| Phalaborwa | |
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| A sign in Phalaporwa | |
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Phalaborwa
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Limpopo |
| Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) |
Phalaborwa is a town (131,000 inhabitants) situated in the Mopani district, halfway up along the length of the Kruger National Park in the Limpopo province in South Africa. The Lowveld, also known as Valley of the Olifants, has the highest winter temperatures in South Africa. The rainfall is low and the average winter temperatures range from 10.9 to 25.2 °C. During summer the average temperatures vary from 20 to 47 °C with occasional heavy rainfall.
Originally a mining town (and still home to the Palabora Mining Company), it has developed over the years into a tourist attraction. PMC's open cast mine is Africa's widest man-made hole at almost 2,000 meters wide.[1] Tourism and wildlife play a dominant role in the life of this town. It is the only town in South Africa that borders the Kruger National Park, the Mozambiquan border is only two hours away. The Hans Merensky Golf Estate is situated on the edge of town.
Blyde River Canyon, the Rondavels, God's Window and Bourke Luck’s Potholes, the Tzaneen and Hoedspruit attractions can be visited during the day.
The name "Ba-Phalaborwa", given to the area by the Sotho tribes who moved here from the south, means better than the south. The Sotho mined and smelted copper and iron ore here as far back as 400 AD. Masorini, near Phalaborwa gate, is a reconstructed Ba-Phalaborwa hill village, with huts, grain storage areas, and an iron, smelting site.
There are two townships, Namakgale and Lulekani where the Pedi and Tsonga reside, and rural areas such as Mashishimale, Makushane and Ga-Maseke. It also the birth place of the babirwa baga malema who presently reside in the eastern part of Botswana. South African cricketer Dale Steyn hails from this town.