Nov 27, 2020 | Nelspruit Accommodation, Nelspruit Lodge, Things to in and around Nelspruit
The holidays are only a few weeks away and if there was ever a time to treat yourself to a holiday in Mpumalanga, it is now.
2020 has taken been one for the history books. To recharge from this most intense year, we invite you to bring yourself and your family to our beautiful province where you can embark on exciting day trips that will take you to the most unforgettable places. From weekend getaways to full week holidays, our province is that perfect, refreshing escape.
Hiking, historical tours, trips to waterfalls and nature reserves, and simply walking through nature and enjoying the clear skies and warm air, are all on the cards. And since our province is but a short drive from the cities, there is no need to worry about travelling too far from home.
A world of adventure is right on your doorstep and when you choose to stay at Nelspruit Lodge, you can look forward to the best accommodation in Mpumalanga, as well as our assistance when it comes to booking your days’ adventure!
What to do on your holiday?
If you are not yet sure where you can go and what the best things to do are, in this blog we are going to share some of the must see places and experiences.
The Barberton area, with its rich history and exemplary geological wonders, is the perfect starting point. The town is just a 30 minute scenic drive from nearby Nelspruit, and there is plenty to do here. Ideally, you should start at the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountainland. This is a World Heritage Site and it has various rock structures which date back some 3.5 billion years. The best way to see the area is to visit the geotrail. On this easy to navigate route, which can be travelled in any kind of vehicle, you will have a real view of what the world looked like before the time of the dinosaurs. And the spectacular rocks found here are only found in one other place in the world!
Pilgrim’s Rest is another off the beaten track place worth visiting. This ancient town still has the homes and buildings that were built during the gold rush era, although most have now been transformed into shops and restaurants.
Close to Pilgrim’s Rest is another must-visit place, Graskop. During the lockdown, this small town, which relies heavily on tourism, was severely rocked and now that we can travel again, making a turn here won’t only be a fantastic holiday experience, it will be directly helping the local economy get back on its feet. While here, make sure you visit The Graskop Gorge Lift. The only one of its kind in Mpumalanga, the lift is designed to take tourists to the bottom of the gorge and into the natural forest below. Visitors walk the wooden walkways and the suspension bridge as they make their way through the woods.
Other Notable Attractions
- The Kruger National Park. Since it is a mere 45 or so minutes away, a day trip into the world’s oldest conservation effort, especially if you haven’t been there before is a must.
- Adam’s Calendar. Up above Nelspruit lies the village of Kaapsehoop. Home to the wild horses, this place is also where you will see what is considered to be one of the oldest man-made structures on earth, known as Adam’s Calendar.
- Okay, it’s not all that close to Nelspruit, but it is well-worth the visit. Chrissiesmeer is South Africa’s version of the Lake District and its beautiful attractions make it the perfect getaway.
Jul 29, 2020 | Things to in and around Nelspruit
With schools closed and many people working from home, families have more time to spend time together. Unfortunately, coming up with things to do to make things fun can be tough sometimes. Luckily there are plenty of fun and exciting things to do with your family. The Lowveld and Mpumalanga is packed with activities for the whole family. So to help come up with some fun family activities, Nelspruit Lodge has a list to make that planning a little bit easier.
Sudwala Caves
The Sudwala Caves is the oldest known caves in the world and is found right here in the lowveld. There are plenty of tours that can take visitors into the caves, from 150m deep to 600m deep. The Caves have a wonderful combination of Stalagtites, Stalagmites, fossils and flow stones. Kids will really enjoy the caves as they can explore the insides and let their imagination run wild. The caves are well lit and are very safe for guests to visit as they are not allowed to go deeper than 600m. All tours in the caves are led by an experienced guide.
Graskop Gorge Lift Co.
The Graskop Gorge Lift Co. is the latest instalment of tourism in the beautiful Blyde River Canyon, Part of the Famous Panorama Route. Guests will depart into the last untouched forest in the Lowveld using a state of the art 26 person viewing elevator. Guests will be lowered down the cliff face into the forest below where a network of elevated walkways can be found, providing guests with a wonderful and untamed feeling of nature. Kids and adults alike will love this adventure and is a time for people to let go of the stresses of everyday life.
Kruger National Park
One of the Post visited tourist attractions in Africa, The Kruger National Park is a wildlife conservancy that is home to hundreds of different plant, mammal and bird species. Pack a lunch, bring lots of water and sunscreen and have your camera ready as you depart on a safari through the wild Kruger Park. Plenty of animals can be found on your journey, from antelope, zebra, and giraffe to powerful and intimidating animals like the hippo, elephant, lion and Buffalo. The Kruger Park is also one of the few places where you can encounter a Black / White Rhino. Your first experience in the Kruger will usually stick with you all your life.
Ilanga Mall
Ilanga Mall is one of the most visited places in Nelspruit. The newest mall in Nelspruit comes equipped with plenty of things to do for both adult and child. People can go Ice Skating, watch a movie, or enjoy a delicious lunch/breakfast/dinner at one of the many eateries in the area, while the kiddies enjoy the indoor splash play area. You can enjoy a nice warm cup of coffee at Exclusive Books while reading a book while the kids tire themselves out at the arcade close by. Bowling, bumper cars and a trampoline park all provide fun activities for a family group.
Elephant Sanctuary
When visiting the Kruger National Park or un the area, a perfect stop would be the Elephant Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is home to 2 orphaned African Elephant Bulls named Kitso and Kasper. Guides take guests on guided tours through the sanctuary to give guests a hands on experience with the Elephants. Guests can also go on a private and personal safari of the Sanctuary if they so choose.
Aug 6, 2019 | Things to in and around Nelspruit
The Lowveld is rich in its history and we are fortunate that our guests can enjoy exploring this history while they stay at Nelspruit Lodge.
Alec “Wheelbarrow” Patterson was a loner that earned his nickname Wheelbarrow Patterson because he pushed his belongings around in his wheelbarrow after he sold his donkey because it kicked him. There is not much known about this man as he was secretive and preferred panning for gold on his own.
The story goes that after selling his donkey, he then pushed his wheelbarrow from the Cape to Mac Mac to pan for gold. The overcrowding at Mac Mac did not suite Wheelbarrow Patterson and so one morning he packed his sluice box and panning equipment onto his trusty wheelbarrow and merely informed the locals “I’m off!” before heading into the hills. After surveying the Blyde River Valley from the top of the mountains he saw a small stream coming down the mountain and join with the Blyde River. He also noticed that there were peach trees growing on the banks of the Blyde River possibly germinating after hunters had passed and thrown down the pips. After walking about half way down the stream, Wheelbarrow Patterson put his prospectors pan in the stream and found the tell-tail colour in his pan. Being a solitary man, he quietly kept on panning, not registering a claim.
And such was the beginnings of a town that has become a cultural jewel in Mpumalanga.
His secret was soon revealed when a fellow panning struck gold in the same stream and registered a claim. As the news got out the area was soon flooded by many other gold panning enthusiasts creating the biggest gold rush of the time and on the 22nd of September 1873, Pilgrims Rest was officially proclaimed a gold field. Although most of the gold found in the river was alluvial, gold dust, there were also several nuggets found wedged in the boulders of the streams.
Today, a visit to Pilgrims Rest is not complete if you don’t stop in at the Digging Site which is a well-marked turn off just outside the village. A lot of work has been done here to recreate the atmosphere and look of the area so that it represents what it must have looked like in the 1800s when there area was a hive of panning activity.
Included here is the Gold Commissioners Hut, transport wagon, prison tent, sluice box, water wheel, steam engine and stamp battery. Once you have done a tour of the area you will be given a demonstration on how to go about panning for gold and you may even try your hand at panning for gold yourself. It is said that if you simply do as the river would do and rinse the water over the sand in the pan from left to right, the gold that is heavy will stay in the pan and the lighter deposits will be released back into the river. This process has to then be repeated several times until all you have left in your pan is gold.
When staying at Nelspruit Lodge, you too can experience gold panning, with Pilgrim’s Rest being a short drive away. Book your stay today!
Jun 2, 2019 | Things to in and around Nelspruit
When on holiday or just away for the weekend nobody want to think of illness or accidents. But accidents happen and people do get sick so it’s good to know where to go for the best medical care. Nelspruit has several emergency services centres to choose from, all offering super care. And the town also has a number of ambulance services available.
At Nelspruit Lodge, we have a list of all of Nelspruit’s emergency services and to give you a little more insight into where you can medical assistance when you are new to the town.
Urgent Care
Urgent Care opened its doors in 2014 and is centrally located. It was opened in conjunction with an Urgent Care run ER facility at Medi-Clinic. The idea of Urgent Care is to handle all kinds of non-life threatening illness or injuries. The facility is open between 8h00 am and 8h30 pm every day, and that includes weekend and public holidays. The facility is easily accessible for both patients and emergency vehicles. The medical facility is accessible for young and old, and it caters to patients in wheelchairs. The facility provides the convenience of a pharmacy, x-ray rooms and a laboratory in the same building. The general practitioners at Urgent Care are proficient in handling most cases that are not life-threatening. At this facility, there is no need for appointments.
Nelmed Medi-Cross
Nelmed Group Practice is part of the Medi-Cross Group and offers non-stop medical services. At Nelmed they offer services by appointment and they also assist walk in illness or emergency patients. The doctors at this facility also do not offer life threatening services but are equipped to assist with lacerations, illnesses and fractures. The facility has a pharmacy on the premises, a laboratory, as well as an x-ray department. Nelmed is open seven days a week from 7h00 in the morning to 8h00 at night. They have their own parking area which includes parking for the disabled as well as ambulances. In the same building, there is a dentist, optician, orthopaedic surgeon and ear institute. These facilities are open from Monday to Friday only.
WeCare
WeCare is another modern medical facility in Nelspruit that offers excellent medical services. Their facility is conveniently situated in the Busamed Lowveld Hospital. They established the care centre in 2012. The practice is open 08h00 to 18h00 from Monday to Friday and on Saturdays from 8h00 to 12h00. The patients visiting this facility need to make appointments unless it is an emergency consultation. WeCare has a laboratory and orthotist on the premises and an x-ray department and pharmacy is within walking distance. At WeCare they are capable of taking care of minor lacerations and fractures as well as doing child immunizations. They also offer diabetic management at their facility.
When staying at Nelspruit Lodge, you’ll be treated to the very best accommodation in Nelspruit, while there are shops, restaurants and other exciting things to do within walking distance. Contact us today for more information or to book your stay.
May 5, 2019 | Things to in and around Nelspruit
When staying at Nelspruit Lodge, there is so much to see and do in the area. A trip to the rock garden at Revolve Creek is one such adventure that you should do.
During the late 1960s travellers between Barberton and Kaapmuiden were astounded as they came across a sea of beautifully painted rocks. The owner of this stunning sight was Nukain Mabuza, a farm worker from one of the nearby farms. His origins are a mystery and while the people who knew him said he was a Shangaan or Swazi, it was unknown even to them from where he came.
When Nukain was questioned as to why he painted the rocks, he replied that “his head told him too”. He strictly used yellow, black, white and red paint in his garden. He cleared the veld grass and any other vegetation in a triangular area on the slope and marked it off with small rocks. Like most peoples gardens, he had delineated paths. The area outside his rock garden was full of indigenous plants including aloes and wild dagga. While Mabuza painted all sorts of designs, he never once painted a flower on his rocks.
Over the years many people started to donate paint, but any other colours were used between the road and his fence, not in his garden. He painted mostly spots and stripes but there were also paintings of dogs, rabbits, elephant and birds among his art. This certain style he kept up for many years. He painted rocks and also large embedded boulders on the hillside that surrounded his humble hut. A distinctive boulder at the bottom of his garden was said to be his throne. From this “Throne” like boulder, Mabuza could sit and gaze up at his garden. Mabuza used to tell people his garden was the most beautiful garden in the universe. His hut too was painted in a similar fashion, inside and out. Many articles were written about his art and he kept these clippings on the inside walls of his home.
Two books were written about his life and work, “The Home Of Nukain Mabuza” and “The Painted Stone Garden of Nukain Mabuza”.
Nukain Mabuza’s rock art was a tourist attraction during his life but he was never recognised as an artist. Athol Fugard did, however, make a play about his life, “The Painted Rocks At Revolver Creek” and in 2015 the play enjoyed a highly acclaimed debut season in New York. The play was later done at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town. Like any good story, there is a sad end to this one. Nukain Mabuza was an eccentric man in every aspect. One day in 1981, he dug a hole at the top of his painted mountain and buried himself alive.
His body was removed and today he lies in an unmarked grave in the Barberton Cemetary, identifiable only by a reference number. Like Mozart, his life and brilliance were only recognised after his death and both have ended in paupers graves.
Neglected and forgotten for thirty years, this spectacular garden has faded; it’s peeling and overgrown. Although there are only a few photographic records of the site, attempts to restore it are being made.
When staying at our Nelspruit accommodation, you can visit his rock garden and learn more about this mysterious artist.
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