Badplaas

Badplaas eManzana
The main swimming pool at Badplaas
Badplaas Show map of Mpumalanga Badplaas Show map of South Africa Badplaas Show map of Africa  Badplaas shown within Mpumalanga
Coordinates: 25°57′14″S 30°34′00″E / 25.95389°S 30.56667°E / -25.95389; 30.56667Coordinates: 25°57′14″S 30°34′00″E / 25.95389°S 30.56667°E / -25.95389; 30.56667
Country	South Africa
Province	Mpumalanga
District	Gert Sibande
Municipality	Albert Luthuli
Established	1876
Area
• Total	37.97 km2 (14.66 sq mi)
Elevation	1,110 m (3,640 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	582
• Density	15/km2 (40/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	62.5%
• Coloured	2.1%
• Indian/Asian	3.3%
• White	31.1%
• Other	1.0%
First languages (2011)
• Swazi	40.0%
• Afrikaans	31.7%
• English	12.8%
• Zulu	5.3%
• Other	10.2%
Postal code (street)	1190
PO box	1190
Area code	017

Badplaas, also known as eManzana, is a small town on the R38 road in eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. It was established in 1876 on the Seekoeispruit, in the foothills of the Dhlumudhlumu Mountains (meaning "place of much thunder"), at the site of a sulphur spring that delivers ±30,000 litres of hot water (at ±50 °C) per hour.

Swazi tribesmen were the first to discover the spring and called it "eManzana", which means "healing waters". It has been said that in about 1876 the Swazi chief presented this spring, in gratitude, to a hunter, Jacob de Clerq, who subsequently built a store nearby and developed the spring to allow for visitors’ use due to its believed medicinal properties.

The spring became very popular when gold was discovered in the De Kaap Valley (near Barberton). Prospectors would visit there on weekends to get away from their strenuous work of digging for gold. On 6 November 1893, the government claimed the springs to develop a health resort for public use in perpetuity. It was proclaimed in December 1947. The Protea Group managed this Aventura Resort for a time, but the resort has now been purchased by the Forever Resorts Group.