Current Time in Polokwane, South Africa

Polokwane is the capital of Limpopo, the northernmost province of South Africa, standing on the high plateau of the Highveld at around thirteen hundred metres above sea level. The surrounding landscape is open bushveld of thorn trees, aloes and grassland, with the Wolkberg mountains to the east and baobab country beginning further north. The altitude gives the city a pleasant, dry climate, with warm summer afternoons broken by thunderstorms and cool, sunny winter days.

Around one hundred and thirty thousand people live in the city itself, with more than eight hundred thousand in the wider municipality, including the townships and villages of the surrounding district. Polokwane is the commercial, administrative and service hub for a large and largely rural province. Government, retail, health care, education and agriculture form the core of the economy, and the province beyond is rich in platinum, chrome and coal, as well as producing citrus, mangoes, avocados and cattle on a large scale.

The region has been inhabited for many centuries by Northern Sotho or Bapedi communities, whose chiefdoms controlled trade routes running between the interior and the coast. The town was established in 1886 by Voortrekker settlers and named Pietersburg, growing as a farming and administrative centre and later as a garrison during the South African War. Under apartheid it stood at the edge of the Lebowa homeland, and the city was renamed Polokwane in 2005, a Sepedi word usually translated as place of safety. It has expanded considerably since democracy, particularly through investment in government offices, shopping developments and stadium infrastructure.

Visitors can explore the Bakone Malapa open-air museum, where a reconstructed Northern Sotho village demonstrates traditional building, iron smelting, pottery and beadwork alongside ancient rock engravings. The Polokwane Game Reserve on the edge of town holds white rhino, giraffe, zebra and many antelope species within easy reach of the centre, and the bird sanctuary and botanical garden protect a fine collection of indigenous trees and cycads. The art museum has an important collection of contemporary South African work, and the Peter Mokaba Stadium, built for the 2010 football World Cup, hosts major matches.

The city is best known internationally as a gateway. The northern gates of the Kruger National Park, the Waterberg biosphere reserve, the ancient gold-trading kingdom site of Mapungubwe, and the realm of the Modjadji Rain Queen with its forest of giant cycads are all within a few hours by road.

Local culture is dominated by Sepedi language and tradition, with drumming, dance, beadwork and initiation ceremonies still practised, alongside Venda and Tsonga communities and a strong Afrikaans and Indian presence in the city. Food ranges from pap and morogo to braai meats and street vendors selling mopane worms.

The N1 national highway between Johannesburg and Zimbabwe passes through, and an airport, long-distance buses and rail serve the region. The University of Limpopo lies nearby, along with several colleges.

Polokwane is important as the capital of a province rich in wildlife, minerals and living African heritage.