Nelspruit is a city of 221,474 people (2000) situated in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province (formerly Eastern Transvaal). Located on the Crocodile River (known as the Krokodil in Afrikaans), Nelspruit lies about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the Mozambique border and 330 kilometres (205 miles) east of Johannesburg. The nearest township is KaNyamazane, a few kilometres east of Nelspruit.
Nelspruit was founded in 1905 by three brothers of the Nel family who grazed their cattle around the site of Nelspruit during the winter months. 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 timbermills. Fertile soils and subtropical climate provide perfect conditions for the growing of citrus and tropical fruits, mainly mango, banana, avocado and Macadamia nuts. There are many orange farms in the area around Nelspruit.
The city has two airports, Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport to the north east, and the general aviation Nelspruit Airport to the south west. Kruger Mpumalanga is used for scheduled flights to Johannesburg and, less frequently, to Cape Town and other cities. It is also home to the Government Research Institute for Citrus and Subtropical Fruits, and the Lowveld Botanical Gardens.
Nelspruit is a major stopover point for tourists travelling to the Kruger National Park and to Mozambique. Tourists from Mozambique also stimulate the economy of the city significantly.
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.
Nelspruit has planned a new soccer stadium for the 2010 Football World Cup. Its name is Mbombela Stadium and will have a capacity of 40,000. |
