The best little campsite in the world
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Zimbabwe would seem to be the last place in the world to find a contended
for the best climbing campsite in the universe. Lets see, who are the other
contenders: Well there is camp four - Yosemite without a doubt, but while
the location and history can’t be quibbled with, the Park service seem
to want to make it a challenge to even stay there. Added to the fact its a
fair schlep to get the necessities in life like booze and bacon it does not
quite win the league. Europe has its fair share dotted around southern Spain,
Font, Verdon and England but the more you visit them the more you think that
paying good money should entitle you to more than 4 square metres of lumpy
earth and a place to drop the mo
rning
murphey.
Looking further afield there are some real gems to be stumbled upon in the out of the way corners of the climbing globe. Kadirs in Turkey is haphazardly plonked next to a river in the stunning Olympos valley on the south coast. Liberally dotted with limestone crags and 10 minutes walk from beach and deep water bouldering, this camping experiences takes some beating. Staying in your trusty tent or in one of the many tree houses perched Ewok style above you. For £3 per night you get your camp fee’s, a buffet breakfast and all you can eat evening meal.
Access to the tree house bar to tank yourself up on Efes pilsner and the
chance to play the rotund owner Kadir at fiercely fought volleyball matches.
Good, hell yes; but not the winner.
Coming
in at a close number two is the ‘Restaurant at the end of the Universe’
at the climbing area of the same name in South Africa. This is pure climbing
heaven. Picture if you can a campsite of perfect green lawn situated on a
spit of land with a top class pool and restaurant. 400 climbs, all unique,
on highly featured rock with something to suit you whatever you feel like,
a slab for breakfast, crimpy wall for lunch and obscene overhang for supper.
The pool to crag walking distance being alittle as 30m, certainly doesn't
spoil your day either as the true magic of ‘The Restaurant at the End
of the Universe' is revealed. Get out the pool, grab your harness, boots,
rope and a few draws and you're off for the whole minutes walk to the routes.
Top out and you will be supping a cold one and diving into the pool moments
later.
Heaven yes, perfection........not quite, for the campsite itself has no climbing actually within it, for the tent-rock interface is a whole 30 metres apart. For real climbing porn you have to look north to the neighbouring country of Zimbabwe and every lazy boulderers dream of dreams.
The
‘Rocks’ campsite as it is somewhat unsurprisingly known is a veritable
bounty of bouldering beauty, a cacophony of climbing class, a smorgasbord
of slopey satisfaction, a gratuitousness of granite greatness. Situated in
a small area of woodland actually in the southern district of the capital
Harare this haven of heaven is a place to really take the campsite crown.
From the low thatched African style bar the routes start in some case actually from the bar stools themselves. Leave your gin and tonic and head off up and right into a series of V8 moves on in cut granite edges. From the entrance to your tent you could sit start a sweet V4 on Dans dilemma. No hands slabs, technical traverses, soaring aretes and tenuous slopey mantles. Its all there and all within the distance you could throw a John Dunne. With the Zimbabwe economy in nosedive the cost of the accommodation and beer tokens is about the sum total of a fifth of a sixteenth of nothing. There are loads of crags from 20 metre sandstone sports areas to 250metre granite domes all within a few hours drive. It will take some beating! Answers for your best climbing campsite on the back of a postcard please. Or just accept its the Rocks in Zim and look forward to going.
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