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:
Van Gaalens Cheese Farm produce cheese. They give tours. Van Gaalens is famous for its mountain bike trails and it has held the Nissan Mountain Bike series. More recently it has also hosted some stages of the Warrior Races. Greenleaves is a wedding venue that has a Coffee Shop and a Hairdresser. Greenleaves holds annual HAWS ball in November. 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 have fund-raising events. 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 TourismMarthinus van Schalkwyk. Hartbeespoort is part of the Madibeng Local Municipality, that also includes the nearby town of Brits.
