Mpumalanga is a province located in the eastern part of South Africa, just north of KwaZulu Natal and on the border of Swaziland and Mozambique. Nelspruit is the provincial capital and lies in the heart of the lowveld area where citrus is the main industry. Another important town in the region is Witbank, which is also a coal-mining centre of the country. Secunda is home to one of South Africa’s two petroleum from coal refineries, with the other being Sasolburg in the Freestate.
With a dry climate in the highveld area contrasted with a hot, humid climate in the lowveld, there is plenty of scope for a range of agricultural activities. Ermelo is a major wool-producing centre in the country, while Sabie is known for its forestry. Other crops cultivated in the region include maize and wheat, sugar and vegetables, tobacco and cotton, as well as fruit and oil seeds.
The landscape is mainly savanna grassland, but there is also a stunning Drakensberg escarpment in the northeast and a subtropical bushveld area in the east. Along this eastern border runs the world-renowned Kruger National Park, which boasts the Big Five and consequently attracts plenty of visitors both local and foreign. The surrounding area is home to a number of game lodges and reserves catering for the tourist sector.
One of the province’s greatest attractions is Lake Chrissie, South Africa’s largest freshwater lake; with the Loskop Dam near the Limpopo border an even larger expanse of water. The wide-open space and abundance of wildlife are certainly some of the major draw cards when it comes to Mpumalanga. |
