Waterberg - place in Limpopo, South Africa

Waterberg is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa, covering the rural western part of the province. The seat of Waterberg is Modimolle.

Cities

• Bela-Bela — it was called Warmbaths, until 2002, because of the geothermic hot springs around which the town was built. It is also the location of a famous cable-ski.
• Northam — home to the South African music festival Oppikoppi, which attracts hundreds of artists and thousands of fans every year in August.
• Lephalale (Ellisras) — west of the Mogol River in the distinctive bushveld landscape of the foothills of the Waterberg Range lies the busy town of Lephalale.
• Modimolle (Nylstroom) — the commercial centre of the Waterberg plateau, Modimolle is a popular local tourist destination given its attractive surrounding and excellent facilities.
• Vaalwater — surrounded by game farms and nature reserves, it is an excellent eco-destination.

Other destinations

• Marakele National Park — a park is dominated by the Waterberg mountains with lush bushveld in the lower regions of the park

Understand

The district is divided into six local municipalities: Bela Bela, Lephalale, Modimolle, Mookgophong, Mogalakwena, and Thabazimbi. The majority of its 750,000 people speak Sepedi, also known as Northern Sotho.

The municipality contains much of the Waterberg Biosphere, a UNESCO designated Biosphere Reserve. The Waterberg Biosphere is a massif of approximately 6,540 km². Waterberg is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and butte landform. The ecosystem can be characterised as a dry deciduous forest or Bushveld. Within the Waterberg there are archaeological finds dating to the Stone Age, and nearby are early evolutionary finds related to the origin of humans.

Tourist information

• Waterberg District Municipality Tourism Office: +27 14 718 3381

  • Bela Bela: +27 14 736 4328

  • Lephalale: +27 14 762 1416

  • Mookgophong: +27 14 743 1716

  • Mogalakwena: +27 15 491 9740

  • Modimolle: +27 14 717 1818

  • Thabazimbi: +27 14 777 1525

Get in

The main entry roads to Waterberg are N1 and R101 from Gauteng, N11 from Sekhukhune, and R159 and R133 from North West Province.

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