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Winelands Tour: Cape Town
Big 5 Tour: Mpumalanga
Sunshine Coast Tour: Durban

Mpumulanga and Limpopo provinces

A round trip departing from Johannesburg approximately once every two months. We take in most of the popular tourist sites offered in Mpumalanga before heading back home via Tzaneen and Polokwane (Pietersburg) in the Limpopo Province.

  • Length of Trip: 7 days
  • Days Riding: 6 days
  • Total Mileage: 2 030Km

GAUTENG

This province is the commercial heart of South Africa containing the important cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Despite the urbanisation of the Johannesburg region, there are plenty opportunity for getting back to nature. Game farms, dams lakes and rivers (for watersports and fishing, hiking trails), and picnic spots are plentiful and the Hartebeespoort Dam and Vaal River area are a particularly popular recreational spots.

The province is described as "The Heartbeat of Africa". Johannesburg, known as the "City of Gold" or Egoli, is the commercial powerhouse of South Africa.

Pretoria is about 30 miles north of Johannesburg is the country's administrative capital, is known as the 'Jacaranda City' after the purple-blossomed trees which bloom in such profusion in late September-October, the South African spring time. It is a fascinating melting pot of different culture - South Africa is one city. Outside the city are bushveld game farms as well as more than 100 nature reserves and bird sanctuaries of which the Rietvlei Nature Reserve is the largest

MPUMALANGA

This is one of the premier tourist areas of South Africa offering a variety of tourist routes, each with its own special attractions. An appealing diversity of cultures, featuring some of the most colourful and interesting tribal groupings in the country, is a particular highlight.

Mpumalanga is a sportsman's paradise. There are golf courses in some of the province's most scenic areas. Hang-gliding, micro-lighting and para-gliding are popular and hiking is available throughout the province with the world-renowned Kruger National Park offering guided walks for small groups. Large dams provide the opportunity for watersports whilst dams and streams in the high country attract trout fishermen.

The landscapes of the escarpment are dramatic. The eastern faces of the mountains are particularly steep, plunging hundreds of metres down to the Kruger National Park and Mozambique. The Blyde River Canyon, one of the great natural features of Southern Africa and the third largest canyon in the world, is a majestic, red sandstone gorge whose almost sheer cliff-face plunges nearly a kilometre below. Dominating the gorge are the triple peaks known as the "Three Rondavels".

The Blyde River Botanical Reserve is situated in South Africa’s Blyde River Canyon, which is renowned for its breath-taking beauty, and its towering peaks, broad, fast-flowing rivers and green indigenous forest.

Gold diggers, transport-riders and big game hunters roamed the area and have left behind a fascinating history. The village of Pilgrim's Rest is a national monument where visitors are transported back to the days of the early gold rush of the late 19th century. Other tourist attractions, Barberton, Sabi and the Long Tom Pass gives an intriguing glimpse into a colourful past The area known as the Lowveld is the haunt of big game. West of the Kruger National Park are number of private game reserves, each with its own distinct character.

LIMPOPO

Here is a region of vastness and variety, with a culturally rich and diverse people. The NI from Johannesburg literally splits the province in two, providing tourists with easy access to all areas.

The Southern Region is famous for its many hot spring resorts with the Nylsvlei wetland,  unspoilt mountains and flowing streams of the Waterberg. Wildlife in the game reserves is abundant and the scenery ranges from rolling hills to mighty cliffs of stark red rock.

To the east lies the immense wildlife heritage of the Kruger National Park. By contrast, visitors can breathe in the cool evening air amongst the mountains and rivers of the lowveld. This unhurried and timeless region is known as "The Valley of the Olifants" (Elephants).

In the centre is the vibrant capital city of Polokwane (Pietersburg) - the industrial and commercial heart of the Great North. Here gold was first mined and smelted in the 19th century. The very earliest hominid fossils were discovered close by, in the historic caves of the Makapan Valley.

Sweeping across from the Northwest - and flowing along the northern border - is the Limpopo River Valley, a vast, natural area with cultures that date back to the Iron Age. Here are hilltop fortifications, and San (Bushmen) paintings and cave dwellings unchanged from the ancient past.

To the west lies the real bushveld, almost endless except for the hazy blue of distant mountains. Amongst the tangle of vegetation grow old baobab trees, their branches looking like roots thus creating a striking silhouette against a fiery sunset.

This is a land of legend, ruins and relics. The Venda people are intensely superstitious and place great store in rites and rituals. In the python dance, teenage girls perform a slow, rhythmic dance to the throb of drums. Part of the folklore of the North Sotho people is the legendary Rain Queen, Modjadji, while the Tsonga produce beautiful arts and crafts.