| Nelspruit eNaspoti |
|
|---|---|
| Mbombela | |
 |
|
 Nelspruit
|
|
Nelspruit
Nelspruit shown within South Africa |
|
| Coordinates: 25°27′57″S 30°59′07″E / 25.46583°S 30.98528°ECoordinates: 25°27′57″S 30°59′07″E / 25.46583°S 30.98528°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Mpumalanga |
| District | Ehlanzeni |
| Municipality | Mbombela |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 46.47 km2 (17.94 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 689 m (2,260 ft) |
| Population (2001)[1] | |
| • Total | 21,540 |
| • Density | 460/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2001)[1] | |
| • Black African | 23.6% |
| • Coloured | 6.8% |
| • Indian/Asian | 5.5% |
| • White | 64.1% |
| First languages (2001)[1] | |
| • Afrikaans | 47.5% |
| • English | 30.1% |
| • Swazi | 11.3% |
| • Zulu | 2.4% |
| • Other | 8.7% |
| Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 1200 |
| Website | www.mbombela.gov.za |
Nelspruit (pron.: /ˈnɛlspreɪt/) – officially renamed Mbombela (pron.: /ˈmbɒmbɛlʌ/) – is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province (formerly Eastern Transvaal). Located on the Crocodile River, Nelspruit lies about 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the Mozambique border and 330 kilometres (210 mi) east of Johannesburg. The townships of Nelspruit are Kanyamazane and Matsulu which are tens of kilometres east of Nelspruit. There are many orange farms in the area. It is a key manufacturing and agricultural hub for northeastern South Africa. Major industries include the canning of citrus fruit, paper production, furniture manufacture and timber mills. Fertile soils and subtropical climate provide perfect conditions for the growing of citrus and tropical fruits, mainly mango, banana, avocado and macadamia nuts.
Contents |
History [edit]
Nelspruit was founded in 1895 by three brothers of the Nel family who grazed their cattle around the site of Nelspruit during the winter months. During the Boer War, Nelspruit served briefly as the seat of government for the South African Republic (not to be confused with the Republic of South Africa), an independent Boer republic. The leadership of the South African Republic included Paul Kruger.
Nelspruit and the surrounding area contain San art.
Name change [edit]
 |
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. (July 2012) |
In October 2009, the city was officially renamed Mbombela by the South African government,[2][3] the same name as the local municipality of which it is part. The Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (LCBT) approached the High Court as a result of this name change. According to LCBT, members of the public were not consulted before the name change took place. The city is still referred to as Nelspruit, and all road signs indicate the city as Nelspruit.
Industry [edit]
Nelspruit is home to the Agricultural Research Council's Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops and the Lowveld Botanical Gardens.
Transport [edit]
Road [edit]
Nelspruit is on the Maputo Corridor, a major trade route linking Johannesburg to Maputo in Mozambique which, with the Trans-Kalahari Corridor, forms a transport trunk that crosses the entire sub-continent from Walvis Bay in Namibia on the Atlantic Ocean to Maputo on the Indian Ocean.
Buscor (Pty) Ltd is the largest bus operator in Nelspruit. Their fleet include articulated vehicles capable of transporting larger numbers of passengers at peak times.
Airports [edit]
The city has two airports: Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport to the northeast and the general aviation Nelspruit Airport to the southwest. Kruger Mpumalanga is used for scheduled flights to Johannesburg and, less frequently, to Cape Town and other cities. The Nelspruit Airport on the Kaapschehoop road is mainly used by private and charter flights. It has its own tower but is controlled from the KMI Airport.
Tourism [edit]
Nelspruit is a major stopover point for tourists travelling to Kruger National Park and to Mozambique. Tourists from Mozambique stimulate the economy of the city significantly. Many people from Mozambique and Swaziland travel to Nelspruit for their monthly grocery shopping. Nelspruit is home to Emnotweni Casino on the way to White River.
Sport [edit]
Alkmaar Raceway [edit]
The Alkmaar Raceway is a motocross track which hosted the South African Motocross Grand Prix, part of the world championship series, in 2008.[4]
Mbombela Stadium [edit]
A football stadium was constructed in Nelspruit for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Finished in November 2009, it was named Mbombela Stadium and has a capacity of 45,000. 1.05 billion rand was spent on the construction of the stadium, which hosted four 2010 FIFA World Cup matches.
Media [edit]
Broadcasting [edit]
LiGwalagwala FM is the largest SABC-owned radio station in the city and the Mpumalanga Province. It is a public broadcaster which primarily broadcasts in the Swazi language.
MPower Fm is an independent commercial radio station broadcasting in English from studios in Nelspruit and eMalahleni to the province of Mpumalanga,[5] and the Afrikaans local community radio station called "Radio Laeveld 100.5fm" broadcasts to the Lowveld area from Nelspruit.[6]
Climate [edit]
Nelspruit features a humid subtropical climate with mild winters and warm summers. Due to the altitude, summers are not as hot as one might expect. Summers are warm and somewhat humid, complete with precipitation. Winters in the city are dry, with relatively warm temperatures during the day and chilly temperatures at night.
| Nelspruit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate chart (explanation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Climate data for Mbombela (Nelspruit) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40 (104) |
39 (102) |
38 (100) |
36 (97) |
35 (95) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
35 (95) |
38 (100) |
40 (104) |
38 (100) |
38 (100) |
40 (104) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29 (84) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
27 (81) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
25 (77) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
28 (82) |
27 (81) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 19 (66) |
19 (66) |
18 (64) |
14 (57) |
10 (50) |
6 (43) |
6 (43) |
9 (48) |
12 (54) |
14 (57) |
17 (63) |
18 (64) |
13 (55) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11 (52) |
11 (52) |
10 (50) |
5 (41) |
2 (36) |
−2 (28) |
−1 (30) |
−1 (30) |
2 (36) |
5 (41) |
10 (50) |
10 (50) |
−2 (28) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 127 (5) |
108 (4.25) |
90 (3.54) |
51 (2.01) |
15 (0.59) |
9 (0.35) |
10 (0.39) |
10 (0.39) |
26 (1.02) |
75 (2.95) |
115 (4.53) |
131 (5.16) |
767 (30.2) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 14 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 100 |
| Source: South African Weather Service[7] | |||||||||||||
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d "Main Place Nelspruit". Census 2001.
- ^ Nelspruit becomes Mbombela
- ^ http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=92376
- ^ http://www.motocrossmx1.com/?type=News&newsID=295&title=Rattray and Searle build on MX2 Championship lead while Cairoli faces bad luck&nextNews=316&subsite=27
- ^ http://www.mpowerfm.co.za
- ^ http://www.radiolaeveld.co.za
- ^ a b "Climate data for Nelspruit". South African Weather Service. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
External links [edit]
- Mbombela Local Municipality
Nelspruit travel guide from Wikivoyage- Ehlanzeni District Municipality
|
||||||||||||||
.svg)
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||
A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia.
