Rocklands DVD

.. a visual feast for bouldering enthusiasts, set in a hidden corner of the dramatic Cederberg Mountains ...

... featuring Scott Milton, Bernd Zangerl, Justin Hawkins, Mary Gabriell, Sandra Studer, Guillaume Boissard and Fred Nicole ...

Directed by HEIN DE VOS

Hidden deep within the mountains of Southern Africa, lies Rocklands.

A place of magnitude and strength. A place of vastness and time. And damn good bouldering.

Follow a troupe of world renowned climbers on a three month journey as they explore the magical landscape of the Cederberg Mountains. Rocklands, with its unique rock formations, is considered one of the best bouldering areas in the world. Captured on film for the first time, the legend of Rocklands takes you into the psyche of professional rock climbers.

Rocklands is a 48 minute documentary set to an original score, featuring South Africa's freshest musical talent.

Accept the challenge. Awake to the essence of bouldering. 

Rocklands DVD

REVIEWED BY GREG HAMERTON

I'm not a climber, but I am an extreme sports enthusiast, so I see this with a curious and somewhat ignorant eye. A landscape of many rocks may hold great interest for someone who boulders, but before the lengthy title sequence had ended I was getting antsy, wanting to see something other than rocks that might be climbed.

The opening scene had me rivetted though. To see a climber like Guillaume Boissard coming at you, upside down, just defied belief. No, the camera isn't tilted, you can see the trees outside pointing the wrong way. The creepy soundtrack by Lark just adds to the delight. This is something out of the ordinary.

Hats off to the film-makers to getting their big cameras right into the action, which must have involved laying some complicated tracks and rigs. For a study on climbing technique this is a great production and it makes you feel you're having a session with these legendary climbers at your local climbing wall.Scott Milton brings light to the duller moments - as a presence he is in a class of his own and hugely entertaining.

The climbing is certainly world class, but the film itself, although including superb bouldering footage, lacks a storyline. I wanted to see more of a journey portrayed in Rocklands; it is more like a site guide to the most insane routes you could attempt on some of the most convoluted rock in the world. This won't bother hard-core climbers at all, because the visual poetry of watching these spiders climb under the rock is enough to get you reaching for your chalk bag.