Modjadjiskloof (formerly Duiwelskloof) is a small town situated at the foot of the escarpment in the

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The town is 18 km north of

Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a town situated in the Mopani district 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. It is Limpopo's second largest to ...

. Surveyed in 1919 and proclaimed in 1920, it was administered by a village management board. The

Sunland Baobab Sunland Baobab (also Platland Baobab, Mooketsi Baobab, Tree Bar, Big Baobab or Pub Tree) is a well-known enormous baobab (''Adansonia digitata'') in South Africa. The tree is located on Sunland Farm (Platland Farm), near Modjadjiskloof (previous ...

tree, that was located nearby, lost a large chunk of its main stem early in 2017 and the rest of the tree fell into pieces in April 2017. The town was named in honour of Rain Queen Modjadji, hereditary ruler of the Balobedu people, the indigenous people of the area and at some stage the only ruling queen in South Africa.

Name change

The former name Duiwelskloof, Afrikaans for "Devil's ravine", was possibly given by virtue of the rugged, awe inspiring aspect, or because of the difficulty with which laden wagons trekked through it in the rainy season. Duiwelskloof was renamed Modjadjiskloof on 14 June 2004. Unlike most name changes, Duiwelskloof kept the Afrikaans suffix "-kloof" (meaning valley) in its new name.

References

Populated places in the Greater Letaba Local Municipality 1920 establishments in South Africa {{Limpopo-geo-stub