Lockdown hidden gems around Harties

With the rise in COVID-19 infections and the President putting us under level 3 adjusted, finding fun activities to do (besides the regular hiking missions) can become difficult. Something I’ve noted, which then speaks to the choice of places that I’ve visited, is our awareness to basic hygiene and possibly the increased desire to gather in smaller crowds.

The general restrictions around this period can be challenging for someone who believes in creating new experiences. With that said, I needed to think out of the box to make meaningful interactions and create memorable moments with my loved ones. Through this post and a few others, I will share some of my experiences with you.

Currently I am based in Johannesburg, so I decided to dedicate the month of January to exploring lockdown friendly activities in and around this area.

Location: North West Province, South Africa

First Stop

Hartbeespoort, casually known as “Harties” is a small town which is sensationally known for nature’s offering and specifically the dam which is located approximately 60km from Sandton (depending on the chosen route). This provides the visitor with a 60 minute or so scenic drive alongside Gauteng and North West. With all this said, lets dive into it!

After searching for fun activities to do near Johannesburg, I landed on Harties Horse Trail Safaris.

1. Harties Horse Trail Safaris:

Have you ever experienced a safari drive on horseback?

Well this experience is exactly that and a packet of joy!

Harties Horse Trail Safaris is located about 43km from Sandton, Johannesburg and rides are available from Monday to Saturday. Thanks to my complete love for animals and game drives, I knew that I needed to give this place a try and boy oh boy was it fun!

A very friendly and kind instructor welcomes you to the site and instantly reminds everyone that no prior horse-riding experience is required. There are various safaris which you can choose from, but I chose the Midday Breakaway Safari option for 1 hour @R350per adult (or R300 per child over the age of 6). I specifically went with this option because I did not know whether I would be comfortable riding a horse or not. [PS-I'm glad to report that I now love horse-riding and that all donations towards helping me buy my own horse are welcome *giggles*.]

Some of the animals which we saw during our ride included giraffes, impalas, zebras, donkeys and wildebeest to name a few. The finest part of all of this is that the trail offers amazing photography services, curtesy of Blessing the onsite photographer. The photography rates are decently priced depending on your chosen package.

Key considerations:

Bookings are to be done in advance (especially due to COVID-19).

Rating:

- Service:

- Experience/Value:

- Overall experience:

2. Windmill Restaurant

The Windmill Restaurant is located about 10minutes from the Horse Trail Safari and offers delightful views and filling food. One would on average be spending around R180 pp for a meal and drink (alcohol was restricted during this time, thus prices may vary depending on the time of visit). Some popular options include the steak options as well as the waffles. The portions are rather generous ☺️ and of course the overall service is great .

Key considerations:

Extremely limited options for vegetarians and vegans. I highlight this because I had decided to challenge myself with a vegan diet for the month of January and had almost no options to go with outside of a salad.

Rating:

- Service-

- Experience/Value-

- Overall experience-

3. Aerial Cableway

This is a great activity for people who are all about views! The Aerial Cableway gives visitors an exciting cable car trip while while allowing for a birds eye view of Harties and its surroundings. An additional excitement factor is that you can watch brave members of society paraglide while enjoying your lunch. Other things to do include going on a hiking trail, mountain biking, enjoying picnic spots and learning a bit of history as you walk up the wall towards the pizza place. It all depends on how you would like to spend your morning or afternoon! Adults will part with R240p/p for a ticket on the cableway (R150 per child) with a person spending on average R180 for a full pizza and drink (alcohol was restricted during this time, thus prices may vary depending on the time of visit). There is an ice cream shop and playground (which includes jumping castles) that the kids can enjoy.

Key considerations:

The restaurant includes a vegetarian option to their extensive pizza range.

There is a souvenir shop located where you first get onto the gondola which you can check

out for gift options.

Gondolas are sanitized with each trip (yes, very comforting) and allows a maximum of 4 people per cart instead of the usual 6 persons during the pandemic.

Finally, You get a FREE TICKET for your cable way trip on your birthday. All you need to do is to bring along some form of identification.

Rating:

- Service:

- Food:

- Experience/Value:

- Overall experience:

3. Cheese Farm

The Van Gaalen Cheese Farm is located 55km outside of Sandton in a small town called Skeerpoort; I include it in the Hartbees activities, thanks to the short distance between the two towns. Although I only visited the restaurant, the farm brags of greenery and offers cycling and hiking trails, barns, a farm shop offering some freshly made delicacies and so much more.

The venue’s specialty boasts a cheese tour offering sites on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 10h00 and 11h00. With having only explored the restaurant, I thought that it would be unfair of me to provide a full rating, however I would still recommend it as a site visit.

Until our next adventure....Be safe!