“The Great North” or South Africa’s northernmost province of Limpopo, justifies its nickname with some of the most magnificently scenic and contrasting terrain you’ll see throughout the country.

An outwardly ancient-looking landscape whittled by time, winds and water has formed a sensational topography of kopjes (granite rock hills) rising abruptly from its valleys, riverines, canyons, tumbling waterfalls, striking ridges and rolling hills.

Within easy reach of Johannesburg, lying to the west of the Drakensburg Mountains Escarpment which runs all the way from the Eastern Cape to Mpumalanga, Limpopo also borders Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to the north and is therefore also seen as the gateway to the rest of Africa. What’s more, fertile lands have made this province the agricultural centre of the country, earning it a second moniker as ‘South Africa’s Food Basket’.

Limpopo’s landscapes have beguiled many a traveller with its network of national parks and reserves (almost 3.6 million hectares of protected land), including the Waterburg and Marakele, offering up boundless activities, adventure thrills and some of the best horse riding safaris in the country.

When to go

Temperatures do vary in this region from summer to winter: 23°C-34°C (73°F-93°F) from October to April and 3°C-17°C (37°F-63°F) from May to September. However any time of year is good, depending on the sort of experience you are after.

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
 
May
 
Jun
 
Jul
 
Aug
 
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

What to do

  • Game drives and safaris
  • Horse riding
  • Caving
  • Hot air balooning
  • Rock climbing
  • Golf
  • Kayaking, fishing, white water rafting