Travel guide: Komatipoort, South Africa (KOF)

Komatipoort is the small Mpumalanga border town in South Africa's far east that punches far above its size for travellers: it sits twelve kilometres from Kruger National Park's Crocodile Bridge Gate and five kilometres from the Lebombo border post into Mozambique, making it the natural hinge between a Kruger safari and a Maputo beach leg.

## Where Komatipoort fits

The town lies at the base of the Lebombo Mountains where the Crocodile and Komati rivers meet. Its two assets define it: Crocodile Bridge Gate, the most easterly Kruger entrance, is about twelve to thirteen kilometres away, with the game-rich southern section of the park beyond it and Skukuza some seventy-seven kilometres further on. In the other direction, the Lebombo border post into Mozambique is five kilometres from town, with Maputo about a hundred kilometres beyond on a good road that needs no four-wheel drive.

## Kruger from Komatipoort

Crocodile Bridge is celebrated for its concentration of game in the park's southeastern corner, including strong lion and rhino country, and the gate's proximity means you can sleep in Komatipoort and be inside Kruger at opening time. The town works well as a supply stop too: it is the last major stock-up before the park or the border, with fuel, supermarkets, and lodging.

## Crossing to Mozambique and tips

The Komatipoort to Lebombo crossing is the standard route for combining Kruger with Maputo and southern Mozambique's beaches, and border infrastructure has improved in recent years. Carry passports, vehicle papers, and any required insurance for Mozambique, and check current border hours before you travel. The classic itinerary is safari mornings at Crocodile Bridge, then across the border for Indian Ocean seafood by evening, a pairing few border towns anywhere can match. Trains once made the town a railway junction on the Maputo line, and its position at the meeting of the two rivers still defines the easy, low-lying bushveld feel that makes an overnight stop here comfortable in every season.