It’s almost noon, and the swelter tells the rest of the story of Limpopo, South Africa’s tropical province. Just two hours ago, we were departing Johannesburg, a bustling jungle of sky-smooching shiny buildings. That frame has now given way to sweeping savannah views on either side of N1. This well-maintained highway stretches for 2,000km, from Cape Town via Johannesburg to Polokwane, then on to little-known Musina, a border town sandwiched between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Limpopo River.
Flanked by Botswana, Moçambique and Zimbabwe – on three sides of the eponymous river – Limpopo is easily accessible with regular flights and buses between Johannesburg and Polokwane, the provincial capital, and secondary towns. An inter-provincial bullet train project is on the cards. A road trip throws in some memorable sights and is meditative. A guide states that modern-day tarred N1 – the southernmost part of the Cape-to-Cairo route – traces ancient trade routes dating back more than 1,000 years, predating Mansa Mussa by a few centuries. Pitifully, that history page has yet to be included in university and school curricula. Self-erasure, you ask.
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Inside Limpopo
Home to the ancient Mapungubwe, Cradle of Humankind, the planet’s only savannah biosphere reserve, a massive national park (the size of eSwatini), and umpteen waterbodies and ancient rock paintings, Limpopo boasts a year-round summer. Fields of varying sizes, farms sprawling for acres. However, it’s also not rare for grazing livestock here to share roads with their two-legged cousins and four-wheeled beasts. It’s all lush and the country’s breadbasket. This is Eden. Many people exude warmth. Dams and waterfalls are not short on people enjoying themselves. Icons like broadcaster Aletta Motimele, boxer Cassius Baloyi, and Charlotte Maxeke, an intellectual, hail from here. Don’t forget Vakhegula Vakhegula, a grannies’ football club with a path that is nothing but revolutionary.
The sky is a stunning blue this morning. The air, generally crisp and clean, is even cleaner today after the recent rainfall. Sites of ancient history and unparalleled beauty, with birdsong adding a melody to that frame, reign. Such sights, promising memories that will linger long after sunset on the bushveld, awed our forebears who walked here centuries ago searching, as hunters or traders, for a living. As far back as around 1200, the people of Mapungubwe participated in intercontinental trade: some of them exported gold and other commodities to North Africa and beyond, taking in coastal states like Mombasa (founded circa 900).
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History lesson with a side of lions
Yanking us to the present, Limpopo-born youngster and anthropology student Vhuthuhawe Ramuli explains that these days a trip to Mapungubwe is akin to “a history lesson with a side of lions”: that site welds history and wildlife. Tracking the extensive Mapungubwe Heritage Trail, which includes the Sacred Lake Fundudzi, allows us to tread in the footsteps of our ancestors and nourish ourselves with the age-old, natural beauty. Keeping true to their age-old tradition, baobab trees raise their hands in benediction. So significant is the baobab tree that its image graces the province’s number plates. The escarpment, on some days quietly mingling with mist or tired clouds, watches on.
“If you love nature and enjoy great weather, you’ll love Limpopo place: the landscape, the scenery, sweet birdsong,” marvels Nakidde Grace, a Kampala-based entrepreneur. On the downside, visa restrictions between SA and Uganda stifle tourism, business leader Damali Ssali once noted in Monitor, a Kampala paper. As things stand, Nigeria was last year SA’s source of 22,500 holidaymakers out of a total 9 million international arrivals, who in turn contributed a fortune in forex (arts & culture, hotels, shopping, sports, transport, etc.). Still, VFS Global’s prohibitive fees and mistreatment of travellers from Nigeria and Uganda, for two, continue to dampen southbound traffic. Strangely, VFS claims deep commitment to supporting” the development of travel and tourism to and from the continent”.
Visa waivers, exclusion
Further, Pretoria – like Lusaka and, in some ways, Kampala – requires visas from DRC nationals while offering open access to many in the Global North. Malawi’s recent visa waivers exclude the Congolese despite geographic and cultural proximity. The disjuncture is sad. Since when is mobility a commodity?
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Broadly, SA’s inbound traffic is over-reliant on Southern Africa, which in turn accounts for almost two-thirds of the 9-million arrivals. Europe is the source of 1.3 million visitors (14%), and Asia accounts for 3%. This highlights SA’s limited marketing presence in the petrodollar-rich UAE and China, which collectively have 145 million outbound travellers. It’s not too late for today’s leaders to draw inspiration from Mapungubwe, which, many centuries ago, penetrated global markets.
For context, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, Africa attracts 84 million visitors per year, with Nigeria accounting for a relatively small 1.2 million of that, whereas Morocco hosts 17.4 million. That’s double SA’s tally, but the southernmost nation should by now be approaching the 30-million mark, given its numerous advantages: air connectivity, world-class infrastructure, pleasant weather, competitive pricing, visa exemptions for the subcontinent and most of the wealthy West, and a diversity of attractions. Meanwhile, the 2010 soccer jamboree, the globe’s biggest PR campaign, is yet to be capitalised on in any real way.
“There’s so much that makes me want to come back. The experience was breath-taking,” Grace adds, re-tracing her steps to an achingly beautiful Makgobaskloof (also known as Magoebaskloof), a misty town east of Polokwane, reachable via the scenic R71 road, with plantations: tea, pine and kiwi. Marula trees are ubiquitous. The young Ramuli is suitably charmed. “If I showed someone around, I’d take them to Blyde River, Mapungubwe and Magoebaskloof,” she says, then singling the latter for people who “love adventure like zip-lining, or just screaming your lungs out”. She’s blown away by Blyde River, a gem on the edge of Kruger where you might even share a selfie with a cheeky impala!
Majestic views
The sights are awesome from Waterberg to Sekhukhuneland and beyond. That’s what inspired the genius of Moses Tladi, who went on to produce “poignant yet charming” works, as reported by the Mail & Guardian. “His repertoire brings to life panoramic vistas of many sites in Limpopo’s Sekhukhuneland, the Free State and in Magaliesberg (Mogalesberg, actually). The Crown Mines painting is a reminder of why the newspaper Umteteli wa Bantu described him as a “native genius” as soon as his work went public.”
As it’s been for eternity, valleys and glades on one hand, waterfalls and ravines as well as hills and mountains blend delectably in Waterberg reserve as if this frame is from Tladi’s canvas. Majestic views reign. Drawcards abound. It is no wonder that Limpopo is already the most popular destination for the domestic market. Though off the beaten track, Waterberg – a birders’, hikers’ and photographers’ favourite – is wondrous: the landscape gets greener and the temperature warmer in the midst of waterbodies galore. The reserve, larger than Cyprus, Jamaica and Mauritius combined, is a snapshot of the globe.
On the savannah reserve’s eastern frontier sits Tiveka Game Lodge, a hit with travellers seeking luxury and adventure. Launched in 2006, the lodge is now among the bushveld’s most loved leisure spots: offering horse riding, swimming, and traditional meals while the eyes feast on the picturesque green hills. “Some guests fall in love with our game drives and seeing the animals up close. Everyone seems to find their own special experience here,” says founder MD Tiveka Mathumbu. Asked about her favourite way to explore Limpopo, she lists Kruger’s Mopani Camp and, switching to our ancient past, Echo Caves.
Back to the ever-busy N1
Back to the ever-busy N1. Windmills beckon, signalling the presence of homesteads. Some of the northbound trucks ferry cargo from Johannesburg or port cities to regional hubs, such as Lubumbashi and Lusaka. Toyota kombis, Japan’s top export to Africa, ferry the masses. German horses hurtle up and down. Bela Bela, a resort town liked for its hot mineral springs, spools past. In areas known for their notable attractions, busloads of tourists gather to sample curated authenticity, where hotel bosses invite Africans to sing, dance, and sometimes serve beer or offal to guests. That’s not authentic. Anyway, materialising there as we hit the culturally rich Mokopane is the escarpment, known as the Maloti in Sesotho and the Drakensberg in Afrikaans.
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Mokopane, just south of Polokwane, has come a long way. There was a time when its beauty suffered from deep-seated racism. The town’s eponym is King Mugombane, but the Dutch and French descendants called him Makapan, which is why this area is now known as Makapansgat. Sadly, the heritage site here musters a trickle, a function of poor marketing. But, by the time you’re done – especially if your guide is Mariri Peter Molomo, who melds palaeontology, geography, politics and all else with much ease and captivating storytelling skills (in many tongues) – you’d feel you’ve traced the timeline from the 1900s, all the way to the Stone Age and back to the 21st century.
From palaeontology to crystal balls: Limpopo tourism boss Moss Ngobeni predicts annual domestic and global traffic will have grown by a third, to hit 10-million, by December. However, overreliance on wildlife is detrimental to the planet and can hinder sectors such as gastronomy, meetings, and the creative industries. How many of China’s 145 million outbound tourists each year choose Limpopo? Of the 70 million Europeans who holiday abroad, only a small number come to this destination. After all, Limpopo records 500,000 arrivals each year, but a vast majority of those visitors hail from neighbouring Botswana, Malawi, Moçambique and Zimbabwe.
With this year’s G20 summit almost here, will government officials (tourism, arts, economic development, youth, etc.) host, in Limpopo, politicians and captains of industry from Australia, Brazil, China, Denmark, Egypt, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia or Zambia? Like baobab trees with their raised branches, young hospitality graduates are reaching out. So are drivers and restaurant workers. Savannah vistas and gems await discovery: the soul-rejuvenating Magoebaskloof, historic Mapungubwe and Waterberg, a slice of Eden, and, of course, museums, sports, and music events in every other town. Will the leaders bring their G20 guests there? Well, top dogs don’t care. Look at the VFS mess. Look at unrealised job opportunities.
Yet, beyond safaris, Limpopo’s menu is long: magical sunrises, mountain camping, heart-pounding abseiling, magical hot-air ballooning, stargazing, and so on. For Ramuli, the anthropology student, exploring these climes is about immersing oneself in nature and culture. This is the junction of adventure and laughter; it’s the place where the present hangs out with the past.
Shoks Mnisi Mzolo is a roving storyteller with a background in arts & culture and financial journalism. He also works as an independent researcher and is an avid traveller. Bunye Tshikhudo is a budding media producer and visual storyteller, keen on telling stories that empower. Shoks Mnisi Mzolo is a roving storyteller with a background in arts & culture and financial journalism.
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