A sport climbing and bouldering guide to Pretoria, Johannesburg and surrounds – By Neil Margetts
Specifications
A5 full colour
240 pages
RRP: R280
review by Tony Lourens
Ever since Rory Lowther’s brilliant little pocket-sized route guide to the Gauteng area went out of print many moons ago, there has been a dearth of information for the greater Gauteng area, leaving visitors (and at times, locals) a little at sea as to where to find the best crags and indeed routes to climb.
A little while ago, Neil Margetts took up the baton, and produced Rand Rock, a chunky volume packed with all the low-down you will need – to drive there, to find the crag and also a list of routes at each crag.
The book also has tons of info on general stuff, like climbing etiquette, environmental considerations, climbing safety, climbing history, grading, and so on. It is also packed with luverlee climbing pics, and as we all know, good pics of good routes is what makes climbers travel long distances to climb that particular route. My only little gripe with the book is the lack of crag topos. I like to see a photo of the crag with the route lines drawn on. It just makes it easier to orientate yourself.
If you are a local, or planning a trip to the Gauteng area, make sure you keep a space for Rand Rock in your pack. You’ll be lost without it.
