Waterval Boven, South Africa (Epic Rock Climbing)

In September my son and I made the long two day drive from Cape Town, at the southern tip of Africa, across South Africa to the North East corner so that he could attend the South African Climbing National Competition in Johannesburg. He is currently the top Male lead climber in our province and he did extremely well at the competition, placing 2nd in the country and receiving a silver medal.

This photo by Surefooted Photography

There are a whole lot of great opportunities that come from placing second, but we also had an ulterior motive for making the long drive. We really wanted to have our own transport so that we would have the freedom to continue our trip into the Waterval Boven area in the Mpumalanga Province.

The competition finished on Sunday evening and first thing Monday morning we were in the car and on the road with groceries packed for the week. Mpumalanga is less populated with only smaller villages and towns that do not provide the opportunity for grocery shopping that we are used to. After two and half hours on the road we stopped at a fantastic road stop called Milly's. Everyone in this part of the country seem to know about it.

Milly's was a huge success with the most amazing pies and a fantastic restaurant on stilts over a trout farm. The lake is teaming with trout and I'm sure the local accommodation has fantastic views. If you ever stop at Milly's on the N4 then get the Lemon Meringue Pie and the Babotie Roosterkoek. We enjoyed our pies and the warmth of the fire and then got back on the road for the last 30 minutes of the drive.

We made a last stop at the Tokoza Butchery in Machadadorp for the best rump steaks cut right in front of us and packaged for our trip.

Soon we were leaving the tarred road for dirt roads and lots of mud. It had been raining before we arrived and I was just praying the puddled pot holes weren't too deep.

We pulled into the very muddy driveway of Tranquilitas Farm where we would spend the next 7 days.

Tranquilitas Farm has various forms of accommodations from space for camping to permanent tents for 2, larger Maxi tents for families and chalets for those who need brick a more substantial sound proofing. I had booked a permanent tent which included an outdoor kitchenette, fridge and electricity, as well as 2 single beds, bedding and towels.

The space was perfect for my son and I, but our first few days were COLD! Unfortunately the weather in Waterval Boven is unpredictable most of the time and we managed to catch a rainy period. The first two and half days bucketed down with rain and most of the time we were tent bound under the duvets reading or playing cards.

We did make 1 attempt to get to the rock climbing walls along the edge of the plateau, but we were soon turned back by heavy rain, rolling thunder and lightening.

Finally on the afternoon of our third day the weather cleared and sun emerged enough for us to do some climbing.

Tranquilitas farm is perched on the edge of a plateau that looks down into a vast valley all of which is lined with rock faces. The amount of rock climbing routes is endless and this particular area had been on our bucket list for a couple years already.

Views from the plateau & the crags on the left

We headed down the path from the plateau taking in the magnificent views and watching our step on the damp paths and loose rocks.

I climbed a route called Hey Mama - because of course the mother of a rock climber has the climb a route called Hey Mama. It was pretty easy and a good warm up to get the body moving.

My son climber two harder routes in the Baboon Buttress sector. Later we explored further along the crag towards the God no! wall. The name of the wall speaks for itself. It is a slightly over hanging blank mass of sandstone rock that is imposing on the view and can't be ignored.

The wall was still damp and dripping from the previous few days rain, so we spent some time looking at the various bolted routes while my son decided which one he would tackle over the next couple sunny days that we had left.

The next morning we were back down at the crag and some others had started arriving for the weekend. It happened to be the 20 year celebration of Tranquilitas Farm and we were excited to be a part of the festivities.

me climbing Jenga climbing route

I got on another route called Jenga because once my son starts climbing I'm likely to spend the rest of the day belaying him. Jenga was relatively easy until I got to the top fifth of the route which the difficulty suddenly amped up. I managed to eventually get to the top and cleaned the route, so that we could move on to my sons project.

Seth on Gidzilla climbing route - Thanks to Dagan for these two photos

My son, Seth, had been eyeing a route called Godzilla and it was now dry enough to go up and check it out up close. This route is an 8b in climbing grading or a South African 32 in our local grading and is at the top end of my son's climbing grades.

We spent the next 3 days at that route as he figured out every move and micro hold and body position. By the 3rd day he managed to climb the route in two overlapping links, which is a massive achievement in such a short period of time. We met some new friends who were gracious enough to take some photos of Seth on the route which is a rare occurrence.

Inbetween climbing we walked the edge of the plateau and explored the various hiking paths available to anyone who wants to explore. There is a cost of a day permit per person for access which helps to cover the cost of building paths. A lot of the land is owned and maintained by Mountain Club South Africa, but this specific land is owned by Mike Behr and the Tranqulitas farm. Mike Behr is a legend climber who has developed this area for climbers and hikers and has now also added mountain bike trails of various difficulties.

Superbowl Sector

By the weekend Seth's skin on his fingers was getting thin and he managed to pop a blood blister while on his route, so we decided to hike on to a further crag and do some more exploring. We managed to find the crag called Superbowl Sector which is home to some world class routes sent by well known foreign climbers.

We caught up with our new friends and enjoyed the peace and quiet of this part of the world that is so far away for so many people.

On our final evening we packed up our belongings and made the drive back to Johannesburg for an evening before beginning the two day drive back home to Cape Town.

The sunset as we left Mpumalanga

The drive was thankfully uneventful and we arrived home tired from travelling, but excited to go back to Waterval Boven next year October.

If you ever visit Waterval Boven make sure to stop in at Rock 'n Rope or even book a spot at their Backpackers and guesthouse and take the time to explore the region.

We will definitely be back.

All photos my own except for those mentioned taken by Dagan & Surefooted Photography.

[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin -25.67729 lat 30.36265 long Waterval Boven & Tranquilitas Adventure Farm d3scr))