Phalaborwa & the Mopani region

About Phalaborwa & the Mopani region

Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality is situated on the North-eastern part of South Africa in the Limpopo Province. It is one of the four local municipalities in the Mopani District. The Municipality serves as a convenient gateway to the Kruger National Park and the Transfrontier Park through the Mozambique Channel.

Gateway to the Kruger National Park and Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park Dubbed the 'town of two summers' because it never really gets cold in this subtropical town of mild winters and warm summers, Phalaborwa enjoys average day temperatures of 23°C and is the ideal year-round holiday destination.

Tourism and wildlife play a dominant role in the life of this town. Surrounded by game farms and lodges, game sanctuaries and nature reserves, tourists are never more than half an hour's drive away from unforgettable destinations and memories. Situated within walking distance of the central gate to the Kruger National Park, the town is an ideal base from which to explore the world's most famous game reserve and the many scenic attractions of the Lowveld.

There are various opportunities to view wildlife daily from the Phalaborwa Gate. These include sunrise or sunset wilderness trails, day or night safaris and the extremely popular 'bush braai/barbeque'. A boat safari down the Olifants River offers a three-hour game-viewing meander.

Phalaborwa was established in 1958 after the discovery of huge mineral deposits, and is the central gateway to the Kruger National Park via the Phalaborwa Gate.

Today it supports a thriving mining industry, supplying vital minerals to the country, as well as a flourishing export industry. The town also boasts one of the world's largest open-cast mines, which has become a unique tourist attraction. For more information visit the Trade & Tourism Concil of Ba-Phalaborwa.

The Mopani region in the Lowveld is one of the last unspoilt corners of Africa - vast, unhurried, timeless. The Mopani region has a  river in a valley called the Great Olifants River that meanders through the Kruger National Park forming the southern border of the province, it offers vast expanses that seem untouched by the passage of time and remain unmistakably African.

To conserve and extend this legacy, the Kruger National Park has been incorporated into the Gaza-Kruger-Gonarezhou Park, a transfrontier conservation area stretching over 35 000 square kilometres covering Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

This area is to become part of the proposed Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Already, many of the conservation areas bordering on the Kruger National Park have removed their fences and now from part of the Greater Kruger National Park, resulting in huge traversing areas of unspoilt wilderness.

Within these areas and the many other game and nature reserves in the region the full splendour of Africa's wildlife can be enjoyed. The Mopani Valley is not only rich in wildlife, but offers spectacular scenery of mountains, rivers and dams, a rich history and many cultural attractions. The contrasts in climate, scenery and landscape are both striking and dramatic.

Parks & reserves

Limpopo is home to numerous nature reserves and parks. Besides the well-known national parks, such as the Greater Limpopo Park (Kruger National Park), Mapungubwe and Marakele approximately 50 further provincial nature reserves exist in this exquisite province that reflect the diversity of this pristine part of the world.

Managed by Limpopo Tourism and Parks, these nature reserves have the dual task of ecological conservation of unique destinations as well as the development of eco-tourism projects in co-operation with the respective local communities.

Some of the parks offer a variety of accommodation, some are only open for day visitors, some can be reached with conventional vehicles, others only with 4x4 vehicles; please check under the relevant section of the park. All facilities are self-catering, some of the parks being remote and require everything to be brought along.