Nelspruit
Encyclopedia
Nelspruit is a city of more than 500,000 people (2000) situated in northeastern South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
province (formerly Eastern Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
). Located on the Crocodile River
Crocodile River (Mpumalanga)
Crocodile River , also referred to as Crocodile River , . Originates North of Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, South Africa, in the Steenkampsberg Mountains. Downstream of Kwena Dam, the Crocodile River winds through the Schoemanskloof up to Montrose Falls. It flows eastwards past Nelspruit and into the...
, Nelspruit lies about 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) west of the Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
border and 330 kilometres (205.1 mi) east of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. The towns of Nelspruit are Kanyamazane and Pienaar which are tens of kilometres east of Nelspruit. There are many orange farms in the area around Nelspruit. It is a key manufacturing and agricultural hub for northeastern South Africa. Major industries include the canning
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
of citrus fruit, paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
production, furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
manufacture and timbermills. Fertile soils and subtropical climate provide perfect conditions for the growing of citrus and tropical fruits, mainly mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
, avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
and Macadamia nuts.
History
Nelspruit was founded in 1905 by three brothers of the Nel family who grazed their cattle around the site of Nelspruit during the winter months. During the Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, Nelspruit served briefly as the seat of government for the South African Republic
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
(not to be confused with the Republic of South Africa), an independent Boer republic. The leadership of the South African republic included Paul Kruger. Nelspruit and the surrounding area also contain San
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
art.
Name change
In October 2009, the city was officially renamed Mbombela by the South African government, the same name as the local municipality of which it is partMbombela Local Municipality
Mbombela Local Municipality is an administrative area in the Ehlanzeni District of Mpumalanga in South Africa. Mbombela is a siSwati name meaning "a lot of people in a small space".-Towns:*Daantjie*Kaapsehoop*Kabowkeni*Kanyamazane*Hazyview*Matsulu...
.The Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism(LCBT) is currently in High court as a result of that decision.According to LCBT members of the public were not consulted before the name change tookplace.The city is still referred as Nelspruit and all road signs still call the city Nelspruit.
Transportation
The city has two airports, Kruger Mpumalanga International AirportKruger Mpumalanga International Airport
Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport located north east of Nelspruit. It serves travelers to Kruger National Park and there are also scheduled passenger flights to Johannesburg and, less frequently, to other South African cities....
to the north east, and the general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
Nelspruit Airport
Nelspruit Airport
Nelspruit Airport is an airport in Nelspruit, South Africa .Nelspruit Airport is no longer used for scheduled passenger services to Nelspruit, having been replaced by the nearby Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport....
to the south west. Kruger Mpumalanga is used for scheduled flights to Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and, less frequently, to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and other cities. It is also home to the Government Research Institute for Citrus and Subtropical Fruits, and the Lowveld Botanical Gardens. The Nelspruit airport to the South West on the Kaapschehoop road is mainly used by private planes and charter companies. It has its own tower but is controlled from the KMI Airport.
Buscor (pty) ltd is the biggest company that give public transport to citizens of Nelspruit inform of buses.This include double buses unlike those ones in England the two parts are not joint by one being on top of the other(double decker) rather by the other one pulling the other(like a train).
Tourism
Nelspruit is a major stopover point for tourists travelling to the Kruger National ParkKruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers and extends from north to south and from east to west.To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is...
and to Mozambique. Tourists from Mozambique also stimulate the economy of the city significantly. Many people from Mozambique and Swaziland travel to Nelspruit for their monthly grocery shopping. Nelspruit is home to Emnotweni Casino situated on the way to Whiteriver.
2010 FIFA World Cup
A new football stadium was built in Nelspruit for the 2010 FIFA World Cup2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. Finished in November 2009, it was named Mbombela Stadium
Mbombela Stadium
Mbombela Stadium is a newly built, all-seater, 40,929-seat stadium and was one of the ten venues for the FIFA World Cup 2010. It is located on open land six kilometres west of Nelspruit, South Africa, the capital of the Mpumalanga province....
and has a capacity of 45,000. 1.05 billion rand was spent on the construction of the stadium which hosted four 2010 FIFA World Cup matches.
Media
LiGwalagwala FM is the Largest SABC owned and funded radio station in the city and the Mpumalanga Province.Mpower Fm, an independent English commercial radio station http://www.mpowerfm.co.za broadcasts from Nelspruit to the province of Mpumalanga, and the local Afrikaans radio station called "Radio Laeveld 100.5fm" http://www.radiolaeveld.co.za broadcasts to the Lowveld area also from Nelspruit.
Climate
Nelspruit features a humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
with mild winters and warm summers. However, due to the altitude, summers are not quite as hot as one might expect. Summers are warm and somewhat humid, complete with precipitation. Winters in the city are dry, with relatively warm temperatures during the day and chilly temperatures at night.