Phalaborwa
Phalaborwa Gate, about 630 kilometres from Johannesburg, is found at the northern border of the Kruger National Park. The vegetation near Phalaborwa consists of dense mopani forests, bush willows and acacias. The Phalaborwa Gate is the kingdom of elephants. The majority of elephants are found near Phalaborwa Gate. The bush is characterised by rocky granite out crags that jut out of the otherwise uninterrupted plains of small shrubs and mopani woodlands. Along the drainage lines, where the water is more prevalent, sweeter grasses grow in greater abundance, offering the best game-viewing area. The Sable waterhole is where you will be able to spot many of the grazing animals such as the elusive sable antelope.
Visit the Masorini Cultural Village for a fascinating look at a typical traditional African way of life, with the Vudogwa Mountain as a backdrop. Masorini village is a restored cultural village with rustic huts and herdsmen haunting the plains, with many a story to relate to travellers. Within the village find the living descendants of the Baphalaborwa. Discover the remnants of an intricate society of smelters and forgers of iron, with smelters living in the lower village and the forgers living on a step above the smelters. Find also the remnants of a smeltering furnace dating back to the 1800s. Various artefacts dating back to the stone age are also found within the village. The distant Shikumbu Hill was where the chieftain of this ancient settlement once lived. The sweeping migration of the Zulus brought an end to this fascinating settlement near Phalaborwa.
