About Witbank (eMalahleni)
Witbank, in the Highveld Region of Mpumalanga, is at the heart of the South African Coal Mining Industry. Quality coal seams have led to the establishment of more than 22 collieries in the municipal district. In addition, with the supply of coal nearby, there are a number of power stations attracting industries that depend on heavy electricity usage.
The surrounding farming areas are fast being bought up as this area is seen as an investment destination where international companies such as Anglo American, Evraz, BHP Billiton, Eskom, Exxaro, Joy, Komatsu, the Renova Group, SAB-Miller, SAMANCOR, Shanduka Beverages, Xstrata and Zenith Inc have all claimed a stake.
As a result of this extensive development, Witbank has increased its population from 60,000 to over 300,000 in the last 10 years with the increased job opportunities and financial stability on offer.
Witbank, which is now also known as eMalahleni, has had to develop businesses that support the heavy industry as well as put in place an infrastructure to cope with all the residents. As a result, there has been a bonanza in real estate development.
There is a bustling community of superb coffee shops, cultural villages, farm stalls, competition golf courses and nature reserves.
A casino complex provides two hotels, cinemas, ten-pin bowling and restaurants as well as the traditional gambling facilities. The Highveld Mall is built immediately next to the casino and is a retail hub for locals as well as for many residents of towns in the vicinity.
Schooling opportunities are also abundant in eMalahleni, with such institutions as Kragbon Laerskool, Malomo Primary School, Witbank Technical, Curro Private School, Itireleng Primary School and Tshwane University of Technology catering for all educational tiers and ages.
Two national highways, the N4 from Pretoria and the N12 from Johannesburg, converge at Witbank and then continue to Komatipoort, on the border of Mozambique.
Witbank is a central point on the route from Gauteng to the Kruger National Park, a fact which has seen the emergence of a cottage tourism industry to capture the traffic of commuters to the park.
Apart from a few hotels, there are many guest houses. These vary from the utilitarian to the luxurious, and also cater for many of the business travellers visiting Witbank as well as those travelling to Nelspruit, Swaziland and Mozambique.
GoPro Moments Witbank
Arts & Culture
Witbank is the home of the Arts in the Mpumalanga Province, and the leading facility with variety of functions annually ranging from the Presidential Dinners, Corporate exhibitions, weddings and big theatrical musicals such as the Lion of the East by Mbongeni Ngema. The Cultural Centre is a Section 21 Company of the municipality Known as the Emalahleni Civic Theatre Association which was established in 1984. The Cultural Centre was established with the objective of developing and promoting Arts and Culture in the region.
It is situated in the heart of Emalahleni business centre with easy access from the Pretoria and Johannesburg main routes leading to the East of the Country. With its comprehensive facilities the City Hall, Civic theatre and the Banquet Hall can accommodate a variety of functions and presentations. All our venues boost with very well maintained pianos. The venues can be booked during working hours @ 013 690 6334.
The Cultural Centre has a full staff compliment to make sure productions and functions run smoothly. For example; the stage manager, lighting technician, sound technician and ushers. We do have in-house utility workers for keeping the venues clean and the care-taker to make sure the venues are open and closed for clients.
Getting Here
Witbank is situated on top of the hills in cosmos fields approximately 110km (70 miles) east of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Neighbouring city to Middelburg which is another 25km (16 miles) east toward Nelspruit.
Driving from either Johannesburg or Pretoria’s side, visitors can come and enjoy the day in Witbank with a scenic experience through town and surrounding areas.
History
Click here to read about the history of Witbank
Climate
Like the rest of South Africa, the weather in Witbank is humid and hot. Average rainfall in a year is 533 mm and rain comes during the summer months peaking during the months of November to January. It is coldest usually in the month of July when the temperature drops to 17 degrees Celsius during the day and much colder at night.
What to Do
Witbank boasts plenty of recreation to suit all preferences and bustles with fantastic coffee shops, inviting farm stalls and fascinating cultural villages selling arts and crafts.
The area is home to the the largest municipal dam in the southern hemisphere and boasts a catchment area of more than 3 540 square kilometres!
This magnificent dam is ideal for numerous exciting water sports such as skiing, windsurfing and fishing. Relax and watch the vibrant bird life in the area or enjoy a hike on one of the many beautiful hiking trails. As you sip on refreshing drinks and sail down the waters one can also enjoy some game viewing.
Witbank also offers opportunities to go parasailing, golfing, scenic hiking and skydiving.
The Witbank Skydiving Club is one of the better-known clubs catering for this form of recreation and has been in existence for 30 years. Witbank is also the home town of the paintball team Ghost Hunters, which are regarded as the country’s top military simulation paintball team.
For the visitor, Witbank offers a surprising diversity of attractions both in the surrounding area with its natural beauty and in the city itself. Witbank Nature Reserve is a critical conservationist centre for the threatened Rocky Highveld Grassland – at one time one of the best examples of grassland on earth, today still an ecological treasure of bird and plant life. Bird species maintained in the nature reserve include a recently spotted pair of Fish Eagle, Black Eagle, Osprey and Caspian Tern. Game viewing is also excellent, with springbok, blesbok, eland, zebra, grey reedbok and black wildebeest, kudu and impala.
Witbank also contains a number of golfing facilities such as the Middelburg Golf Course, a full sized 18-hole professional level green that has hosted several national championships, and the Graceland Golf Course in Secunda which was designed by Gary Player, and makes creative use of the landscape with a dynamic and challenging variety of obstacles.
Parasailing, scenic hiking and adrenaline pumping 4×4 trails are also on offer and when you want to take a break, Witbank is near to the popular Kruger National Park where excellent game viewing of the Big 5 can be enjoyed.
