south african travel
What to do in Hartbeespoort
Discover a list of things to do in Hartbeespoort, South Africa.
Where is Hartbeespoort?
Hartbeespoort is in the province of North West, South Africa. Just about an hour’s travel from Pretoria. It is a very popular town, mostly known for the Hartbeespoort dam.
With travel being very limited during the pandemic one often prefers to stay at home. Even when we do decide to travel (safely) we would rather go somewhere close to home. Harties is a favourite around Gauteng because it is fortunately not far to get to, it also offers a wide variety when it comes to activities and experiences.
I had the privilege of spending some time in the town, doing different activities that were specified in the area. It did happen to be my birthday weekend and I, fortunately, got to do some things for free. I went into detail on the things one can do for free on their birthday in the blog I wrote. I did however list the Hartbeespoort-specific items in the series below.
Hartbeespoort activities and prices in no order:
Elephant Sanctuary
The sanctuary allows close human interaction with the elephants. With the help of the very well-trained tour guides, one gets to experience feeding and touching the elephants whilst learning more about them. This experience can be found in other parts of the country such as Mpumalanga and Plett.
Monkey Sanctuary
Experience monkeys roaming freely around you in their natural habitat. The main aim of the monkey sanctuary is not only to allow visitors to interact with the primates, but it also allows the guides to educate us on the different species of monkeys they have at the sanctuary. This experience can also be found in Mpumalanga.
Aerial Cableway
Take a cable car ride up the Magalies mountains. You can expect a range of restaurants once you are up on the mountain, as well as bars for some cocktails. For a typical souvenir shopper like myself, there is also a gift shop. Another popular aerial cableway can be found in Table Mountain, Cape Town.
Little Paris
Visit the very popular Paris look-alike restaurant. So, the whole setup is something that resembles the setting of Paris itself. Here you can expect a cute gift shop, a deli, a boutique as well as the well-known French toast coffee café. This was also a new find for me, as I initially thought that the area only had a café. I did get to checkout most of the shops, get some souvenirs from the gift shop, and of course, yes food!
Where to stay in Hartbeespoort
The good thing about harties being such a popular destination is that you are spoilt for choice when it comes to accommodation. Most of the surrounding hotels or rooms have a gorgeous view of the dam, which is worth waking up to. I however did use a personal favourite, booking.com to book an apartment for my stay. The advantage here is that you get to compare dates and prices.
There is still loads more to do in the area. Such as boat rides, water activities at the Hartbeespoort dam. There are also more wildlife experiences such as the Lion Park and the cheetah centre nearby, also several zoos in the area. For nature lovers, there is Magaliesberg and the Cradle of Humankind to explore.
If you would like to see more pictures from any of my Hartbeespoort experiences, please visit my Instagram page. And let me know where in Harties you have been in the comments below.
Wow, I had never heard of Hartbeespoort before, but it sounds like a lovely destination! I love how you curated this post to share different experiences for different types of travelers. I might have to pay this place a visit if I ever make it to South Africa. Thank you for sharing! Xx
Thank you Hannah!
Hartbeespoort should definitely be on your list if you visit South Africa.