[6] It flows north towards Limpopo Province through Witbank Dam and then the Loskop Dam and is forced east by the Transvaal Drakensberg, cutting through at the Abel Erasmus Pass and then flowing east further across the Lowveld to join with the Letaba River.

It crosses into Gaza Province, Mozambique, after cutting through the Lebombo Mountains by way of the Olifants Gorge, becoming the Rio dos Elefantes, and finally joining the Limpopo River after 40 km before it enters the Indian Ocean at Xai-Xai north of Maputo.

[7] Overgrazing in sections of its middle course result in the river carrying away eroded soil after heavy rains.

[9] A 2013 study in the Kruger Park found that the river was mesotrophic, meaning that nutrient levels were fairly low, though a slight increase in nitrates could initiate eutrophication.

Very high sulphate levels were attributed to coal mining and industry in the upper catchment.