MPUMALANGA CAMPSITES

More about camping in Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga is the province that converts non-overlanders. The Blyde River Canyon, the Panorama Route, the escarpment drop from highveld to lowveld - this is some of the most dramatic scenery in southern Africa, and most of it is accessible without a highly modified vehicle. The views from God's Window and Bourke's Luck Potholes are genuinely world-class, but the better camping is found by leaving the tourist circuit and heading onto the gravel roads that run between the escarpment farms. The lowveld, east of the escarpment, is Kruger country - hot, flat bushveld with summer rainfall and a malaria risk that requires planning. The private reserves along Kruger's western boundary offer bush camping with serious game: lion, leopard, wild dog, the works. North of the Blyde, the terrain gets quieter and the crowds thin out. The Abel Erasmus Pass and the R36 through the Strijdom Tunnel connects you to Tzaneen and Limpopo's world. South of Nelspruit, the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains hold some of the oldest exposed rock formations on earth - mostly visited by geologists, almost never by overlanders, and completely worth detouring for. Mpumalanga rewards people who get off the Panorama Route.