for those of us who have been to the landz recently
and gotten away with not spending cash on camping fees....
Not anymore!!!
The care taker is on the look out for any non-payers (R90 per site per night).
and even worse...
you will need a permit to be in any of the climbing areas, even if you just go up to the teapot boulder
permits are R30 a day so it would probably be best to just get a wildcard
if you don't already have one.

Do, Wild Cards work in the Rocklands, I thought they only work for the National Parks? They are a great idea, and would solve the permit problems at the Rocklands. Pretty inexpensive too, considering you can go to all the national parks in the nation for no extra fees!

Ja as far as I know wildcards do work in rocklands.

you can get a wild card for the specific province you are in, I think for the Western Cape it's about R170 or you can get a national card (about R250). These cards do allow you free access into any (governt not private) of the nature reserves and game parks in the specified specified, for 12 months from date of purchase.
So if you had a national card you would have free access to the kruger park as well as silvermine

Please don't qoute any of the prices I have stated.

I think it is best to get hold of nature con in your area.... but be warned they are probably gonna send you all the way around you province from one department to the next... only to get help where you originally started. it's the same story with any government run establishment... Good Luck

Wild Cards definately work. I spoke to Rika from CNC and she confirmed that it is free entry to the Rocklands if you hold one. The only requirement is that you sign in at the campsite everyday. You can get them on the web.

Cool. Wild cards it is. One thing though, I believe that these cards do not work for foreigners. You have to have be a South African resident to have one, so I think the ppl from overseas will still have to pay the normal rates.

Does anyone know if there are limits to the number of ppl in the Rocklands every day. I thought there was a maximum limit in the wilderness area's?

On the topo map produced for the Cedarberg it shows the area between the Roadside parking and Riverside as state land not wilderness land which you do not have to pay for! The new manager (Kobus) told me they have changed the zoneing to include this area and the latest topo maps will show this. Is it that easy for them to change the zoneing after this amount of time just to milk us for more money? I mean what is the point in going to the campside if you're not allowed to walk around a bit. Maybe the MCSA should get step in and overlook this tranision to make sure we as climbers don't get ripped off.

Why do climbers stick to the idea that they should get stuff free?

There is obviously a cost to maintain Rocklands (be it state or wilderness land) which can either be recovered from the people who use the area or from general taxes.

Personally I don't want to have to pay for places that I never visit via the taxes that I pay - so I guess that I should be happy to pay to visit/climb in Rocklands.

We are so lucky to have such an awesome place to climb - yet every year people whinge and moan that it costs a couple of rand to go there.

Hey the wild card is cheap, plus you can get into loads of other spots. Whats the new guy like? does he understand what bouldering is about? is the landz still packed? I am really missing not being there. Send my love and hit it large at de kelder guys.

Here is a link to the South African National Parks website RE: Wildcards

http://www.sanparks.org/tourism/wild/

Guy I don't think people are complaining about paying to walk up to Roadside and those areas. But surely once you have payed the R90 fee to camp there you are then not expected to pay an extra R30 to walk 50m up to a boulder. This seems crazy unless you have got money to waste. 5 foreign climbers wanted to warm up on the teapot boulder and they were charged R120!!!! - Alpha farms and other camping spots will become more popular and the campiste will die if they don't remove the dollar signs from their minds everytime they see a bouldering mat.

What ever happened to fighting for a better deal, are you happy with how Rocklands is being run? Rocklands is a climbing area, before people started climbing there it was only frequented by day trippers and the occational hiker so we have the power to change things. A couple of us are not satisfied to sit on our heads and see this beautiful place become...? So we have spoken to the man in charge (CNC finance) who seems resonable and have organised a meeting. He has the same concerns as us and wants the climbers to be happy.

I think climbers should escalate their concerns through the right channels if they are going to be approaching the CNC, or any other controlling body. The MCSA is doing a good job of managing climbers interests in the Landz. They should be doing the negotiations based on consultations with climbers (are the ppl doing the talking above the official MCSA representatives?). Climbers should have a united front with the authorities, or the authorities may start thinking we are a fragmented bunch of dirt bag hippies looking for a cheap thrill. That will make it harder for everyone.

Plus Wildcards are still dirt cheap. Do you climb at the Roadside? If you do you should probably get a wild card anyway and save yourself a few bucks…

Hi Scott (which Scott are you?)

I agree with Sean, we need to work thru some organisation. Currently the MCSA is the only organisation.

Please contact Andy Davies regarding meeting with CapeNature. He's spent many hours negotiating with them and has a good relationship.

Your enthusiam is awesome - so why not offer to work with Andy. If you're not a member of the MCSA, why not join and help change this organisation to become more relevant to our lives?

Hi

The Wildcard really is a good deal. Foreigners can also get one - albeit at a higher rate. See the SANParks website for costs and why foreigners pay more (partly coz some of our taxes go towards land managment already).

Please respect acesss arrangements - Andy and I have worked hard to hammer out a new deal on sport climbing at Rocklands and Truitjies as well as convince CapeNature that climbers are a good thing.

On access - Please be sensitive when climbing at the Alpha Excelsior boulders. We were there this weekend and the farmer is concerned at the numbers of people arriving to climb and not checking in with him. The boulders are not actually on his land but his neighbours land and he wants to maintain good relations. Stop and ask before going off to climb - this is private land.

Thanks for the support everyone. Just trying to help out because I know a lot about the situation and thought I could contribute. Sorry for stepping out of line.

I used my national wildcard(R195) at Landz the other day and it was groovy. The national wild card also gets you into Shongweni Dam for Free(usially R20) so if you are planning a trip up to Durbs, get one.

The new gatekeeper (Kobus) seems okey, I guess he is just doing his job. We had no problems with him.

I have no problem paying a little to experience some of the best bouldering in the world. At least we can climb without a guide, like in other parts of the world.