• Barberton

    Once a gold mining town, Barberton has a colourful past.
  • The Kruger National Park

    It’s world famous. Maybe even more famous than Mr Mandela. Spend some time in the bush with animals. Get up at sunrise, drive slowly and discover nature the way God meant it to be. Whether it’s a gecko sunbathing on a rock or a lion sleeping belly-up in the sun, there is an infinite world of moments to savour…
  • Ermelo

    A good stopover between Zululand and the interior.
  • Nelspruit

    This is the capital of Mpumalanga and the centre of an extremely fertile and beautiful agricultural region.
  • Komatipoort

    This town marks the border between Mozambique and South Africa.
  • Hazyview

    Lying on the banks of the Sabie River, Hazyview is only 16km from the Numbi Gate to the Kruger National Park, so it makes an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding area.
  • Sabie Mpumalanga

    Sabie is close to the Sudwala and Echo Caves, God's Window, Graskop, Borkes Luck Potholes, Kruger National Park, a reptile park, forest museum and Pilgrim's Rest.
  • Graskop

    This scenic little town lies in the heart of Mpumalanga's natural wonders and makes a good base from which to explore the area.
  • White River

    This is one of the entry towns for the Kruger National Park.
  • Pilgrim's Rest

    Don’t leave the area without dropping into Pilgrim's Rest. There are no backpackers here though.
  • Waterval Boven

    This town marks one of the points where the mountains of the escarpment descend into the Lowveld. The Eland River Falls drop 228m into the valley below – hence the name Waterval Onder, which means ”under the waterfall.”

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Mpumalanga

This is one of the most beautiful areas in South Africa and well worth the trip - not only because of its rich wildlife and the Kruger National Park, but for the abundant and breath-taking natural wonders.

Filled with natural wonders
Mpumalanga is a crammed with god-made miracles.
The sheer volume of natural wonders in such a small area alone makes Mpumalanga worth visiting because you enjoy huge rewards for almost no effort. It’s unbelievably beautiful and almost overwhelming in its sheer natural generosity and magnitude.
As you can guess, we love it...
Jaw-dropping features
This rich and varied province includes the Kruger Park, the mountains of the Klein Drakensberg escarpment and the scenic Blyde River Canyon.
Jaw-dropping features include the Three Rondavels, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, the spectacular view from God’s Window, the Sudwala Caves and the historic and quaint mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest.
An abundant pantry
Mpumalanga stretches east from the coal mining areas of Witbank, over the escarpment of the Drakensberg to the rich sub-tropical fruit farming regions of Nelspruit, White River and Hazyview and on to the bushveld plains and the Kruger National Park.
The sub-tropical fruit farming areas produce abundant crops of mangos, paw-paws, avocado pears, litchis, bananas, tomatoes and passion fruit which are sold for next to nothing along the roadside, but which can also be found gracing tables throughout Europe and the British Isles – at a somewhat higher price of course!
This abundant pantry has also spawned a successful juice extraction industry while the high lying mountainous area is home to a vast timber and paper industry.
Hire a car and explore
Think about hiring a car for a day or two. Then pack a picnic and a bottle of bubbly and go intrepid adventuring...

Places to Stay

  • Bushpackers and Campsite

    This Hazyview backpackers offers bushwalking, safari-ing, braaing or just hanging out at the pool.
  • Kruger Inn Backpackers

    Kruger Inn Backpackers is a community inside a nature reserve, on the border of the Kruger National Park.
  • Kruger View Backpackers

    Stop over here if you're on the road between SA and Mozambique, or want to go from Mozambique to the Kruger and Swaziland and need to restock.
  • Old Vic Travellers' Inn

    A real home away from home, the Old Vic Backpacking hostel offers snug doubles at refreshingly affordable prices.

What to do

  • Viva Safaris

    Sleep in a tree house surrounded by the sounds of the wild.

Transport

 Feeling lucky?
(randomly selected service providers from all regions)

Kariba Bush Club
On the banks of Lake Kariba, this is relatively unexploited area is home to the Tonga, who still live according to age old traditions.
(Kariba Zim,Zimbabwe and Zambia)

Khotso Backpackers and Horse Trails
Khotso backpackers are in the Drakensberg and offer backpackers peace, horses, cows and adventure sports for nature lovers.
(Southern Drakensberg,Drakensberg Backpacker Hostels)

Rosebank Backpackers Lodge
All roads lead to Rosebank or at least the important ones do...
(Johannesburg,Johannesburg)

Tsitsikamma Backpackers
This is a great choice of backpackers when staying in Stormriver.
(Stormsriver,Garden Route)

Wicked Campers
Rent a camper in South Africa
(Port Elizabeth,Sunshine Coast)

The Suntouched Inn Travellers Lodge
Stop a while and soak up the sun.
(NapierWC,Overberg )

The Baz Bus
The Baz Bus is a South African backpacker hop-on hop-off any time bus service. They have no time limit on their ticket, so you can travel whenever you like, and, what’s more, start from anywhere on the route.
(Cape Town City Centre,Cape Town)

The Sanctuary
Be king of the hill for a day or three.
(Bethlehem,Free State)

Oudebosch Farm Stall
Stop for a break half way between Knysna and Port Elizabeth.
(Stormsriver,Garden Route)

Hole in the Wall Backpackers
This Wild coast hostel creates space and time to do absolutely nothing in, if that's what you desire.
(Coffee Bay,Wild Coast)