Phalaborwa (translated to English as ''better than the south; phala'' means ''better than and borwa'' means ''south'') is a town in the Mopani District Municipality,
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...
province,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. It is located near the confluence of the Ga-Selati River and the Olifants, halfway up along the western border of the
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from ea ...
in the Lowveld.
Name
The name "Ba-Phalaborwa", given to the area by the Sotho tribes who moved here from the south, means "better than the south". The Sotho mined and smelted copper and iron ore here as far back as 400 AD. Masorini, near Phalaborwa gate, is a reconstructed Ba-Phalaborwa hill village, with huts, grain storage areas, and an iron smelting site.
Surrounding townships
There are two townships,
Namakgale
Namakgale is a large township lying 12 km outside Phalaborwa in Mopani District in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Its nearest neighbouring townships are Lulekani, Makhushane, Maseke and Mashishimale on the R71 road to Gravelotte (G ...
and
Lulekani
Lulekani (nicknamed Lukcity) is a township 13 km outside Phalaborwa in Mopani District Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Lulekani is close to Kruger National Park Border and has two main shopping centers, mainlLulekani Spa ...
where the Pedi and Tsonga reside, and rural areas such as Mashishimale, Humulani, Kurhula (Matshama Hi Nkano), Ben Farm (Majeje), Makushane and Ga-Maseke.Ga-selwane.majeje 3 and prieska
Mining
Phalaborwa began as a mining town and still is home to Palabora Mining. The massive open pit mine, nearly 2,000 meters across, is Africa's widest manmade hole.
Tourism
Tourism and wildlife play a dominant role in the life of this town. It is the only town in South Africa that borders the Kruger National Park, the Mozambiquan border is only two hours drive away. Lately, with the incorporation of various private game reserves into the conservancy area, Phalaborwa is all but enclaved by nature conservancies. The Hans Merensky Golf Estate is situated on the outskirts of the town.
Nearby natural attractions are
Blyde River Canyon
The Blyde River Canyon is a 26km long Canyon located in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is the one of the larger canyons on Earth but much smaller than those of Asia, the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon. Unlike the Grand and Fish River Canyo ...
,
the Three Rondavels
Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (or Motlatse Canyon Provincial Nature Reserve) is situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of the Ohri ...
Tzaneen
Tzaneen () is a large tropical garden town situated in the Mopani District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region ...
fruit farms and Hoedspruit game farms can all be visited within a day.
Transport
Air
Phalaborwa Airport
Phalaborwa Airport is an airport serving Phalaborwa, a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It was previously known as Hendrik van Eck Airport, named after the South African engineer and industrialist who died in 1970. The airport bord ...
is a commercial airport serving the town.
Notable people
*
Tshepo Mangena
Tshepo Mangena (born 7 March 1983) was a South African cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler and wicket-keeper who played for Limpopo. He was born in Phalaborwa in a location called Namakgale.
Mangena's first ...
: cricketer
*
*
Rivoningo Mhlari
Rivoningo Mhlari (born 28 July 1994) is a South African businessman and co-founder of Rikatec (Pty) Limited.
The company creates an information management system for vehicles that provides real-time predictive maintenance
Predictive mainte ...
: businessman
*
Dale Steyn
Dale Willem Steyn (; born 27 June 1983) is a South African former professional cricketer who played for the South African Cricket Team. He is often regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time and the best Test bowler of his generat ...
: South African cricketer
*
Daniel Mminele
Daniel Mminele (born 1965) was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Absa Group Limited, a financial services conglomerate, with headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, and subsidiaries in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, ...
: South African banker and corporate executive
*
Ryan Coetzee
Ryan Nicolas Coetzee (born 8 January 1973) is a South African politician and political strategist, who served as special adviser to Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Nick Clegg and was the 2015 General Election Director of Strategy at ...
: Swimmer who won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
*
Ethy Mbhalati
Ethy Mbhalati (born 18 November 1981) is a South African first-class cricketer. He was included in the Easterns cricket team squad for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup.Moca: Musician
Climate
This area, also known as the Valley of the Olifants, has the highest winter temperatures in South Africa. The rainfall is low and the average winter temperatures range from 9 °C to 26 °C. During summer the average temperatures vary from 20 °C to 33 °C with occasional heavy rainfall. The highest recorded temperature was 50 °C in December 2018."Bing Weather", accessed 6 June 2014