Hoedspruit travel guide

Hoedspruit is Afrikaans for ‘hat creek’, and the place acquired its name when, after a long trek over the mountains into the heat of the Lowveld, one of the Voortrekkers removed his hat, threw it into the cool waters of the Sandspruit River and decided to stay. Today, the town has barely expanded beyond its string of shops, banks and petrol station, and remains a sleepy outpost surrounded by game-rich country, loomed over by the Drakensberg escarpment. At the very south of Limpopo in the Lowveld region, Hoedspruit is close to both the private game reserves around Kruger , and the Panorama region of Mpumalanga . There is little of interest to keep you in town itself; the main attractions and accommodation options are along the R531 towards Blyde River Canyon.