Outeniqua Hop Route

Welcome to George Central

George Central

The beginnings of the town date back to the year 1776, when the Dutch-East Indian Trading Company established in the area one of its timber supply bases. George was officially only founded in 1811 by the British who named then village after the ruling king, George III.

Initially George grew very slowly, mainly because roads viable for ox wagons were missing across the hardly accessible Outeniqua Mountains. Only with the opening of the Outeniqua Pass in the year 1847, trade with the inland and the Cape of good hope could develop and George began to flourish .

Today, George is a fast growing town and is the administrative and economic center of the Garden Route with an air of prosperity about it. A modern airport (8 kilometers out of town) links the town to other major cities in south Africa

George is developing into South Africa’s premier golf paradise. Three of South Africa’s "top ten" golf courses are to be found in George and being set against the outeniqua mountains on plateau above the Indian ocean it offers the very best mix of City facilities minutes away from the sea side and surrounded by agricultural settlements and mountains within easy driving distance of all the Garden Route’s major attractions – this makes George an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding areas – even the Little Karoo with its silent beauty.