Mpumalanga gets New Park

September 2006 marks the declaration of the 54,000-hectare Blyde River National Park, which will combine the existing Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve with state-owned commercial and indigenous forests on the Drakensberg escarpment in Mpumalanga.

Blyde River National Park will offer accommodation and various tourism activities such as a cableway and a luxury hiking trail. There will also be facilities for various adventure sports.

Blyde River National Park will be home to about 2,000 plant species, which is more than the Kruger National Park. It will also be home to about 335 bird species as well as some rare fish species.