Komatipoort is a small, quiet town within the Lowveld situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in the Mpumalanga province. The name Komati originated from the Komati River which was originally named the Nkomazi River which in native Swazi means ‘the river cows’. The name poort (mountain pass) is named after the confluence point where the Crocodile River and Komati River meet, on the western slopes of the Lebombo Mountains, which form a natural barrier between South Africa and Mozambique. The river flows through the Lebombo Mountains into Mozambique.
Marketed as ‘more than just a stopover’, Komatipoort is essentially a quaint little, railway, customs centre and border post town. It lies just eight kilometres from the Crocodile Bridge Gate at the Kruger National Park, three kilometres from the Lebombo border post in Mozambique and only 65 kilometres from the Swaziland border, making day trips to each of these places incredibly easy.
The town of Komatipoort is also known for the Nkomati Accord - a nonaggression treaty signed in 1984 between the Mozambican government and the apartheid government of the Republic of South Africa. Its focus, on the one hand, to prevent Mozambique from supplying material to the ANC (African National Congress) and on the other hand to stop South Africa from supplying Renamo (Mozambican National Resistance).
With one of the most perfect winter climates the country has to offer averaging 24 °C, and hot balmy summers, known to have reached temperatures in excess of 40°C, the local farmers produce some of the most delicious subtropical fruits here.
The town also has access to local wildlife, golf, tiger fishing in the Komati River and elephant back safaris that make a trip here more than worthwhile.
- Wildlife
- Gold
- Fishing
- Elephant safaris
In the 1890s Komatipoort was a wild and boisterous construction camp for the railway being built from Lourenco Marques (modern Maputo). The area was zoned ‘fever country’ due to the malaria epidemic.
Komatipoort was the last stop in South Africa on the Pretoria to Delagoa Bay (Mozambique) railway line, constructed by the Netherlands South African Railway Company (NZASM). The first train travelling from Pretoria to Delgoa Bay crossed the border at Komatipoort on 1 July 1891 after the completion of the railway bridge over the Komati River.
Between 1900 and 1902 during the Anglo Boer War, the town was used as a base by Major F Von Steinaecker and his group known as 'Steinaecker's Horse'. They were a bunch of mercenaries and bushwhackers and were recruited by the British in order to fight Boer guerrillas in the bushveld.
