Visitors to South Africa for the Indian Premier League Cricket should familiarize themselves with name changes of Provinces, Towns & Cities.
Cricket fans coming to South Africa for the IPL tournament from 18 April – 24 May should understand that they have a good chance of being confused and lost if they attempt to navigate their way around SA. This is due to the abundance of new names for certain provinces, town & cities.
Firstly, the former four provinces that make up South Africa are now divided into nine. Some of the changes include (former name present name in bold):
Transvaal Gauteng, Northern Transvaal Limpopo, Eastern Transvaal Mpumalanga.
Limpopo, named after the magnificent river that creates its northern border, lies adjacent to neighbouring countries Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique and it is for this reason that it is steeped in culture and heritage. Here there are many archaeological sites that document early advanced civilisations, including the Mapangubwe World Heritage Site where gold figures dating back thousands of years have been discovered. This area is also home to the rain queen - the Modjadji who it is believed has the power to bring rain to the land of her people.
To add to visitors’’ confusion, many of the towns and cities now have new names, as the following alphabetical list shows:
Warmbaths Bela-Bela, Durban Ethekwini, Louis Trichardt Makhado, Nabomspruit Lephalale, Nystroom Modimole. Potgietersrus Mokopane, Ermelo Msukaligwa,
Messina Mussina, Pietersburg Polokwane, Pretoria Tshwane.
“To avoid making costly and time consuming mistakes when travelling, one should make use of a reputable transport company or tour operator,” advises Robert Wilson, CEO of Magic Marketing and travel in South Africa . net. “Thinking that you can merely hire a car and start driving around is not the way to go as the maps you read are quite likely to show old names and directions. A much better plan is the study the geography of SA on the internet before you travel and use operators who know the country and the customs.”
The IPL matches are schedule to be played in eight venues: Bloemfontein (Free State Province), Cape Town (Western Cape), Durban (Kwa Zulu Natal), East London (Eastern Cape), Johannesburg (Gauteng), Kimberley (Northern Cape) Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape) and Pretoria (Gauteng) and teams are: Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knightriders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers.
As tickets are limited, it is also advisable to book your match tickets and tour packages as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
