Letsitele is a small farming town in the huge and magnificent Letsitele Valley, in the hot, fertile Lowveld area of the Limpopo called the Valley of the Olifants. The farms in the Letsitele Valley are mostly given over to citrus groves and other tropical fruits such as avocados, mangoes, paw paws, bananas and macadamia nuts, and vegetables, and the Letsitele Valley is one of South Africa’s major export areas.
The area is irrigated by the Great Letaba River and the Letsitele River, a tributary of the Letaba, and many small dams which also offer good bass fishing.
There are many Big 5 Game Reserves with safari lodge, tented camp and camping accommodation options in Lowveld area, and the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve is only a half hour way from Letitsele. The area also abounds with farm guest houses and activities such as horse riding, and the views to the often misty and heavily forested Drakensberg escarpment above Tzaneen add an extra dimension to this lovely part of South Africa.
Tragically, some of the farms in the Letitsele Valley have ‘fallen fallow’ due to mismanagement, so you will see the odd derelict building, red eroded soils and wild bushveld areas that were once thriving fruit groves, but the Valley still produces massive amounts of export produce for SA, bounding back as it has before from the occasional flooding of the Letaba River and other misfortunes.
The Letitsele Valley is well worth a visit, and look out for farms stalls with fresh farm produce and African arts and crafts.
Getting there: Take the R71 south from Tzaneen.
