Mooi River, Natal Midlands

Mooi River is 160km from Durban and 64km from Pietermaritzburg. Mooi River is a farming and textile centre which was originally named Lawrenceville after the Irish farmer who formalised its settlement during the 1800s. Mooi River took its name from the Voortrekker description of its river - "mooi" '(translates as pretty). In Zulu, however, the river is Mpofana, meaning "Place of the Eland".

Some parts of the Mooi river offer excellent boating facilities. The upper reaches are ideal for fly-fishing. Further upstream, the Mooi River Falls are a marvellous site when the river is in flood. Outside the town, the Craigieburn Dam has camping sites and picnic spots. Popular outdoor activities include trout fishing, which can be done in the rivers in the district. The Mooi River Falls are located 25km from the town. Watersport such as boating, canoeing, tubing can be done on the Mooi River.

Mooi River forms part of the popular Midlands Meander self-drive arts and crafts route. Prior arrangements can be made to visit one of the many prestigious racehorse studs and training establishments in the vicinity (The king of the local stud farms is Summerhill which attracts clients from around the world and has won numerous awards. Visits take around an hour). Visit the Weston Agricultural College Museum which houses British military artefacts or the Rhode House Museum, which presents a variety of local historical exhibits depicting formative activities of the area such as polo and dairy farming.