Mbombela (Nelspruit)

Mbombela, known as Nelspruit until 2009, is a city in the Mpumalanga Lowveld. It sits on the Crocodile River among citrus and macadamia farms, and the N4 between Pretoria and Maputo runs past it. Few people come for the city itself. They come because it has an airport, car hire, big supermarkets and banks, and the southern gates of Kruger are about an hour’s drive away. It is a sensible place for a first or last night of a safari trip.

Getting there

Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport is about 25 km north-east of town and has flights from Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, with several car hire desks in the terminal. By road it is about 360 km from Johannesburg, most of it on the N4, which also links it to Pretoria. The Mozambique border at Komatipoort is roughly 110 km east. City to City and Citiliner run coaches to Pretoria, Johannesburg and Maputo, and Shosholoza Meyl has had a train service to Johannesburg, though check it is running before relying on it.

When to go

The climate is subtropical: summers are hot and humid, winters mild and dry. June to August is the low season for malaria in the Lowveld, when mosquitoes are fewer.

What to do

The best thing in Mbombela itself is the Lowveld National Botanical Garden, 154 hectares beside the Crocodile River. Two rivers, the Crocodile and the Nels, run through it and tumble over falls before joining, and there are lookouts over both. Look out too for the cycads and the raised boardwalk through a stretch of African rainforest.

Kruger’s Malelane Gate is 66 km down the N4, roughly an hour away. It is one of the park’s busier entrances, so allow for a wait at the boom.

The Sudwala Caves are a short drive away. They were hollowed out about 240 million years ago in dolomite laid down far earlier. The standard tour lasts an hour. The chamber everyone remembers is the Miriam Makeba Hall, 70 m across and a steady 17°C all year. Once a month a five-hour Crystal Tour covers about 2 km of passages.

Mbombela Stadium, built for the 2010 World Cup, seats about 43,500.

Good to know

The town was founded in 1895 by the Nel family and took the name Mbombela in 2009. In Siswati it means a lot of people in a small space. Wikivoyage advises against walking around after dark and suggests keeping car doors locked. Malaria is endemic in the Lowveld, including Kruger, but Wits University’s guidance excludes Nelspruit and White River themselves from the risk area. If you are going on into the park, take advice on prophylaxis, especially from October to May.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, SANBI (Lowveld National Botanical Garden), Wikipedia (Sudwala Caves), Africa Safari Trips, University of the Witwatersrand (malaria information), SA-Venues (malaria risk areas).