As the year winds down and people have been visiting various destinations, the small town of Hoedspruit, near Kruger National Park in Limpopo, has been attracting wildlife lovers.
Located on the foothills of the majestic Drakensberg Mountains, Hoedspruit is a four-hour drive and an hour’s flight from Johannesburg.
Tourism establishment owners in the area say tourists started coming in their numbers in the middle of December.
“We are busy throughout the year, but when we look at the festive season, or the December month, to be specific, the first two weeks, we find that they are a little bit quiet. As from the 16th of December, our numbers start to get very high, and from the 16th we start to be quite busy. I run the Maholoholo Rehabilitation Centre, which I started 34 years ago. The purpose that I took this opportunity is that I have worked with animals since 40 years ago. The idea for people to come here is to hear about the plight of animals.”
Maruleng Mayor Tsheko Musolwa says among the area’s attractions is safety for visitors.
“The other part that normally makes it easy to visit Hoedspruit is the integration of communities around here and the safe environment that people find themselves in. You may know that in the recent past, Hoedspruit has zero tolerance for crime, and that is done through cooperation with state entities and the communities around. The great number of stakeholders makes it easy to identify that which might be a threat.”
