Within Her Are Mountains
What's a womxn gonna do if not climb mountains?
~ Rocklands, Cederberg, 1-4 May 2025 ~
Talk about an epic start to 2025! We're beyond excited to share this event with you, our ever-growing community of adventurous womxn.
In collaboration with the team over at Breath In Experiences as well as Climber Naadirah Moola te Water Naude, we present to you, WHAM Fest 2025.
A 4 day mountain and climbing festival in the heart of the Cederberg Rocklands.
If you've always wanted to try bouldering in a supportive, safe community - WHAM Fest is for you.
If you're an experienced climber looking for a badass, stoke-filled group of womxn to share the love of the sport - WHAM Fest is for you.
And if you're simply curious about climbing but also craving a fun, rejuvenating weekend in the Rocklands - yep, WHAM Fest is for you too!
This is our vibe:
> Empowering womxn to take up space in climbing and beyond.
> Promoting environmental care through outdoor conservation and sustainable practices.
> Building a community that’s intersectional, inclusive, and representative.
We know starting a new sport (or joining a new community) can be intimidating. That’s why we’re here—to make it easier, break down barriers, and foster growth.
We can’t wait to meet you (or see you again!), climb with you, and grow with you.
Who can attend: This experience is open to all womxn.
Space limited to: We will be caping attendance at between 30 participants together with up to 15 facilitators - totalling 50 pax for this edition.
Skill level: Open to all climbing levels. From total beginner to badass boulderer.
Physical difficulty: As easy or difficult as you would like the experience to be.
Accommodation: We'll be calling the beautiful 'Rocklands Basecamp' our home for the 4 day festival and we have a variety of accommodation and ticket options available.
Experience focus: Learning, adventure, nature immersion, relaxation and community building.
Age: WHAM Fest welcomes and encourages diverse age groups and does not discriminate. There is so much we can all learn and take away from one another, and we are never too old for a new experience!
WHAM Fest is not just about climbing! Our jam-packed weekend includes a variety of all womxn-led workshops.
These workshops are included in the ticket price and you may join as many workshops as you’d like, it's all up to you!
And yep, you can totally choose to only dive into a few workshops and then spend the rest of your time hiking, swimming in rivers, or just kicking back and relaxing at camp with a good book or new friends.
Well now, if you haven’t heard of the Rocklands before you are in for a magical treat and we are SO stoked to be the ones to share this serene wilderness with you. Rocklands is an area in the Cederberg Wilderness and Mountains that attracts climbers from all over the world because of its unique and high-quality sandstone formations.
The awe-inspiring natural beauty of the area, where the rocks radiate a deep orange at sunrise and sunset, paired with rivers, hiking trails and endless boulders to climb, makes it any adventurous spirit's playground.
We'll be calling 'Rocklands Basecamp' our home for the 4 day festival and we have a variety of accommodation and ticket options available from self catering units to self camping with a communal kitchen and facilities.
Package 1 - The Cottage
The cottage has a king size bed, personal Wifi, private kitchen, indoor bathroom with a hot shower, and an amazing outdoor bath, as well as it’s own private deck and braai area.
Cost: R9,900 for the cottage + 2 festival tickets (R4,950 per person) for the entire weekend.
Package 2 - Glampsite
The glampsite is a hidden spot amongst the boulders, for people who love camping but not the mission of packing all the things needed. The glampsite is a canvas tent with a double bed, covered with a roof. It includes a private kitchen with fridge, stove, pots, and cutlery.
Cost: R8,900 for the glampsite + 2 festival tickets (R4,450 per person) for the entire weekend.
Package 3 - Caravans
The three beautiful little caravans are equipped with their own private kitchens and comes with bedding. These spots are designed to suit 2 people comfortably. The three caravans have a shared toilet and shower a short walk away.
Cost: R8,900 per caravan + 2 festival tickets (R4,450 per person) for the entire weekend.
Package 4 - Canvas Tents
Spacious canvas tents (3m x 3m) will be set up for you. You will need to bring your own matresses and bedding. Five of these tents will be available, conveniently close to showers with ablutions.
Cost: R7,700 per canvas tent + 2 festival tickets (R3,850 per person) for the entire weekend.
Package 5 - Camping BYO (bring your own)
There are loads of well made campsites nestled into nature amongst the boulders and trees. There is a communal kitchen with all the amenities (stoves, fridge, freezer, pots, pans and WiFi). Flushing toilets and hot showers are guaranteed!
You will need to bring your own tent, mattress, bedding, etc.
Cost: R3,250 per person (including 1 festival ticket) for the entire weekend.
Who is hosting this festival?
WHAM Fest is a collaboration between Breath In Experiences , Womxn for Wild and Climber Naadirah Moola te Water Naude.
Breath In Experiences designs bespoke mountain experiences, catering to beginner and expert climbers and yogis.They currently run various day events and retreats, from multi-day yoga retreats to rock climbing adventures. All hosted in South Africa's most beautiful climbing destination, Rocklands South Africa.
Womxn for Wild hosts and curates experiences in partnership with local guides and operators. Since starting in 2020 they have hosted over 12 experiences from surfing to multi-day hikes and even a mountain biking 101 crash course. They run experiences all over South Africa, aimed solely at womxn.
Naadirah Moola te Water Naude is the Transformation Officer for Western Cape Climbing and is a strong advocate for improving diversity, inclusivity and representation within climbing as a whole. Naadirah has co-facilitated the Conversation in Climbing, an event and space where important conversations are had in a safe space, allowing the sport to grow in ways that fosters diversity, inclusivity and representation.
Do I have to do every workshop on the programme?
No! We all know that sometimes we have bounds of energy and sometimes we just want space to decompress. WHAM Fest needs to be whatever you need it to be. Once you have purchased a ticket we’ll setup a quick call with you as well as send a google form with some questions to get to know you a tiny bit before the festival. The questions will include a list of all the workshops for the weekend, so you can let us know which you would be interested in attending. This is so that we can plan ahead for things like Lino workshops and bouldering sessions. So you can attend as much or as little as you would like. If on the weekend you change your mind about wanting to attend a session, please let us know at least 2hrs in advance so we can plan accordingly.
I’m a beginner and don’t really know the difference between bouldering and climbing? And what will we be doing at this Festival?
Climbing is divided into different disciplines namely: bouldering, sport climbing and trad climbing. This festival will only be focusing on bouldering. Bouldering is climbing without gear (ropes and harnesses) over short heights with boulder “crash pads” whereas sport and trad climbing involve gear like harnesses, ropes, helmets etc. *We plan on hosting a sport climbing festival soon!!!*.
The climbing aspect of the festival aims to cater to all needs including those who have never climbed before, those who have dabbled in some indoor climbing, and those who are at intermediate to advanced-levels of climbing. This is all made possible through the diverse range of workshops on offer, each designed to help you refine specific skills. Climbers of all levels are welcome to attend any of the climbing workshops! You don’t need to be climbing for years to take part in the Night Climbing or the Climbing Training workshops.
How beginner can I be to attend the “Bouldering Basics” Workshop?
Don’t know a climbing shoe from a normal shoe? What’s a chalk bag? Yes, that beginner!
If you’re anywhere on the scale from never climbed in your life, to only done top rope climbing but never bouldering, or even bouldered in a gym but never outdoors. We’ll get a feel for your level before the sessions and make sure there’s something for you to learn.
Who will be leading the “Bouldering Basics” Workshop?
We’ve got your back, quite literally! Our Intro to Bouldering workshop will be hosted and facilitated by Rebecca (Becks) Pretorius and Naadirah Moola te Water Naude.
Becks will be the lead facilitator for these sessions and is the Co-founder of Breathe in Experiences. Not only is she a certified Yoga Teacher but she is also a certified Mountain Guide, Climbing Instructor and Occupational Therapist. So she has all the necessary qualifications to guide and help you get climbing.
Naadirah will be co-facilitating alongside Becks and not only brings an abundance of climbing experience to the table, but also all the vibes. With a passion for building climbing communities and a desire to enact change, she’d love to see more womxn getting into the sport and feeling confident in the space.
What happens if we are on an experience and for reasons out of our control the plan has to be changed?
If the reason for the change is not one relating to physical safety or weather, we will try and adapt the workshop as best as possible to still allow for it to proceed. If workshops have to be cancelled for safety reasons, we hope you understand that your safety is our priority and that it’s not something we’d do in a hurry as we’d love for all of you to make the most out of the weekend.
I see you don’t offer transport to and from experiences in most of your packages? How can we get there and back?
Once all the tickets have been sold, we will put together a Whatsapp Group + Google spreadsheet where everyone can state where they are travelling from, the available space in their vehicle, dates of travels and any potential fuel costs. We want to encourage carpooling as less car usage is always a win!
Don’t hesitate to drop us an email or reach out over Instagram messaging if you have absolutely any questions! Hope to see you there.