Nelspruit

Nelspruit
eNaspoti
—  City  —
Nelspruit CBD
Nickname(s): eNaspoti
Nelspruit
Coordinates:
Country  South Africa
Province Mpumalanga
District municipality Ehlanzeni
Local municipality Mbombela
Elevation 689 m (2,260 ft)
Population
 • Total over 500,000
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Postal code 1200
Website www.mbombela.gov.za

Nelspruit is a city of more than 500,000 people (2000) situated 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 towns of Nelspruit are Kanyamazane and Pienaar which are tens of kilometres east of Nelspruit. There are many orange farms in the area around Nelspruit. 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.

Contents

History

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. 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 also contain San art.

Name change

In October 2009, the city was officially renamed Mbombela by the South African government,[1][2] the same name as the local municipality of which it is part.The Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism(LCBT) is currently in High court as a result of that decision.According to LCBT members of the public were not consulted before the name change tookplace.The city is still referred as Nelspruit and all road signs still call the city Nelspruit.

Transportation

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. The Nelspruit airport to the South West on the Kaapschehoop road is mainly used by private planes and charter companies. It has its own tower but is controlled from the KMI Airport. Buscor (pty) ltd is the biggest company that give public transport to citizens of Nelspruit inform of buses.This include double buses unlike those ones in England the two parts are not joint by one being on top of the other(double decker) rather by the other one pulling the other(like a train).

Tourism

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. Many people from Mozambique and Swaziland travel to Nelspruit for their monthly grocery shopping. Nelspruit is home to Emnotweni Casino situated on the way to Whiteriver.

Athletics

2010 FIFA World Cup

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

LiGwalagwala FM is the Largest SABC owned and funded radio station in the city and the Mpumalanga Province. Mpower Fm, an independent English commercial radio station [1] broadcasts from Nelspruit to the province of Mpumalanga, and the local Afrikaans radio station called "Radio Laeveld 100.5fm" [2] broadcasts to the Lowveld area also from Nelspruit.

Climate

Nelspruit features a humid subtropical climate with mild winters and warm summers. However, due to the altitude, summers are not quite 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)
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
127
 
29
19
 
 
108
 
29
19
 
 
90
 
28
18
 
 
51
 
27
14
 
 
15
 
25
10
 
 
9
 
23
6
 
 
10
 
23
6
 
 
10
 
25
9
 
 
26
 
27
12
 
 
75
 
27
14
 
 
115
 
27
17
 
 
131
 
28
18
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: SAWS[3]
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[3]

References

  1. ^ Nelspruit becomes Mbombela
  2. ^ http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=92376
  3. ^ a b "Climate data for Nelspruit". South African Weather Service. http://old.weathersa.co.za/Climat/Climstats/NelspruitStats.jsp. Retrieved 7 March 2010. 

External links

Municipalities and communities of Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mpumalanga
District seat: Nelspruit
Local municipalities

Mbombela • Nkomazi • Thaba Chweu • Umjindi • Bushbuckridge
Cities and towns

Nelspruit • Kaapsehoop • Kanyamazane • Hazyview • Matsulu • Mpakeni • Ngodwana • Tekwane • White River
Provincial capital: Nelspruit
District
and local
municipalities