The Rocklands in South Africa are an area we had both wanted to visit for a long time. We had heard so much, seen so many pictures, and were already excited from afar. Now that we have been there ourselves, we can only say that our expectations were even exceeded. The Rocklands live up to their name! Rocks in every direction as far as the eye can see and countless beautiful lines to boulder. Naturally, our motivation was high to explore as many areas as possible and try our hand at the boulders. Of course, we didn't miss out on classics like “The Rhino” or “The Hatchling”. It is precisely such striking boulders that are exciting to climb!
But besides bouldering, the relaxed lifestyle and atmosphere that define the Rocklands should not be forgotten. In three weeks at the campground, you get to know almost everyone and always find new people to boulder with. The great thing about it is that the entire climbing world really comes together in the Rocklands at a small campsite and all boulderers share and live the same lifestyle. You make new acquaintances and rejoice in the successes of others. Even if you weren't there yourself, because you know how hard that person worked for it.
Our initial paranoia about unwanted scorpions, spiders, or snakes in the tent at night also subsided after a few days, after we realized that these animals are not active in winter. In the end, we only encountered small friendly lizards and springboks.
As always, our time in the Rocklands flew by.
We had a great trip and are already thinking about when we will come back to tick off our projects.
Our 3 personal highlights:
Romy: The Hatchling (7c+), A Tea with Elmarie (8a/+), Pinotage Sit (7c/+)
Flo: The Rhino (7b+), Stalker on the Horizon (7b+), Minki (7b)
Thank you for the photos, Urs Leuthäuser.
