Travel from Johannesburg to Messina and Zimbabwe

JOHANNESBURG – MESSINA - ZIMBABWE ON N1

Distance: 520 kilometers
Time: 5 hours 15 minutes

The N1 north from Johannesburg and Pretoria is The Great North Road to Messina and the Beit Bridge borderpost with Zimbabwe, a continuation of the Cape to Cairo road.

Not far from the city limits are two distinctly different attractions in the Mabopane region – the Mabhoko Ndebele Cultural Village and the Morula Sun Casino. An interesting excursion as you leave the suburbs of Pretoria is the Tswaing Crater Museum, popularly known as the Pretoria Saltpan or Zoutpan Crater. This 2 000-hectare site, 40km north-west of Pretoria off the Hammanskraal road, represents one of the youngest and best preserved, small, bowl-shaped meteorite impact craters in the world. Back on the N1 you soon enter the province of the Baobab tree – Limpopo . The hot mineral springs of Bela-Bela (formerly Warmbaths ) are just 100km from Pretoria. The town lies west off the N1 along the R516 that continues to the bushveld town of Thabazimbi via Leeupoort – both great game-viewing and 4X4 areas. Elephant and rhino are found in the nearby Marakele National Park.

Rejoin the N1 to travel across the Springbok Flats to the genuine bushveld of Modimolle (formerly Nylstroom ), just off the N1 , where water birds thrive in the Nylsvley Nature Reserve. Further along the R33 is the town of Vaalwater where the collective 'Waterberg' area starts. Its name originates from the many streams and springs which flow from the Sand River Mountains, the Hoekberg, the Swaershoek Mountains and the Moepel Range. This is an ideal environment for wildlife with many game and nature reserves offering Big Five game-viewing.

Mookgophong (formerly Naboomspruit ) after the ubiquitous naboom or Euphorbia tree species), some 175km along Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg ) and the principal town of the Capricorn Region. The board marking the Tropic of Capricorn can be seen just after the village of Mphakane west of the N1. Visit the Bakone Malapa Northern Sotho open-air museum just outside Polokwane.

Polokwane is the gateway to the Limpopo section of the Kruger National Park and a beautiful detour along the R71 will charm you starting with the beauty of the Magoebaskloof area - the Land of the Silver Mists, indigenous forests and fly-fishing - and its village of Haenertsburg. Continue travelling along the Wolkberg Mountains through this Valley of the Olifants to the town of Tzaneen where the fascinating lifestyle of the Shangaan/Tsonga people can be experienced at the Tsonga Kraal Museum in the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve. The village of Gravelotte along the R71 is just 50km from Phalaborwa and the entry gate to the Kruger National Park. The area is famous for the African Marula tree and Amarula Cream Liqueur. The 18-hole golf course at the Hans Merensky Country Club, where the fairways border the Kruger National Park, is an experience not to be missed. Hoedspruit and the Blyde River Canyon lie south of Phalaborwa and are well worth the trip – the former for its many rehabilitation and game breeding centres and the latter for its awe-inspiring and majestic 26km-long gorge sculpted through the canyon by the Blyde River.the N1 from Pretoria , has a number of mineral baths. Agriculture, mining and archaeology all feature in Mokopane (formerly Potgietersrus ) and Makapans Valley, where bones of apemen who sheltered in the caves more than 3-million years ago were found, is fascinating. The N11 junction is at Mokopane and leads north-west to the Botswana borderpost of Martin's Drift .

Continuing along the N1 north, your journey takes you past the Ben Lavin Nature Reserve towards the densely forested Soutpansberg Mountains at the town of Louis Trichardt). The spirit and traditions of the Venda people is palpable in this very beautiful wilderness where Bushmen preceded them and left examples of their art at the Lajuma and Medika rock art sites. To the north-east lies Thohoyandou, the proud heart of the vhaVenda people. The N1 continues its ascent of the mountains through the Hangklip Forest (great birdwatching) before descending into vast plains where the baobab and mopane trees reign supreme. Copper or ‘musina' worked by the tribes near the Zimbabwe border was responsible for the naming of the most-northerly town in South Africa, Musina (formerly Messina). Apart from the wealth of game and cattle here, there is also the Venetia Diamond mine and the Vhembe Dongola National Park which houses the astonishing archaeological heritage site of Mapungubwe, dating back to around 1200 AD.

Suggested stop or stretch towns on the N1: Mabopane, Bela-Bela/Warmbaths, Modimolle/Nylstroom, Mookgophong/Naboomspruit, Polokwane/Pietersburg, Makhado/Louis Trichardt and Musina/Messina.

Suggested stop or stretch towns on the R516: Thabazimbi and Leeupoort

Suggested stop or stretch towns on the R 33: Vaalwater and the Waterberg area.

Suggested stop or stretch towns on the R71: Magoebaskloof area, Tzaneen, Phalaborwa, Hoedspruit (R40)

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