Barberton Today

The southernmost town of the Lowveld in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a tranquil, picturesque town nestled in the foothills of the Drakensberg range, the Makwonja Mountains.

This extremely panoramic area is fast becoming a favoured destination for adventure tourism, although history and nature lovers are adequately catered for. The tourism industry is underpinned by a wide variety of excellent and reasonably priced accommodation establishments and restaurants.

Barberton today is your destination for:

  • Historical houses
  • Museums
  • Heritage Walk
  • Gold panning
  • Goldmine
  • Underground tours
  • Monuments
  • Botanical variety
  • Scenic Drives
  • 3.5 billion year old geology
  • Umjindi jewellery project

Sports:

  • Horse riding
  • Paragliding
  • Quadbiking
  • 4×4 trails
  • Microlighting
  • Bird watching
  • Hiking trails
  • Sports facilities
  • Golf
  • Tennis
  • Swimming and many more

Annual Sport Events:

  • Jock Marathon
  • Jock Cycle Race
  • Mountain Bike Rally
  • Staffie Rally
  • Paragliding Championships
  • Daisy Golf Tournament

And of all, it is the home of the Barberton Daisy!

Barberton is a very pleasant residential town, offers very reasonably priced houses (which makes it a preferred area to settle in especially for people employed in Nelspruit), set amongst lush tropical gardens.

The town offers residents:

  • Both a provincial and private hospital, doctors, dentists, optometrists and para-medical services, vet clinics, public libraries
  • Magistrate’s Court and legal practitioners
  • Home Affairs office
  • High schools, primary- and nursery schools
  • Churches (over 50 denominations)
  • Sports facilities (including a 9-hole golf course)
  • A variety of clubs and organisations
  • A satisfying shopping variety including 3 major grocery stores
  • A cinema (100 seats)
  • Services sector banks, post office agency, professional services e.g. architects, brokers, etc. harbour department, veterinary services, security companies, petrol stations, etc.

Barberton’s Economy:

  • Gold mining with its supporting industries;
  • Services sector, e.g. a very large Correctional Services with both a Prison Farm and town prison (which featured in Bryce Courtney’s book “The Power of One”);
  • Commercial sector;
  • Forestry and woodworking (Sappi / Lomati woodworking plant is one of the largest in South Africa);
  • Training and upliftment: a lot of emphasis is placed on skills and vocational training of the local population to equip them for both the formal employment sector as well as the development of small, medium and micro enterprises, e.g. Umjindi Jewellery Project.

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