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Hi everybody,

could someone please tell me the meaning of the names Satara and
Skukuza? Also Numbi and Maleane would be very interesting. Thanks!

Satara - is derived from a Indian word meaning "seventeenth". The name was given to a farm, the seventeenth to have been surveyed by a land surveyor and who pitched his camp in this vicinity.

A good way to start a thread

Skukuza, as far as I know, refered to Hamilton, "he who sweeps away".. the real dynamic force behind the Park...

There is the most wonderful and comprehensive thread on Hamilton by glsmit on the forum..

please help me here mods

Mathekenyane, my most favourite place in the Park, means place of the sand flea.......

my daughters have just returned from a trip to the Park.. they showed me the most stunning pictures of Mathekenyane.. and they also showed bite marks of sand fleas.

Col. James Stevenson-Hamilton : 1st Warden of KRUGER PARK

This also has the potential to develop into another very interesting and educational thread:.

NUMBI:= a Siswati word referring to the fruit of the small tree - "um-numbela". The Transvaal milk Plum ( Englerophytum magalismontanum ).

MALELANE:= the name of the Malelane Regiment of King Mswati II ( 1845-1865) who guarded the river against the Bapedi. Later the name of the Railway station in 1891- even later to the Ranger's Post, now a little Rest Camp even later to be developed into hotel site accomodating over 200 visitors.

A few more;

Sabie: = original siSwati word "sabisa", be careful, referring to the slippery rocks. The river originates higher up on the Mpumalanga escarpment and flows over the very slippery kaolinitic clay.

Other old spellings - Sabi, Sabe, Save,Lusaba, Sabana- from the local black languages being Sotho, Tsonga,siSwati and Zulu.

Tshokwane: = named after a Sotho who lived here in the 1800s or even earlier.

Other old spellings - Chokwan, Chokwana, Tjokwane and TSOKWANA.

Pretoriuskop:= named after named after Willem Pretorius a member of the Carel Trichardt expedition, who died in the area and was buried there his grave can be seen on the southern sideof the H1-1.

Fayi := Tsonga meaning "a tall thin person".

Orpen:= named after Mr. and Mrs. J.H.Orpen, a couple who really, really cared for the KRUGER NATIONAL PARK. They donated large pieces of farmland to the SANPARKS to develop and keep in custody for Mother Nature.

Pafuri: = named after the Venda chief Mphaphuli now Pafuri.

Selati: = a Sotho word= "follower" also the name given to the Railaway Line following the border of the . . . . . .Selati River, a tributary of the Olifants River.

Thanks again gmlsmit! It´s always very enlightening to read your posts
and explanations

I hope it´s not impolite but do you also know anything about the words
Letaba, Luvuvhu, Shitlhave or Shipandani

For me as a European thats a very interesting subject!!

Flying Cheetah you are not impolite, you are most welcome, again thanks for the kind words.

Letaba: = Tsonga language - "river of sand"

Luvuvhu := Venda/Tsonga language - muvuvhu - "the tree" referring to the River Bushwillow -( Combretum erythophyllum)

Shithlave = the name of Col. Stevenson Hamilton's first ranger - Sergeant Jafuta Shitlave, Tsonga language - meaning "pain in the side" - as when tired.

Shipandani:= Tsonga language - "from panda", referring to a person who lived there very years ago.

Shingwedzi:= Tsonga language - ngwetse - "the sound of metal objects rubbing against each other", referring to the hard rocks in the area with a very high iron oxide content. Other spellings - Shinwitsi, Shingwidzi, Umtshengwitsi, Xingwedzi, Singwetsi, Singwatsana and Tshingwedzi.

gml, Thanks for all the meanings, if you have (know) more please share them with us mere mortals.

I have few more.

One which I do not have is Balule and that bothers me.

I know the Olifants River was previously named the Balule, I also know there is a place in Zimbabwe named Balule.

Anyone who can shed some light, please do so.

Balule "A shortening of Rimbalule, the Tsonga name for the Olifants River. The meaning of the name has been lost in time."

Source: A Dictionary of Kruger National Park Place Names, by JJ Kloppers and Hans Bornman

This excellent and interesting book should be available in most KNP shops.

You sure Smittie?

Sounds more like a pain in the bum to me

Hi BB.
Absolutely sure.

Another question: Why is Lake Panic called Lake Panic

Lake Panic "So named because of the panic caused when the dam's wall, shortly after completion, threatened to breach after a cloudburst (c1975)."

Source: A Dictionary of Kruger National Park Place Names, by JJ Kloppers and Hans Bornman

This excellent and interesting book should be available in most KNP shops.