Classic Safari Territory
Mpumalanga - "the place where the sun rises" - epitomises every traveller's dream of Africa in the true sense. Mpumalanga, the South African province, is situated in the North Eastern part of the country and borders both Mozambique and Swaziland.
It forms the heartland of South Africa's classic safari territory, and is comprised of the Lowveld and the Highveld.
Mpumalanga is an area of immense natural beauty and diversity - a land of mountain splendour, wide horizons, of forests and plains, rock formations and caves, waterfalls, and majestic mountain scenery.
It is an African landscape where wildlife still roams on bushveld plains and where visitors can experience the true mystery of Africa in near pristine surroundings. Long sweeps of undulating grasslands abruptly change to the thickly forested ravines and thundering waterfalls of the escarpment, only to change again to present the subtropical wildlife splendour of the Lowveld.
Adventuring Around
The astounding natural beauty of Mpumalanga makes it a hikers' paradise. The more intrepid hiker might prefer the three-day sleep-out hikes in "Big Five" territory with armed rangers. The opportunity to view San (Bushmen) art in caves around the province should not be missed.
Trout fishing enthusiasts will love the area around Dullstroom with its country hotels, gentle landscapes and great fishing. Cyclists will jump at the chance to do some off-road mountain biking through farms and plantations at Umbhaba in the Sabie district.
Attractions range from game-viewing and bird-watching, to scenic drives across the valleys and peaks of the vast Drakensberg escarpment, and include agri- and industrial tourism, adventure tourism and the cultural experience. Historical sites and villages, old wagon routes and monuments mark events and characters who passed this way before in search of adventure and wealth.
Blyde River Canyon
Blyde River Canyon doesn't compare in length to the Fish, being only 30 kilometres long, but its beauty is a total contrast: rock worn down and smoothed by water, and holes carved by pebbles swirling around in small pools (known as Bourke's Luck Potholes — his 'luck' was apparently a rich strike in this gold-laden region, but no-one knows exactly where). From the main tourist viewpoint, God's Window, you look out over the edge of the escarpment into the Lowveld.
There's also Cosmos Country in southwestern Mpumalanga, where in late summer the veld is carpeted with white and pink cosmos flowers. And as a bit of trivia, wild cosmos flowers always have eight petals.