Waterworld - Bad Kloof

Bad Kloof is a long winding kloof with a hodgepodge of crags lining its banks left and right. There are some scrappy crags, but there are also some really fantastic crags, like Waterworld, The Palace, Uriah Heep, Worlds Apart, Berlin Wall and Jurassic Park, all of which host hard to very hard routes, including Mazawatee (35/8c+), SA’s hardest route. Although there are some worthwhile easy routes in the kloof, on crags such as Lion Said and Sloth Crag, Bad Kloof is mainly for the accomplished to hard core climber, with most of the hard routes being steep and pumpy. The kloof runs from the Ou Meul above Montagu West (where the Bloupunt Hiking Trail starts), through the mountains for about 2 kilometres, and comes out at the Avalon Springs Hotel. It is also affected by frequent floods that plague Montagu, so at times certain crags are not accessible due to water-clogged bases. The path also changes from season to season, as the river changes course due to flooding. Waterworld is one of the best steep crags in Montagu, which includes some moderate routes. It’s child- friendly, and Arendsig (19) is one of Montagu’s better routes at that grade. The sandy base sometimes gets washed away during a flood and the river needs to be rerouted in order to keep the base useable. Lots of work has been done on the base of this crag by local climbers (Stuart Brown, Justin Lawson, et al.) to ensure ongoing and uninterrupted climbing.