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  INFORMATION:
  LOUIS TRICHARDT | LIMPOPO PROVINCE | KRUGER NATIONAL PARK | PHALABORWA |
   

 
CULTURE AND HERITAGE ROUTES
PROVINCE: LIMPOPO PROVINCE
CLOSEST TO: KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
ROUTE: HLANGANANI ROUTE 

Visiting the Kruger National Park?
This is a lovely historical route that will give you a good insight into the lives of the Tsonga people. Include this route when you visit the Kruger National park.

Route Location:
The Hlanganani Route is situated in the northern-most part of South Africa in the Limpopo Province (previously known as Northern Province) on the north-west border of one of Africa's finest parks, the Kruger National Park. It stretches from the Punda Maria gate along the R524 towards Louis Trichardt and then joins the R81 towards Giyani. Winding its way through the Malamulele district and the majority of the villages created when the Kruger National Park was established, the route is five hours drive from Gauteng and two hours drive from Polokwane (Pietersburg).

Story behind the route name:
Hlanganani is a Shangaan/Tsonga word meaning 'get together'. It was the name initially given by the communities living in the area by a committee formed with the help of the Park's Social Ecology Unit to address community safety against animals that breached the Park's fenced perimeter. When the decision to join the African Dream Project was made, this same committee became its Forum and it was agreed 'Hlanganani' was the obvious choice for the name of the Route.

Historical settlements:
The villages adjacent to the Kruger National Park are predominantly inhabited by Tsonga-speaking communities. Villages are often named after the tribe that resides there, for example Mtititi, Mahonisi, Dinga, Mhinga, Mphambo, Xigalo and many more. Many of the communities suffered great spiritual loss when they were forcibly removed from their ancestral burial and sacred sites when these were incorporated into the Park in 1938. Others, like the Makuleke people, were evicted from the Pafuri Triangle as recently as 1968. Fortunately, the Kruger National Park's Social Ecology Unit has, in some instances, succeeded in securing access for these people to visit these sites.

Useful Information: 

Travellers will be exposed to malaria; please consult your doctor about the medication you will need to take before and after leaving the Limpopo Province as well as while holidaying there. 
There are two airports within 90 minutes' drive from the route; one at Polokwane and the other at Phalaborwa. Both are serviced by daily flights from Gauteng.

Contact the route administration
Person: H P Chauke
Tel: +27 (0) +27 (0) 13 735 6872
Fax: +27 (0) +27 (0) 13 735 6894
Cell: +27 (0) +27 (0) 72 349-7429