Sudwala Caves
About 37 km north-west of Nelspruit in Mpumalanga South Africa, in the Mankelekele Mountains, are the Sudwala Caves. These Caves are believed to have been formed 3,000 million years ago, making them amongst the oldest system of caves in the world. They are 30 km long but accessibility is limited to about 600 meters.
In prehistoric times the caves were used as a shelter, probably due to the unexplained steady flow of fresh air in the caves, and were used as a sanctuary by the Swazi prince Somquba, and his supporters, who discovered them while escaping from his brother Mswati in the 19th century. When Somquba was unexpectedly killed the survivors of his group remained living in the caves under the leadership of the headman Sudwala which consequently became the name of the caves.
In 1900 at the time of the second Boer War, the caves were used as ammunition storage places by the Boers. There is also a notion that the caves could be the hiding place of the legendary “Kruger Millions” that mysteriously disappeared during President Paul Kruger’s flight from Pretoria to Lourenco Marques
In 1965 the farm Sudwalaskraal where the caves are situated was purchased by Phillipus Rudolf Own and he began developing the caves as a tourist attraction. Inside the caves, there are stalactites and stalagmites as well as stromatolites which are fossilized remains of algae called collenia.
The Sudwala Caves are an unbelievably magnificent assortment of huge chambers dominated by the immense dolomite chamber, 70 meters in diameter, named “The Owen Hall” after the farm owner. This chamber is regarded as the largest dolomite chamber in the world with outstanding acoustics that enables music performances to be held there.
A tour of the caves is an amazingly exciting experience for all visitors. Situated right next to the area of the caves is the P.R. Owen Dinosaur Park with its incredible life-size replicas of these prehistoric animals that were sculptured from iron and concrete by the sculptor Jan Theron Van Zyl and are well worth a visit. Sudwala Caves official website
