Phalaborwa South Africa - Oakfield Properties cc Real Estate

PHALABORWA SOUTH AFRICA

"The town with two summers"

To give the aspiring property buyer some perspective of the town of Phalaborwa it is situated right next to the famous Kruger National Park in Limpopo Province in the north-east of South Africa.

In fact the town has an access gate to the KNP, as well as the Kruger Gateway Airport, uniquely designed with African motifs and thatching to act as a welcome for the many toursts who visit the town and the national park. The town is also linked to main centres west and south via a network of fairly well maintained modern tarmac roads. Goods traffic is transported by rail to ports and main local destinations

As you will see below Limpopo Province is steeped with exotic places to visit, relating to local wild life as well as the African culture and history. Phalaborwa was originally a mining town (and still is to a lesser degree). Palabora Mining Company (copper), Foskor Ltd (phosphates) and Sasol Nitro (fertiliser plant) are the mainstay of the local economy, although all three have downsized over the last 10 years, due mainly to Palabora Mining Company's huge copper open pit being closed and a smaller underground operation taking its place.

In view of this local business leaders and interested parties have been promoting Phalaborwa as a tourist destination for some years. The proximity to the Kruger Park, surrounding area game lodges, game farms, the famous Hans Merensky Golf Estate right in Phalaborwa, as well as other tourist sights within an hour's drive of town have made this a thrilling challenge.

The local property market is buoyant following the sale some years back of 99% of mine owned housing to employees and private enterprise. This has encouraged the influx of national and international real estate brokering firms, and of course has had spin-offs for local home-brewed realtors such as Oakfield Properties CC, which was registered in 1993.

Now is the time to buy in Phalaborwa, whether it is a holiday home, permanent home, or investment. The market is only just waking up one could say, after being a mine-owned town for so long. Fortunately the mines were established in a beautiful sub-tropical corner of South Africa, which is rapidly becoming a stand-alone paradise.

Yes, it is pretty warm in summer (October - April). That's why the homes here have airconditioning and what a pleasure to own a swimming pool as well.

Phalaborwa is called "The town with two summers". From May to September there are glorious blue skies and cooler weather. The gardens show off bougainvillea, frangipani, pointsettia and other sub-tropical blossoms. You can grow orange, lemon, paw paw, nartjie, mango and avocado pear trees in your back garden.

Limpopo Province
This province is bordered by Botswana and Zimbabwe to the North and Mozambique to the east, and contains a large section of the Kruger National Park (see the Mpumalanga section). This northern section is generally drier and has far fewer tourists than the southern section but still has excellent game viewing.

Access is via the copper-mining and tourist town of Phalaborwa, which has some interesting prehistoric sites, or Hoedspruit, home of the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and Cheetah Project. Just west of the park, the Letaba area is a lush green farming district with excellent walking, riding and bird-watching amongst the tea plantations and Magoeboeskloof Mountains.

To the north of Letaba, near the Zimbabwe border, are Venda and Gazankulu, largely rural peasant communities with a reputation for arts and crafts. The mystical South African artist Jackson Hlungwane, who has pieces of his remarkable sculpture in South African and European galleries, is based here. This is also the home of the Rain Queen, said to have been Rider Haggards inspiration for She, and the Modjadji Forest, the world’s largest collection of cycads (50-million-year-old palms).

In the west, the Waterberg mountains and the Soutpansberg provide excellent opportunities for hiking, riding and nature watching, and there are several private game ranches in the area.
In the far south, near the Gauteng border, Warmbaths unsurprisingly contains warm mineral springs. In the centre of the province are Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg), the provincial capital, notable for the Bakone Malapa Museum, and Potgietersrus, an attractive old Afrikaner town, with a rare breeds breeding centre.

For more information on Phalaborwa please go to

http://www.phalaborwa.org.za/information.htm