Phalaborwa

After the excitement of the weekend in the Kruger Park I took it easy on Monday. Asides from tackling the mammoth blog creation I went swimming, chilled out and went horse riding in the bush. Tuesday followed the same pattern except I had a look around Phalaborwa in the morning with Dries.

Phalaborwa was built because of the mines in its vicinity, allowing a place for workers to live nearby. There are mines for copper, iron and phosphates as well as a large company producing fertiliser. The town itself is still pretty small - it only has one high school and the police station is located right next door to the court. However, there is a nice sense of community and it is extremely peaceful here.

This open cast mine is Africa's widest man made hole at 2km wide. Even though we were high up, on the displaced rocks from the mine, we still could not see the bottom of the pit which is a lot further down. 

As well as mining, Phalaborwa focuses on wildlife conservation and tourism for the Kruger Park. It is surrounded by a number of private game reserves and safari lodges for guests to stay just outside the park. There is also the Hans Merensky golf estate on the edge of town. We went to visit and it is a little bit tacky, not as good as it used to be apparently.

Another thing that Phalaborwa proudly boasts is the Kruger Park Gateway Airport. It is in a lovely small building with African and Safari influences throughout. We were able to walk through the whole place in a couple of minutes. Baggage collection is just tucked away in a corner and the passengers waiting area is an open and breezy space complete with sculptures and a fountain. If only all airports could be this lovely!

Tuesday finished with a fairly eventful out ride through the bush, compared to Monday's casual stroll. All three horses were pretty frisky and we had a bit of a job holding them back. To top it off once we settled them into a walk we spotted a Black Mamba, the most poisonous snake in South Africa, meaning we had to retrace our steps for a bit. Not quite the same as hacking in England. 

Today we went to the Olifants River Safari but I think that is a story for another blog post. Needless to say it was a great experience. 

So, until I update you with that trip, it's goodbye for now. 

A x