Hartbeespoort, informally also known as Harties, is a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, situated on slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain and the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam. The name of the town means gateway of the hartbees in Afrikaans. Schoemansville, named after General Hendrik Schoeman, a Boer General in the Anglo-Boer War, who owned the farm that the Hartbeespoort Dam was built on, is the oldest neighbourhood of Hartbeespoort.Hartbeespoort is the collective name of a few smaller towns situated around the Hartbeespoort Dam, including the towns of Meerhof, Ifafi, Melodie, Schoemansville and Kosmos. The town consists of holiday homes and permanent residences 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 Hartbeespoort Aerial Cableway Transvaal Yacht Club Oberon Leisure Resort Welwitchia Country Market The Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam Bush Babies Monkey Sanctuary Harties horse trail safaris Chameleon VillageVan Gaalens Cheese Farm who produce cheese locally and it's a beautiful venue for a picnic or a cheese platter. They host tours and it's fun and informative to visit them. Van Gaalens is also very famous for it's various mountain bike trails and it played host to the Nissan Mountain Bike series a few years ago. More recently it has also hosted some stages of the Warrior Races. A noteworthy venue is Greenleaves, a local well established and picturesque wedding venue that also has a gorgeous Coffee Shop and a Hairdresser. Greenleaves plays host to the annual HAWS ball in Nov each year and residents get to step out in splendour. HAWS is situated on the Van Der Hoff road and welcomes visitors. Many schools have outings here and children are encouraged to pet the animals, clean cages and assist where possible. HAWS may provide letters of social community service should children require them. They host many fund-raising events and they can be found by calling Linda on 083 313 0710. Adopt, don't shop! Other leisure-oriented venues around the dam include - Pecanwood Golf Estate, Hartbeespoort Boat Club , Sandy Lane Golf Club , Kosmos Marina Club, Magalies Park . A number of other leisure developments and resorts are in progress. In 2010 the Hartbeespoort Aerial Cableway was completely revamped and modernised and officially reopened on 14 August 2010 by Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk.Hartbeespoort is part of the Madibeng Local Municipality, that also includes the nearby town of Brits.
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