George is a city in the Western Cape province of South Africa and nestles in the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains on the popular “Garden Route”. This verdant route follows the N2 national highway from the coastal town of Mossel Bay to Storms River in the Eastern Cape and is extremely popular with tourists.
The town is regarded as the sixth-oldest in the country and can trace its formal origins to the outpost established by the Dutch East India Company in 1776 to supply timber for use in building and the construction of furniture and wagons. To this day, the area is still a centre of furniture-making and modern furniture factories co-exist with the traditional craftsmen manufacturing furniture by hand.
In recent times, the city and close surrounds have embraced the many tourists who pass along the garden route and are popular for a number of excellent golf courses, including the George Golf Club, Kingswood Golf Course, the Oubaai Golf Resort & Spa and Fancourt, which has hosted a number of high-profile golf tournaments.
Aside from its appeal to golfers, the city’s proximity to forests, mountains, the lakes system (which lies to the east of the city) and the sea offers a wide range of outdoor activities including horse trails, mountain-biking, paddling, sailing, hiking, para-gliding, fishing and surfing (at Victoria Bay).
The city also has a number of popular annual festivals, including the George Old Car Show which is now in its 19th year and now features more than a 1,000 cars and a side exhibition of more than 5,000 model cars! The George Cheese Festival began in 2002 and has also experienced rapid growth featuring cheese, wine and, more recently, chocolate.
