THE Mpumalanga province is perhaps most famous for being home to a large proportion of the Kruger National Park (KNP), but few tourists are aware that it offers a wider range of cultural, sports and soft adventure activities.
Chief executive officer of Mpumalanga Tourism Authority (MTA), Jenny Briedenham, speaking in Johannesburg last week, said tourists needed to be made aware that the province offered "much more than the wildlife experience".
"We're a safe destination and the new international airport at Nelspruit has greatly boosted tourism to the province so it's a wonderful opportunity to let people know what we offer."
Ethnie Cameron, director of Nelspruit-based Going Africa tours which offers cultural tours to the traditional Swazi village of Lupisi, says a lot still needs to be done to educate the community.
"A lot of the locals in Nelspruit are discouraging international tourists from visiting the cultural villages, warning them that they will be murdered if they do." According to her, this couldn't be further from the truth. Local Swazi Chief, Induna Nkosi, is apparently very open to tourists - a fact which was reiterated by Briedenham - and has, in the past, opened up his village for international tour groups, treating them to traditional dancing, traditional food and a visit to the sangomas (witch doctors).
"I have had a lot of requests from tourists wanting to experience real African culture. They yearn for interaction with the people of the country and should not be discouraged by what I can only describe as ignorance."
Going Africa arranges day tours for tourists, picking them up from their hotels in Nelspruit in African minibus taxis and transporting them to Lupisi where they are taken to visit schools, sangoma hospitals and training centres, enjoy a traditional and Western fusion lunch, which is concluded with a visit to the local arts and crafts centre.
As mentioned earlier, tour groups of 20 or more will result in Induna Nkosi coming to a standstill to allow tourists to interact with the locals and participate in various traditional rituals.
(Adéle Mackenzie)
