Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the
Crocodile and
Komati River
The Komati River, also known as the Inkomati River or Incomati River (in Mozambique, from Portuguese Rio Incomati), is a river in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by the Crocodile R ...
s in
Mpumalanga province,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. The town is 8 km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the
Kruger Park, and just 5 km from the
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
border and 65 km from the
Eswatini border.
It is a small, quiet town within the Lowveld with some attractive tree-lined streets. It is one of the hottest towns in South Africa where temperatures can reach almost 48 °C ( on 12 December 1944) in the height of summer, but also with a perfect winter climate around .
History
'Komati' also takes its name from
Khoekhoe
Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also '' Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 May 2018. Citing G. S. ...
, one of RSA First languages and once the wealthiest cattle owners on this land, 'koma' meaning cows and 'ti' meaning my.
'Komati' takes its name from the
Komati River
The Komati River, also known as the Inkomati River or Incomati River (in Mozambique, from Portuguese Rio Incomati), is a river in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by the Crocodile R ...
whose original native
Swazi Swazi may refer to:
* Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa
* Swazi language
* Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked coun ...
name is Nkomazi, translated as "river of cows". It is where the Crocodile and Komati Rivers meet to flow through the 'Poort' (mountain pass) through the
Lebombo Mountains
The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...
into Mozambique.
In the 1890s Komatipoort was a wild and uproarious construction camp for the railway being built from Lourenco Marques (modern
Maputo). Conditions weren't the best with the area gripped by a malaria epidemic; it was in the zone called 'fever country'.
Komatipoort was the last stop in the
South African Republic (ZAR) Pretoria - Delagoa Bay Line constructed by the
Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM) with the first train crossing the border at Komatipoort from the ZAR to
Portuguese East Africa
Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...
on 1 July 1891 after the completion of the rail 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.
Near Komatipoort is the site where the former Mozambique's President
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel (29 September 1933 – 19 October 1986) was a Mozambican military commander and political leader. A socialist in the tradition of Marxism–Leninism, he served as the first President of Mozambique from the country's ...
died in a plane crash at Mbuzini village in the Lebombo mountain, the natural barrier between South Africa and Mozambique. At the site of the accident stands the
Samora Machel Monument
The Samora Machel Monument in Mbuzini, near Komatipoort in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, marks the spot where the plane carrying the then-President of Mozambique crashed in 1986. It resulted in the deaths of President Machel and s ...
.
The
Nkomati Accord was signed in Komatipoort in 1984.
Infrastructure
This city has a railway station for the loading and unloading of passengers and cargo on the
Pretoria–Maputo railway.
[Mozambique Logistics Infrastructure: Mozambique Railway Assessment](_blank)
Atlassian Confluence. 10 de dezembro de 2018.
The town is the site of a
dry port
A dry port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.
In addition to their role in ...
.
See also
*
Railway stations in Mozambique
Railway stations in Mozambique include:
Towns served by railways
(The lines do not all connect, or connect indirectly)
Northern system
(northernmost) (CDN) (from west to east)
* Nayuchi - Malawi - border town.
* Malema - way station
** R ...
References
External links
Unofficial Town Portal
Populated places in the Nkomazi Local Municipality
Mozambique–South Africa border crossings
Komati River
1874 establishments in Africa
{{Mpumalanga-geo-stub