Hartbeespoort, North West
Encyclopedia


Hartbeespoort, informally also known as "Harties", is a small resort town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in the North West Province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, situated on slopes of the Magaliesberg
Magaliesberg
The Magaliesberg is a mountain range extending from Pretoria in the north of the Gauteng Province to a point south of Pilanesberg, in the North West Province, South Africa...

 mountain and the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam
Hartbeespoort Dam
Hartbeespoort Dam also known as Harties is a dam situated in the North West Province of South Africa . It lies in a valley to the south of the Magaliesberg mountain range and north of the Witwatersberg mountain range, about 35 kilometres west of Pretoria...

. The name of the town means "gateway of the hartbees
Hartebeest
The hartebeest is a grassland antelope found in West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. It is one of the three species classified in the genus Alcelaphus....

" (a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...

) in Afrikaans. It was previously known as Schoemansville, named after General Hendrik Schoeman, a Boer General in the Anglo-Boer War, who owned the farm that the Hartbeespoort Dam
Hartbeespoort Dam
Hartbeespoort Dam also known as Harties is a dam situated in the North West Province of South Africa . It lies in a valley to the south of the Magaliesberg mountain range and north of the Witwatersberg mountain range, about 35 kilometres west of Pretoria...

 was built on.

The town consists mainly of holiday homes around the dam as it is popular with visitors from nearby Gauteng Province. It is home to the Om Die Dam ultra marathon of 50 km, which takes place annually in the first half of the year.

Some of the main tourist attractions in or around the town are:
  • The Hartbeespoort Dam wall and tunnel
  • The Hartbeespoort Dam Snake Park
  • The Hartbeespoort Dam Aquarium
    Aquarium
    An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

  • Hartbeespoort Dam Cableway (the longest monocableway in Africa
    Africa
    Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

    )
  • Transvaal Yacht Club
  • Oberon Leisure Resort
  • Welwitchia Country Market

Other leisure-oriented venues around the dam include -
Pecanwood Golf Estate, Hartbeespoort Boat Club (near Kosmos), Sandy Lane Golf Club (at Caribbean Beach Club), Kosmos Marina Club, Magalies Park (estate and golf club). A number of other leisure developments and resorts are in progress.

After two incidents in a brief period the cableway was closed.

Hartbeespoort is part of the Madibeng Local Municipality
Madibeng Local Municipality
The Local Municipality of Madibeng is a local municipality in Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, North West Province, South Africa. The seat of local municipality is Brits. The popular tourist area of Hartebeespoort is also located in the municipality....

, that also includes the nearby town of Brits
Brits, North West
Brits is a large town and district situated in a fertile, citrus, vegetable and grain-producing area that is irrigated by the waters of the Hartbeespoort Dam in North West Province of South Africa. It is close to the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, which includes Pretoria and...

.

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