Nelspruit

Nelspruit eNaspoti
Mbombela
Nelspruit CBD
Nelspruit
Nelspruit  Nelspruit shown within South Africa
Coordinates: 25°27′57″S 30°59′07″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Mpumalanga
District	Ehlanzeni
Municipality	Mbombela
Area
• Total	46.47 km2 (17.94 sq mi)
Elevation	689 m (2,260 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	21,540
• Density	Bad rounding here460/km2 (Bad rounding here1,200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2001)
• Black African	23.6%
• Coloured	6.8%
• Indian/Asian	5.5%
• White	64.1%
First languages (2001)
• 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 /ˈnɛlspreɪt/ – officially renamed Mbombela /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.

History

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

In October 2009, the city was officially renamed Mbombela by the South African government, 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

Nelspruit is home to the Agricultural Research Council's Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops and the Lowveld Botanical Gardens.

Transport

Road

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

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

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

Alkmaar Raceway

The Alkmaar Raceway is a motocross track which hosted the South African Motocross Grand Prix, part of the world championship series, in 2008.

Mbombela Stadium

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

Broadcasting

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, and the Afrikaans local community radio station called "Radio Laeveld 100.5fm" broadcasts to the Lowveld area from Nelspruit.

Climate

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.

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

External links

• Mbombela Local Municipality
• Nelspruit travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Ehlanzeni District Municipality