Connecting African Culture Through the Seas
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
Mpumalanga packs a mighty punch for a small province: It’s home to Kruger National Park, as well as scenically stunning landscapes of dramatic gorges and mountains, waterfalls, forests and fertile farmlands, old towns with layers of history, and a wealth of adventure activities to keep even the most hardened adrenaline junkie happy.
Located between Johannesburg and South Africa’s eastern border with Swaziland and Mozambique, this much-visited province’s flagship attraction is Kruger, arguably the world’s most famous game reserve. Over a million people visit the park each year to see the Big Five, as well as the hundreds of other species of animals and birds spread across an incredibly diverse wilderness the same size as the state of New Jersey. Game viewing here is year-round, and accommodation options can be found to suit every budget.
Kruger aside, Mpumalanga is full of other amazing animal experiences, from Chimp Eden near Nelspruit, to the Hazyview Elephant Sanctuary, to the owls and other birds at the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre.
Mpumalanga is also famous for being South Africa’s adventure capital; it’s a place where you can go zip-lining through forest canopy, white water rafting and canyoning in the Sabie River, abseiling and rock climbing in the Elands River Gorge, freefall flying on one of the world’s highest cable gorge swings, or mountain biking and quad biking through the Sabie River Valley.
Mpumalanga’s finest scenery can be glimpsed on the Panorama Route, a road trip through some the province’s best sights. Hugging the escarpment of the northern Drakensberg, which drops down into the lush Lowveld, the route takes in Bourke’s Luck Potholes, God’s Window, Mac Mac Falls, Blyde River Canyon and the Three Rondavels. If you stop along the way at quaint towns like Dullstroom or Pilgrim’s rest you’ll take a step back into a slower time.
And last but not least, are the macadamias. Macadamia tourism is big here, and is a wonderful way to experience the pastoral beauty of this green corner of South Africa. You can stay in charming guesthouses on macadamia farms and stroll through the orchards, enjoy dishes cooked with the nuts at local farm-to-table restaurants, and even get macadamia spa treatments.
Safety: Mpumalanga is no more or less safe than any other part of South Africa, and all the usual precautions should be taken: don’t flash cash, jewelry or electronic devices; don’t wander into unfamiliar areas at night (either on foot or in a car); when going out at night, go in a group; and be very careful who you give your credit card information to.
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
South Africa’s second-smallest province, Mpumalanga, is also one of its most visited, with a plethora of blockbuster sights, from the wildlife of the world-renowned Kruger National Park to God’s Window …