Star trails circling above a lit sandstone boulder at Rocklands in a long exposure
See it · Photographs

What Rocklands actually looks like

Rocklands · photo Oan de Waal

Twenty photographs of Rocklands, all of them taken by one person who was there. Press any of them to see it full screen.

Photographer Oan de Waal shot these across several winter seasons on the boulders above the Pakhuis Pass. They show the thing the tables on the rest of this site can only describe: orange sandstone, low winter light, small crews working a problem with a pad and a spotter, and some of the darkest night skies in South Africa.

Rocklands bouldering, photographed

A climber on a large lit sandstone formation at Rocklands beneath the Milky Way
The Cederberg holds some of the darkest skies in South Africa.
A boulderer topping out a large sandstone boulder at Rocklands with spotters below and the low sun behind
The classic Rocklands scene: one climber up, everyone else spotting.
A boulderer pulling onto an overhanging sandstone boulder at Rocklands at sunset, a crash pad on the ground below
Last light on the Pakhuis plateau. One pad, one climber, and the whole Cederberg behind.
A boulderer high on a large round sandstone boulder at Rocklands under heavy storm cloud
Winter is the climbing season and the rainy season at once. Watch the sky.
A climber moving through a sandstone cave roof at Rocklands with a crash pad below
Inside the roof, where the sandstone turns to pockets and huecos.
A climber on a sandstone wall at Rocklands with the Cederberg plateau stretching to the horizon behind
Reserve land in every direction, and all of it needs a permit.
A tall, water-streaked sandstone boulder at Rocklands lit against the night sky, a climber small at its base
Orange water streaks running the full height of the sandstone.
A boulderer cutting loose on an overhanging Rocklands boulder with the Cederberg peaks behind in clear winter light
Cold, dry winter air. This is the friction people fly here for.
A climber on a Rocklands roof problem seen framed through a hole in the sandstone
Rocklands is full of windows to look through.
A lit sandstone boulder with a climber on it under a star-filled Rocklands night sky, a crash pad below
A night session, a single pad, and the Milky Way coming up behind.
A climber reaching for the lip of an overhanging Rocklands prow as the sun sets behind the Cederberg mountains
The sun drops through the gap between hand and rock.
Star trails circling above a lit sandstone boulder at Rocklands in a long exposure
A long exposure, and the sky turning over the Cederberg.
A climber topping out a tall Rocklands boulder while a group of spotters waits below with hands raised
Nobody climbs alone here. The crew is the safety system.
A boulderer on a sandstone arete at Rocklands at sunset, high above the Cederberg valley floor
The plateau drops away to the valley, and to the road you drove in on.
A Rocklands boulder and the climber on it mirrored in a rain pool lying on the rock
Winter rain leaves pools on the rock. They make a second Rocklands.
A climber standing on the top of a Rocklands boulder by headlamp under a bright moon and stars
Topped out by headlamp. The moon does most of the work.
A boulderer starting a low roof problem at Rocklands at dusk with two crash pads laid out underneath
Two pads, one roof, and the last of the light.
A balanced sandstone boulder at Rocklands standing against a clear, star-filled night sky
Moonlight out here is bright enough to walk by, and the boulders keep their shape.
A lit sandstone boulder beside a cedar tree at Rocklands with the moon overhead
A boulder, a tree and the moon. Sessions here do not have to end at sunset.
A Rocklands boulder silhouetted against a purple and orange twilight sky over the Cederberg
When the colour goes, the session is over and it is time to drive back.

Photographs © Oan de Waal. Used on rocklandsguide.com by permission, for non-commercial use on this site only. He keeps the copyright.

The licence does not extend to you, to another site, or to social or print use. If you want to license his work, go to lumos.photography. Full details on the photo credits page.

Last updated 19 September 2026.