Badplaas

Badplaas, also known as eManzana and eBhadini (native Swati) is a small town on the R38 road in eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. It was established in 1876 on the Seekoeispruit, in the foothills of the Dlomodlomo Mountains (meaning "place of much thunder"),[2] at the site of a sulphur spring that delivers ±30,000 litres of hot water (at ±50 °C) per hour. Multiple sulphur springs are found around the area, including the one situated at Mkhingoma on the Mkhomazana river.

Badplaas eBhadini eManzana
The main swimming pool at Badplaas
Badplaas Show map of Mpumalanga Badplaas Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 25°57′14″S 30°34′00″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Mpumalanga
District	Gert Sibande
Municipality	Albert Luthuli
• Councillor	(ANC)
Area [1]
• Total	37.97 km^2 (14.66 sq mi)
Elevation	1,110 m (3,640 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	582
• Density	15/km^2 (40/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	62.5%
• Coloured	2.1%
• Indian/Asian	3.3%
• White	31.1%
• Other	1.0%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Swazi	40.0%
• Afrikaans	31.7%
• English	12.8%
• Zulu	5.3%
• Other	10.2%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	1190
PO box	1190
Area code	017

History

Swazi tribesmen were the first to discover the spring and called it "eManzana", which means "healing waters".[3] It has been said that in about 1876 the Swazi chief presented this spring, in gratitude, to a hunter, Jacob de Clerq, who subsequently built a store nearby and developed the spring to allow for visitors’ use due to its believed medicinal properties.

Recreation

The spring became very popular when gold was discovered in the De Kaap Valley (near Barberton). Prospectors would visit there on weekends to get away from their strenuous work of digging for gold. On 6 November 1893, the government claimed the springs to develop a health resort for public use in perpetuity.[3] It was proclaimed in December 1947.[3] The Protea Group managed this Aventura Resort for a time, but the resort has now been purchased by the Forever Resorts Group.[4]

References

1. "Main Place Badplaas". Census 2011.
2. "Badplaas (description)". TravelGround. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
3. Raper, Peter E.; Moller, Lucie A.; du Plessis, Theodorus L. (2014). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. p. 1412. ISBN 9781868425501.
4. "Welcome to Badplaas". Badplaas official website. Retrieved 22 October 2015.