Limpopo Cities and Towns

Although it is predominantly mining area Steelpoort is not named for the metal mined in the area. The name, in fact, is the Afrikaans for "steal", and it originated during the Voortrekker era, when someone stole two elephant tusks from a hunter named Frans Joubert. It...

The name is said to mean 'better here than in the south', referring to the peaceful existence refugees enjoyed after fleeing from the Swazi and Zulu in the south. This is one of the country's youngest towns (1957) and one where the distinction between summer and...

South Africa's only emerald mine is found at Gravelotte. The Consolidated Murchison Mine is the world's largest producer of antimony, which is used to make alloys tougher. The name can be traced back to the battle of Gravelotte in the Franco-Prussian war (1870- 1871)....

We do not know how it was named 'hat creek'. The rev. Frans Lion Cachet of the Dutch Reformed Church is known to have held a meeting here as early as 1865 and the original farm, also called Hoedspruit, was surveyed in 1890. The South African Air Force maintains an...

'Bushbuck Ridge'. The name refers to the large herds or this antelope, which made the ridge and surrounding countryside their home. The local black people call the place Maviljan. The first trading store was opened in 1884. After the Anglo-Boer War Col. Ludwig von...

Named after the "Officers Colonial Land Company". Kiwi fruit is one of the products of the region.

Giyani, in terms of the policy of apartheid during the 1970s and 1980s, was developed as the capital of the self-governing territory of Gazankulu. The territory is 765 OOOha and is the traditional homeland of about 550 000 Shangaan-Tsonga tribes of South Africa. Gaza...

It is 58km east of Polokwane (Pietersburg). Altitude: 1400m above se-level. Rainfall of 864mm. The village was the centre of the former Woodbush Gold Fields and is named after C F Haenert who was responsible for the start of the gold rush to this area in 1886. On his...

The railway siding round, which the village developed, was first called Modjadji. Later changed to Duiwelskloof ('ravine of the devil'). The most likely origin of the name was that transport riders named it after they had to maneuver their heavily laden ox-wagons up...

Established in 1912 as the capital of this district. There are a number of explanations for the name; for example, that it is derived from dzana, 'dance'; from the 'tsana' shrub; from batsanene, 'people of small villages'. It now appears to be of Sotho origin and is...

Situated 72km north of Louis Trichardt, on the main road from Louis Trichardt to Punda Milia. Altitude 740m, Rainfall 1900mm: The village is named after a Venda chief, Tshivhase (Sibasa is a corrupted form). The burial ground of the Venda royal family is near by. In...

Thohoyandou, meaning 'the head of the elephant' was the capital of Venda and was developed around the previous administrative center, Sibasa. Venda was granted independence in 1979 in terms of the policy of apartheid or 'separate development' and reincorporated into...

The site of a mission established for the descendants of Coenraad de Buys, a rebel vagabond, outlaw and adventurer of the early 19th century who fathered many children with several black women. President Kruger of the Transvaal granted the 'Buys people' land near Mara...

Lies in a gap between the Soutpansberg range and the Blouberg range (Blue Mountain) in the west. The name is believed to be a corruption of the Sotho phefo ('cold wind'), a reference to the wind, which blows through the gap in the mountains all year round. Salt is...

Founded on the farm Berkenrode in 1904. One theory is that the name is said to be derived from Venda 'musina ', "the spoiler", referring to copper, which softened the iron mined there. More probably the name means copper The northernmost town in the country, Musina,...

The name is probably derived from the biblical word meaning 'bitter water' (Exodus 15:23). This is reference to the very bitter water found in the neighbourhood. The nearby Mara experimental farm of the Department of Agriculture is where Professor Bonsma developed the...

Laid out on the farms Bergvliet and Rietvlei named after the Voortrekker leader, Louis Trichardt. The history of Louis Trichardt started at Schoemansdal about 16km further west. Two parties of Voortrekkers, those of Hans van Rensburg and Louis Trichardt reached the...

Established on the farm Sterkloop ('strong creek? in 1884, it was named after Commandant• General Piet Joubert, Acting State President of the ZAR. The current name Polokwane means the place of peace. The capital of the Limpopo Province, it also serves as the...

This town between the Waterberg and Strydpoort mountains traces its beginnings to 1852 when Voortrekker leader Hendrik Potgieter established a town and named it Vredenburg ('town of peace') to commemorate the reconciliation between himself and Andries Pretorius....

The name is a composite of the names of two owners of the farm Waterkloof, Patrick Ellis and Piet Erasmus. It was granted municipal status in 1986. The area is known for its cattle ranches and game farms. Situated in the heart of the Bushveld. Groundnuts and tobacco...

Meaning Greywater situated in the upper reaches of the Mokolo River and on the edge of the real Bushveld. The village boasts one of the charming little churches designed by Sir Herbert Baker. The church of John the Baptist was built by the local Anglican community and...

The name means 'Mountain of iron', The most southwesterly town, lying at the foot of the Ysterberg, owes its existence to the exceptionally rich iron ore discovered in 1919. The red soil bears witness to the enormous treasure in iron. The mine boasts one of the...

The name is derived from that of a local Ndebele chief, nicknamed "Sibitiele". Mookopong (Naboomspruit) is the junction for an 84km railway branch line to Zebediela, reputedly to have been the largest citrus estate in the world, 30km southeast of Mokopane...

It had its beginnings in 1886 when JKG van Zyl settled on the farm Vischgat ('fish hole'). Later it became known as Kaufmann's Store. There were stables and a small trading post here in the days when horse-drawn mail coaches plied between Pretoria and Polokwane...

The name original of the town was chosen by an early group of religious zealots who mistook the north flowing river in the vicinity of the town for the source of the Nile. It had been a good rain year and the river flowed strongly and the vegetation was lush. They had...

Laid out in 1882 on the farms Het Bad, Noodshulp, Roodepoort and Turfbult. The town was proclaimed as Hartingsburg, but renamed Warmbad in 1920, Afrikaans for 'hot bath' The Tswana tribe who lived in the region called the spring "Bela Bela" ('he who boils on his own?....