South Africa welcomes me with cold weather and massive thunderstorms on the Highveld. Determined to not let a little rain get in the way of my adventures I hop in the car anyway after a night in Jo’burg and head towards Waterval Boven, South Africa’s premier sport climbing area. As I arrive there – after narrowly avoiding lightning and passing four accidents including two overturned vehicles within one half hour stretch – the rain has turned into hail and the prospects for climbing are nil. I briefly swing by Roc’n'Rope, the local climbers’ lodge & hangout, to chat with the owners, then decide to get back in the car and drive on to Kruger National Park. I get lucky: the storm clouds clear, and I end up spending a day and a half criss-crossing the southern half of the park.
my new favorite animal
one of the many obligatory elephant shots
hyena!
After a night in a Jo’burg hostel, lots and lots of driving, the frustration of accommodation in the park being 100% booked and the anticipation of fantastically basic accommodation in Waterval Boven for the following days I decide to splurge (gotta do it once every trip, after all) and spend the night at a four star resort right by one of Kruger’s entrance gates. In addition to a luxurious home for the night I also get the benefit of being so close to the park that I can head out for a sunrise drive right as the gates open, then return for breakfast and to collect my bags before hitting the road for good and taking the long way “home” to Waterval Boven northwards through the park and through the picturesque highlands around Sabie.
the resort
sun! on day #2 in Kruger
and on the way back to Waterval Boven
I arrive back in Waterval Boven after nightfall, pick up the keys to my refuge for the next two nights (Roc’n'Rope’s “overflow” housing since the military has filled up the regular climbers’ lodge with a unit of their people that are in for a couple of weeks of climbing / mountain combat training), and introduce myself to my roommates: a pair of Israeli and a foursome of Austrian climbers, all of whom are staying for multiple weeks. Five guys, one girl, none of them big talkers – at least not when I’m around – but all strong climbers. Martina, the girl, has just sent Jack of all Trades on her second attempt… a 5.13b/c, and one of the area’s classic routes.
Roc'n'Rope
front porch, complete with toilet
The guys invite me to tag along for the following day, but I know that I climb nowhere near their level and in addition it’s been almost three months since I’ve touched rock. The crags that they are targeting have no easy routes for me, so in the end I link up with Jan, one of the guys from Roc’n'Rope, and climb with him for two days. It feels great to be climbing again, and while my muscles have definitely atrophied in Madagascar my mind seems to have become stronger – the exposure on our trad climbs on the first afternoon feels fantastic, and on the second day I lead three sport routes without much cursing or complaining, including a 5.8 onsight.
Jan at the top of an easy trad route
sweet sandstone
the resident pig on our approach on day #2
Even though we end up doing no more than 9 easy pitches in two days I am incredibly sore by the time I head to the airport to fly back to Germany for one last stopover in Europe before Turkey, Nepal and LatAm. I can’t wait to climb for six weeks straight come September!
last trad route, done... awesome climbing!
