Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga, also known as 'the place of the rising sun' in the local SiSwati language, has a broad spectrum of cultures, landscapes and attractions to offer. The province encompasses large areas of the Kruger National Park and also includes a host of private game reserves from rustic bush camps to the height of luxury in secluded lodges. Mpumalanga offers the visitor a close and exhilarating encounter with the wildlife of Africa against the backdrop of the Lowveld bushveld.The capital of Mpumalanga is Nelspruit, which is located in the heart of the Lowveld in the Crocodile River Valley. Today the industrial hub of the Lowveld area, the town first took its name in 1884 and tells the tale of pioneers and gold panners. The area is one of the biggest citrus-producing areas in South Africa.The province enjoys sunny weather all-year round, which together with its landscape of mountain peaks, dense tropical forests and wide expanses of water, has made it a popular adventure sport destination.One of the greatest wonders of the Mpumalanga province is the breathtaking Blyde River Canyon - the third largest in the world. The 60-km long canyon with soaring cliffs of up to 700m creates a 'green' chasm, at the bottom of which a river winds through sub-tropical jungle home to variety of wildlife and with some of Southern Africa's most thrilling rapids. The canyon is the result of the tearing apart of the ancient Gondwanaland super-continent that split apart millions of years ago to form Africa and Asia.Another of Mpumalanga's best-kept secrets are the Makhonjwa mountains behind the small town of Barberton. These mountains are at the core of a proposed World Heritage Site, as it is central to the Archaean Greenstone Belt in which some of the oldest preserved rocks and earliest life forms on Earth are found. This region has emerged as an internationally renowned study terrain of the early history of Earth and the basket of natural attractions offers lessons to mankind.These mountains offer a vast open-air museum with a combination of treasures of more than 3.5 billion years of Earth’s history, little researched archaeological sites dating from the early Stone age and a unique plant and animal diversity. “…one of the virgin corners of the continent, garnished with some of the most magnificent scenery in all Africa. …[a] mysterious spirit brooded over its vast solitude.” General JC Smuts’ foreword to Colonel J Stevenson-Hamilton’s work on the Lowveld in Mpumalanga, describing the view down from the Makhonjwa Mountains circa 1902.