[James Malloch]

Heading off to rocklands at the end of summer and was wondering if there are things which need to be done before leaving. Will we need visas, jabs, etc?

I understand you have to get permits for the climbing too, are these just picked up out there?

Any tips are welcomed. Not got the guide yet so I'm assuming there will be tips in there but thought I'd ask for ukb wisdom first.

Ta.

[iwasmexican]

If you've got a UK passport you don't need a visa and as for jabs I think if you're worried about that sort of thing maybe see your doctor but personally I didn't bother. For passes when I was there they were a mess, you had to get one for each sector basically but I'm under the impression that they've sorted this out into a single one covering the whole area, but not entirely sure. In any case you can get them on the day easily and are about a few quid for the day. Definitely get them cause that's half the reason there are a fair few touchy areas like the tea garden which got banned while we we're there last year (not sure if its reopened or what).

[Baldy]

I was there in 2012 and stayed at Traveller's Rest with some mates.

Here's a few things I remember - feel free to ask if you have anything specific.

• If you stay there, and want to climb at the Pakhuis areas(which you do), then you need to pay for entry every day - however, it is slightly cheaper.
  If you stay at De Pakhys (who own the land of several of the areas) then you can go in for free.
  
  You can't dodge this fee because there is an electric gate (with radio tag things for entry when you pay) and I can't imagine the owners being too friendly if you try and skip it.
  Its only about £2 pppd I think and the areas are pretty sweet. You can also get in to get to the Pizza bar they have on site - met Dave Graham et al here.
  (I hear Fred Nicole is out there this season - so you can get a pretty solid Wad-Tick there if you are so inclined)
  
  For a couple of the other areas further up the pass, such as 'The Pass' itself (The Rhino, Cedar Spine, Roadside Arete, Caroline are here) or Riverside/Tea Garden you need to pay entry at the carpark.
  Sometimes the guy was there, and sometimes he wasn't. If he wasn't - then we didn't pay.
  Sometimes he would come down to the boulders and wander round checking if you had a day permit (which he sold)- If you saw him before he saw you, then you could hide until he buggered off - but this was rare and obviously depends on your conscience/cash situation.
• If you dont have a 4x4 then dont bother driving to Sassies. You can walk it in about the same amount of time, and you wont get your car stuck.
• You have to pay for internet everywhere you go and it is always slow - you might be able to watch youtube on a good day.
  Travellers Rest's was a bit shitty and inconsistent, and the quality in town was appalling. The best I found was either in the Pakhuys pizza bar area (more expensive IIRC) or in a lovely little tea room called the Hen House, which sold some great food too...Its a great place to bail to when the rain hits, bit annoyed that we didn't find it sooner in our trip.
• The guide always falls apart. Which is bullshit because it costs £35 or something.
  I taped my binding with fingertape and it held together all right, but the quality is still naff.
  
• Go to as many of the brai type deals as you can - Traveller's Rest did a free one for their guests while I was there and it was buffet style with about 5 different meats and all of them were delicious. There was another one for the school evening - Also worth going to because you get nice food and support the local area yadda yadda. And finally there was one in town at Oliphanthuis.
• Oliphantshuis will either be unbelievably delicious, or unbelievably shite and the hostess is an acquired taste (she's really nice but kept coming over and asking us to tell her how much we were 'enjoying' our meal...which is a touch presumptuous given that some of it was terrible). Due to this, and what with us being terribly British - theirs is the only food that I have ever taken away, so that I could throw it in the bin outside. (I tried to find a beggar, but there were - unusually - none around).
• I cant remember the name of the burger bar in town....but oh my god. That burger bar. I came back about 4kg heavier than when I left, and I'm pretty sure that burger bar was the culprit. If there is one thing to be said for the country of SA, they know how to make delicious food (if you know where to go)