Five unusual places in Mpumalanga that’ll make you want another visit

If you go east from the Reef early one morning and travel toward the rising sun, you will soon get to Mpumalanga – “place where the sun rises”, where there is just too much to do and so much to choose from.

Easy to get to, though. Tourism, mining and agriculture form the economic heart of this province. There are a number of excellent roads connecting communities and markets and getting tourists to their destinations.

The N2, which comes up from KwaZulu-Natal, joins the N11 at Ermelo, then runs up into Limpopo. Then the N17 from Johannesburg to Swaziland. The main route is the N4, which goes right through the province, from Pretoria down to Maputo.

Mpumalanga is in the eastern half of South Africa and borders Swaziland and Mozambique.

Where do you go on your road trip? The immediate inclination is to go to the known spots – Kruger National Park, Blyde River Canyon, Hazyview, Sabie. All great choices, but why not try something different?

Take the N4 to Middelburg. Then the upgraded N11. Just outside the town, turn left on a gravel road for about 3km to get to Botshabelo, Place of Refuge. Built by Lutheran missionaries, it is an historic site with much to see. The church is important – it was the biggest in the old Transvaal at the end of the 19th century and above it lies a proper fort, looking slightly out of place. Fort Merensky was erected to protect the local Christians against possible attacks. Back to the N11, then down the spectacular Kranskop – also much improved – to get to the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve. This is worth a longer stay. The dam is 27km long, the largest in the southern hemisphere. There is excellent accommodation, plentiful birdlife (including the fish eagle), game viewing by boat, horse riding, paintball, fishing, a heated pool, abseiling, game drives, tennis, volleyball, a restaurant and braai facilities.

It’s a truly unusual game reserve.

Back along the N11 to the N4 and soon you’ll be in Waterval Boven and its little sister, Waterval Onder; one lies above the spectacular 228m waterfall, the other below. They’re so close together you can reach the area’s attractions from both places, which also have a wide variety of accommodation possibilities.

This is just the place for the active tourist – 700 rock-climbing routes, hiking and biking, fishing for trout and yellow fish. And in winter, a warm fire to drowse by in the sometimes very cold nights.

Then on to Barberton, even if it is only to experience the Makhonjwa Mountains, which lure international biologists and geologists, because some of Earth’s earliest life forms began here. The excellent local museum will fill you in on this and the history of the town’s gold rush. And nearby, you can watch young artists creating jewellery from some of the oldest gold in the world.

Further east you’ll get to Komatipoort, with its perfect winter climate, lying at the confluence of the Komati and Crocodile rivers. It is on the Mozambican border, thus our neighbour is easy to get to, as is Swaziland (65km) and the Kruger (8km). Day trips can be the order of the day, if you get tired of the local wildlife, tiger fishing and golf.