After a hop, skip, and a short jump, residents of Limpopo will be on the seashore.
That locals will soon be able to step out onto the stunning beaches that rival the coastal cities of Cape Town or Durban without the long trek is not a function of the fact that Limpopo has a growing number of millionaires.
Recently, Limpopo signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Xhai Xhai, Gaza, Mozambique, for access to their beaches via the Kruger National Park (KNP) route, also known as “Bush to the Beaches”.
The agreement is part of a plan to reposition Limpopo as it seeks to attract more tourists, create more job opportunities for locals and grow the provincial economy.
Head of communications at the Limpopo Tourism Agency, Mike Taueatsoala, said the agency has set itself an ambitious goal to wrest the top tourist destination nationally from Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
“The two provinces are well-positioned as tourist attraction centres because they have oceans at their disposal, while Gauteng boasts several world-class hotels, museums and some modern sports facilities, well-known attractions for both domestic and international tourists. We in Limpopo boast of cultural diversity, the national parks, and the world’s heritage sites and museums. It is for this reason that we are now investing in what we have as part of our drive to redirect tourists into our province, and our agreement with Xhai Xhai is one of the key points to achieve our mandate,” said Taueatsoala during the recent Limpopo Winter Campaign at the Mopani Rest Camp in the KNP, 150 km from Xhai Xhai.
Taueatsoala added that “the Bush to Beach will not only reduce the long distance from Limpopo to Mozambique via Nelspruit, but will also offer an alternative route for Limpopo citizens to the sea by road while viewing animals in the KNP free of charge. This will provide travellers with the best of both worlds – spending a few days in one of Southern Africa’s most revered game parks before reaching the pristine beaches of Mozambique through the Great Limpopo Transfrontier”.
Besides this agreement, Taueatsoala said three more MOUs have been signed with Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“As you might know, Limpopo is surrounded by Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, with Zambia close to our province via the neighbouring Zimbabwe, which shares the greater Victoria Falls via the Zambezi River. This is why we will take advantage of our two Transfrontiers of Mapungubwe, which border the three countries, to build a strong relationship with them and increase our tourist numbers.
According to Taueatsoala, both Limpopo Transfrontiers stretch to 35 000km and are intended to link Limpopo with Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
