In 2010, Nelspruit was in the international spotlight as the venue for the FIFA World Cup. It was held in the Mbombela Stadium with 45,000 seating capacity. Over a billion South African Rand was spent on this infrastructure but the investment paid off with the exposure South Africa got from the event.
However, this isn’t all that the people of Nelspruit can be proud of. They have managed over the years to turn this farm town into the capital city. This has however resulted in a steady increase in prices for Nelspruit property.
Some of the annual events the residents love to participate in are:
The Innibos Festival
InniBos Festival is held annually to celebrate South African music. Last year, more than 100,000 people attended the event, many were locals. Some of the activities that take place during the InniBos Festival are the Arts Festival, concert, music, dance, and theater acts, and a shopping experience to drool over. There are hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of items from food to jewelry, clothes and accessories.
The festival is about 10 years old and everyone who can pitches in to help make the festivities more exciting each year. Last year, the Emnotweni Casino played a very active role in staging the Arts Festival. They also were the host of the VIP launch party which welcomes visiting dignitaries and officials, as well as local Nelspruit VIPs and the media.
The Ghost Tour
Nelspruit residents and businessmen have a great sense of humor, and it’s seen in this effort to convert Baberton Valley which is approximately 25 kilometers from Nelspruit into a ghost tour. This was a place where tribes were born and grew like the Swazi, Zulus, and Shangaan. It was also the sight of the infamous gold rush in South Africa.
More importantly, Baberton Valley is famous for having the oldest formations on Earth known to man. This is now where the earliest life forms were found – the first continent. It is being promoted by enterprising business people from Nelspruit because of the macabre chaos and killings that happened long ago in the village, and there are physical evidences of such atrocious murders and deaths.
Lowveld Botanical Gardens
Right outside Nelspruit is the Lowveld Botanical Gardens. Here is where the magical hands of Nelspruit’s residents and the fertile soil creates an amazing abundance of flora and fauna. It gets its water supply from 2 rivers: the Crocodile River and the Nels River which meets right where the gardens are located. Thus, one of the highlights of Lowveld is the thunderous waterfalls. The gardens also have rare plants and a suspended bridge. This is the first man-made rain forest where many endangered species are found like the South Africa fig trees and the Baobab trees.
Sudwala Caves
About 24 kilometers west of the city of Nelspruit are the Sudwala Caves. It is also the point where the Crocodile River plunges 40 feet leading to the caves. The Sudwala Caves, which is near Dinosaur Park, is a wondrous pre-historic stalactites cave, the entire length of which has yet to be explored. During the Boer War, the caves were used to store ammunition because it maintains a steady temperature of 17 degrees Celsius and is well ventilated although no one is quite sure where the air is coming from.