One area that must be seen by anyone visiting South Africa is the Kruger National Park and the adjacent Lowveld. This area borders the northernmost reaches of the Drakensberg range of mountains, and it is here that the Highveld drops dramatically down almost shear cliffs to the lowveld. The Kruger National Park stretches from the border with Zimbabwe in the north to the Swaziland border in the south. The park is bordered in the east by Mozambique and is between 100 and 150 kilometres wide. Altogether there are nearly 150 mammalian species and more than 500 bird species. The park is certainly the most important game reserve in the whole of southern Africa, and is soon to be made even more important when it is joined with parks in Zimbabwe and Mozambique to form a giant cross-border park.

Outside the park to the south is an agricultural region that produces a large proportion of South Africa’s tropical fruits. The early San people lived in these regions, and there are many remains of ancient paintings to be found in caves in the area. The capital of this area is Nelspruit, a now booming town that was once a quiet small town with just a businessman’s hotel. Nelspruit is the perfect base for visits to the Kruger National Park, Barberton, Pilgrim’s Rest, Sabie and Maputo. In the extreme south of the area is the Badplaas (Bathplace) where a Swazi chief once made a gift of a hot sulphur spring to a white trader. The town is now well known for its hot sulphur mineral baths. In the same area is Barberton, named after Barber’s reef – a rich gold reef in previous days.