Hi,

Does anyone have any beta on climbing in swaziland? Since the google earth people were nice enough to provide us with high res images of large parts of swaziland, I tried to spot some possible climbing opportunities.

From the satellite images the bouldering possibilites look simply amazing, and it's not that far from gauteng. Ja rocklands also isn't far with kulula i know

So any info? Anyone been there? Seems to be a lot of granite there, somebody must have checked it out already? Is there roped climbing? Safety? Are the locals friendly? Is the local beer any good?

- twiga

Hey Twigga,
I havent climbed in Swazi but I've been pretty close. Theres a granite dome east of badplaas called Pramkoppies which we climbed in a day trip from Boven once. There was a route guide for it (dunno from where) but it really wasnt great. The cracks were chossy and the slabs were too on-angle to be worthwhile. I'm sure there must be loads of domes in the area though, and some of them are bound to have climbing. Granite in SA never seems to live up to expectations tho...

I heard about this granite monolith in Swaziland, it's supposedly the second largest in the world. I think it is called Sibebe. I will be doing a recon down there sometime this year. Apparently the bouldering is superb, not sure of the climbing.

I think Sibebe is a place of belief for the locals, so I will chat to the people concerned. Will keep you updated

Ive seen pics of Swazi highlands with granite boulders and small outcrops all over the show. Who knows looked interesting. Let us know if you find anything cool!

Been there a few times. Boulders all round and some respectable rock faces here and there. Contact Darron Raw from Swazi Trails (dont have his details on me, just do a search...). He also does walks up sibebe hill, river rafting, etc.