History of Ellisras/Lephalale
Ellisras now known as Lephalale is a coal mining town in the Limpopo province of South Africa, situated north of the Waterberg Massif just 60km from the Botswana border point of Stockpoort. The town was established as Ellisras in 1960 and named after the original farm owners, Patrick Ellis and Piet Erasmus. In 2002, Ellisras was renamed to Lephalale after the main river that crosses the municipality. The town is divided into three main subsections namely: Lephalale, Onverwacht and Marapong.
The name Ellisras comes from a combination of the surnames of Patric Ellis and Piet Erasmus who settled in the 1930’s on the farm Waterkloof 502 LQ. Since the opening of the main route between Vaalwater and Stockpoort during 1929 a railway bus stop developed on the farm together with schools, churches and shops. The population of the town totals about 105 000 of which 19 500 is urban based.
The economy of Lephalale is dominated by mining, electricity production, tourism and agriculture and game farming.
The town is rich in coal which is mined by Exxaro at the Grootegeluk coal mine, which in turn is the largest open cast coal mine together with beneficiation plants of its kind in the world.
Grootegeluk Coal Mine
Electricity is produced by Eskom’s Matimba Power Station (Matimba is the Tsonga word for POWER), and it is designed to generate 4000MW. Matimba is also the largest direct dry-cooled power station in the world.
Matimba Power Station
Eskom has also commissioned the building of a new power station called Medupi which will have a capacity of between 4 200MW and 4 500MW by the time its last unit is commissioned in January 2015.
Other major future projects include: Projected Sasol Plant, Mabula Coal Project in Botswana
Lephalale also offers excellent game-viewing opportunities which include: Waterbuck, White Rhino, Giraffe, Zebra, Eland, Nyala, Leopard, Brown Hyena and smaller cat species. Hunting and sports tourism are also amongst some of the activities.
The natural beauty of the Waterberg, together with the spectacular sunsets and abundance of game, compose an ideal holiday destination. The absence of malaria is an added bonus for tourists and the Golf enthusiasts will find a championship 18-hole golf course where the Marula Amateur Golf Tournament takes place every year in July to indulge themselves in.
Come and visit Lephalale for a little piece of Bushveld Heaven.
Lephalale – Heartbeat of the Waterberg Bushveld
DIRECTIONS TO LEPHALALE (ELLISRAS)
FROM PRETORIA VIA MODIMOLLE (NYLSTROOM)
• From Pretoria take the N1 to Polokwane (previously known as Pietersburg).
• At the Kranskop Toll Plaza take the left hand lane towards Modimolle (previously known as Nylstroom).
• Proceed through the Toll Plaza.
• At the T-junction, turn left towards Modimolle (+/-10km).
• Proceed through Modimolle towards Vaalwater (+/-70km).
• Proceed through Vaalwater and at the Total garage on your left, turn right towards Lephalale on the R33 (+/-90km).
• At the T-junction, turn right towards Lephalale on the R510.
• Past the Palm Hotel on your left hand side
• You are now in Lephalale (previously known as Ellisras)
OR Tambo International - 290km
