In the 1730’s a ship, the Huijs te Marquette, lost her rudder and floundered to the shore, where her crew was stranded. A local farmer, Esaias Meijer, rode to Cape Town to appraise the authorities of the ship’s sorry plight. As a token of appreciation for his help, the Dutch East India Company granted Meijer a tract of land which he subsequently called Hart en Bosch (“deer and bush”). Most of the farm was later bought by the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV) and turned into a holiday resort for its members. Today it is still one of the most popular resorts along the South coast of the Western Cape and thousands of residents from the northern provinces spend their annual summer holiday here. The beautiful and safe lagoon of the Hartenbos River excellently lends itself to family holiday sport from swimming to surfing, while angling for shad and white steenbras is the favourite pasttime of the more patient. Colourful kiosks vending anything from calamari to clothing, line the main street during the holiday season. The local museum boasts one of the most impressive exhibitions of the Great Trek in existence.
