Sitting in the lush, fertile valley of the Crocodile River, and with a very agreeable climate, scenic beauty and heaps of sunshine, the capital of Mpumalanga is a thriving tourist spot in its own right. However, for years Nelspruit has been a stopover point for people traveling to other destinations.

Renamed Mbombela, it sits plumb in the centre of the route between Zimbabwe and KwaZulu-Natal, it connects Gauteng and Mozambique, add in its proximity to Swaziland and you begin to see how it is a springboard to a host of tourist destinations. Hire a car from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport and within an hour you can be at the Kruger National Park, Kaapsehoop or the Sudwala Caves.

Forty kilometers from the airport is Numbi Gate and your access to the Kruger National Park, the world’s biggest game reserve and the star of South Africa’s tourist circuit. Visit the nearby eccentric town of Kaapsehoop, with its rolling green hills and herds of wild horses and endangered blue swallows. The Sudwala Caves are a major attraction in the area, and at 3 000 million years old, they’re considered the largest and oldest dolomite caves in the world. They are weird and wonderful and have amazing acoustics.

Attractions in Nelspruit include the popular Botanical Garden, which boasts the world’s first man-made rain forest, and a large collection of rare plants. There are two rivers that converge in the garden to create an impressive waterfall. Because this town is blessed with such good weather, outdoor activities are a major part of life. Play a round of bush golf on the lush Nelspruit Golf Course or go hiking on any of the nature trails in the vicinity. To keep the kids entertained head to the Dinosaur Park, where they can stand below knee-height of life-size replicas of dinosaurs.

Business is booming in Nelspruit, and if you spend some time exploring this beautiful laidback town, you will soon see why it is the very heartbeat of the Lowveld.