many cultural discoveries to be made here are the
Botshabelo Mission Station and Historical Village where you can
learn all about the history of the town of Middleburg and Ndebele
culture; the Nkomazi Game Reserve where you can see rock art
sites dating back more than 300 years; Xintu Village where you will
learn about Shangaan culture, food and their way of life and attend
the Evening Festival in the Chief’s Kraal; the Jane Goodall Institute
where a guided tour reveals all about the chimpanzees that they
have rescued; and the Elephant Museum in the Letaba Camp of
the Kruger National Park that captures the history of human and
elephant interaction in the park.
In fact the entire province is a melting pot of cultures and
influences, from the Koi-San whose rock art is found in the many
caves throughout Mpumalanga, to the colourful geometric arts of
the Ndebele cultural villages. Modern day Mpumalanga has artists’
routes, township tours, labyrinths, shopping centres, casinos and
much more.
There are also a number of other somewhat unusual experiences to
be enjoyed, such as the Kaapsehoop Ghost Tours where, entering
into the realm of the paranormal in this small, misty mountaintop
town you can meet its ghosts. Or go on a Whiskey Tasting Tour in
Dullstroom, which has the largest collection of whiskey in the
Southern Hemisphere.
Mpumalanga derives its name from the Zulu language, meaning
“the place where the sun rises”. And indeed it is here where every
morning the first rays of sunlight reach South Africa from the
east across the Lebombo Mountains. The province is bordered by
Swaziland and Mozambique in the east, and by the South African
provinces of Limpopo, Gauteng, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. A
number of excellent highways, railway lines and airports connect it
with Johannesburg and Pretoria, and with the rest of the country.
Mpumalanga’s major attractions, drawing visitors from around the
world, are of course its magnificent scenery, the astounding variety
of fauna and flora, the Kruger National Park with its abundance of
wildlife, including the Big Five, the saga of the 1870s gold rush era,
and a wealth of fascinating tribal legends. The Blyde River Canyon is
among the world’s largest, and is known as a green canyon because
of its subtropical foliage.
Furthermore visitors can delight in the majestic mountains,
panoramic passes, the many valleys, rivers, waterfalls and forests that
characterise the landscape, and dozens of sanctuaries teeming with
wildlife and birds. The province is renowned for offering exceptional
opportunities for bird-watching.
For the more adventurous there are, apart from viewing wildlife,
numerous hiking trails, 4X4 routes, mountain-biking adventures,
kayaking and river rafting opportunities, cave exploration, horse
riding, fishing, or you can climb the cliffs of the world’s third highest
canyon. The parks, game reserves and surrounding towns and
countryside offer some of the most luxurious accommodation as
well.
In the many bustling, modern towns such as Graskop, Hazyview,
Lydenburg, Middelburg, eMalahleni (Witbank), Bethal, Ermelo and
Standerton visitors can spend their time shopping in crafts markets
and modern malls, eat in a large variety of fine restaurants, visit
interesting cultural and historic sites, or meet the locals in the many
buzzing pubs.
The province is also renowned as the country’s trout fishing mecca by
avid fly-fishers, with the town of Dullstroom at its epicentre.
The provincial tourism authorities, the Mpumalanga Tourism and
Parks Agency, have divided the province into seven regions for
travellers to visit. These are:
Cosmos Country, a region in the southwest around the towns of
Balfour and Standerton that transforms into a rainbow of colours
during the summer, known for its cosmos flowers.
Cultural Heartland, in the west around Middelburg and eMalahleni
(Witbank) is famous for the indigenous Ndebele tribes, with their
bright multi-coloured arts and crafts and the distinctive colourful
patterns with which they decorate their homes.
Grass & Wetlands, in the southeast around the towns of
Chrissiesmeer, Ermelo, Wakkerstroom and Piet Retief, are considered
excellent for star-gazing and bird watching, with 82 aquatic and
170 non-aquatic bird species, many of them rare. Water dominates
the region, with lakes, waterfalls and rivers brimming with bird life.
Chrissiesmeer, with some 270 lakes and pans is the Lake District of
South Africa.
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