Mpumalanga

Introduction

A rare pack of wild dogs in Kruger National Park

© All Rights Reserved Ofelia

Mpumalanga is a province in South Africa, located in the central east of the country. Although most of the province is looked over by travellers, the east of the province is home to two major attractions: The Blyde River Canyon and the (southern portion of) Kruger National Park, attracting visitors from all over the world to see the Big 5.

Cities

• Nelspruit - the capital
• Dullstroom

Sights and Activities

Kruger National Park

Ellie

© All Rights Reserved soupatrvlr

This park is the largest of all of South Africa's game parks with around 19,000 square kilometers to explore. The park is located in the northeast of the country in both the provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, at the borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Recently the park has become part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace-park consisting of Kruger National Park, Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe) and Limpopo National Park (Mozambique). It is the most visited of all national parks in South Africa and can become very busy during the South African holiday periods. Also, some of the roads are tarred, which makes this park one of the best to visit when you just have a small 2wd vehicle. More about Kruger NP or visit the official Kruger Park website.

Getting There

By Plane

The Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport is situated just northeast of the town of Nelspruit. Destinations include Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Vilanculos (Mozambique).

By Train

Shosholoza Meyl has the following train:

• Johannesburg/Pretoria - Komatipoort via Nelspruit, 13 hours, economy class daily except Saturday, connecting with the onward train to Maputo, Mozambique.

Getting Around

By Car

If you would like to travel around by car, there are numerous car rental companies available from the airports and downtown locations. Just make sure that you have sufficient insurance to cover you if the need arises. Some of them offer the possibility to reduce excess (the amount you pay when involved in an accident) for a daily fee. Car hire companies include Avis, Imperial, CABS, First Car Rental as well as many other international and local ones. Usually, the local ones are cheaper but don't have the same standard as the international ones, which have more branches throughout the country and therefore are able to help you more quickly if needed.

If travelling by car, be sure to plan your routes carefully to insure that there are sufficient places to fill the tank with petrol as some towns are located quite a distance apart with no filling stations in between. It's a good idea to fill up with fuel when you have about half a tank left if possible.

Sleep