Thohoyandou, Soutpansberg

The former capital of the independent homeland, Thohoyandou, meaning ‘head of the elephant’ in tshiVenda, lies south of Venda on the main road between Louis Trichardt and the Kruger National Park.

Today the predominantly black community serves as the commercial, administrative and legislative centre of the district - a bustling hive of activity with fruit markets, street vendors, a lively atmosphere and a fair number of students who attend the University of Venda. This is the land of lush vegetation, coffee and tea plantations, acres of sub-tropical fruit, tobacco and maize fields with neat little rural villages that litter the landscape, their homes made in a time-old tradition that involve low encircling decorated walls. Names of local attractions that easily roll off the tongues of locals captivate visitors, as does the charm of the various activities. The royal Dzata Ruins of the Vha-Venda kings date back to 1400 AD, Tshimbubfe is an archaeological site that boasts iron furnaces dating back to 1250 AD, and the Thathe Vondo forest is a glorious forest within which lies the Thathe Vondo tea estates, the Sacred Forest, Mahovhohvho Falls, the Makumbani dam and Lake Fundudzi.

Big Tree, one of the only easily pronounceable local attractions, is the biggest baobab in the country located near the Sagole Spa in the north of Thohoyandou that features a natural hot spring. The tree is over 3 000 years old with a girth of 43 metres. But if all you’re after is somewhere to cool off, then the Levubu Tree Park, set in the gardens of the Dutch Reformed Church in Levubu near Thohoyandou, is probably all you’ll manage.