Rock art tourism
Curious about African culture?
Visiting South Africa?
Want to do something a bit different?
Most visitors come to South Africa to see Africa’s wildlife and rightly so!
People also visit Cape Town and, perhaps, travel the scenic Garden Route.
These are some of the attractions that bring visitors to our country.
But most of them will miss out on a hidden treasure: rock art.
The iconic Table Mountain in Cape Town
Rock Art
Created by the ancestors of the San/Bushman, South Africa’s rock art is world-renowned.
Strangely, most tour operators and travel agencies don’t seem to know about our rock art. So they will seldom recommend a visit to see rock art.
Ask them to add a visit to a rock art site to your trip!
Get off the beaten track, hike the magnificent Drakensberg mountains and experience some of South Africa’s world-renowned hunter-gatherer (San/Bushman) rock art.
A group of tourists being guided through the Drakensberg
Experience the Magic of Ancient Art in the Drakensberg
Step into a hidden world of beauty, history, and meaning.
Join me — an expert in Southern African rock art — for a guided hike to Game Pass Shelter, one of the world’s most remarkable rock art sites, tucked away in the Kamberg Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal.
Though Game Pass is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it remains a hidden gem. This is your chance to experience it with someone who can truly bring it to life.
What You’ll Experience:
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A moderately strenuous 8 km hike (not for couch potatoes or people with knee problems) through a pristine mountain landscape of grasslands, forests, streams, and a waterfall. The walk begins at about 1500 m above sea level and Game Pass Shelter is at approximately 1800 m asl.
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In-depth interpretation of the rock paintings — their complex symbolism, techniques, and cultural meanings.
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Insights into the natural environment: the plants, birds, animals, and geology of this extraordinary region.
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Stories and traditions of the San artists and their descendants, offering a deeper appreciation of this ancient legacy.
Day trip to Game Pass Shelter
We leave the Reception Centre after watching an optional video about Game Pass Shelter and the San people. A community guide from Thendele village accompanies and fills us in on local knowledge and village life.
The walk up takes about 1,5 hours at a fairly leisurely pace. We enjoy the scenery and chat informally along the way about the plants, birds, animals, and geology of the landscape.
We spend as long as we like at Game Pass shelter, taking in the rock art and enjoying snacks or a picnic lunch. Then we walk back down to the Reception Centre having enjoyed a moving and enlightening experience that you will always remember.
Even better, stay another day or two!
Don’t rush. Stay over at one of the Kamberg valley lodges for a night or two. Enjoy good food and hospitality, see another beautiful rock art site in the area, or just go for a scenic hike. And it costs less to see more!
Go for a scenic hike and look at rock art.
Mlayo Miya
Trip Details
Day trip to Game Pass
Duration: Minimum 4 hours required but stay longer if you like
Cost (includes entrance fees, video and guided hike with community guide)
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R6000 for one to two people
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R8000 for three to four people
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R9000 for five to six people
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R10000 for seven to eight people
The maximum number permitted to visit Game Pass at one time is eight people plus the guide
Meeting Point
Reception centre, Kamberg Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal or I pick up from your accommodation (charged at R11 per kilometre).
Multi-day trips
(Game Pass plus another site or day hike)
Stay a couple of nights in the Kamberg valley and see another beautiful rock art site in the area, or just go for a scenic hike. Enjoy lower prices. More costs less!
Costs
R9000 for 1 to 2 people for two days
R10 000 for three to four people for two days
R12 000 for five to six people for two days (maximum number permitted)
Meeting Point: I pick up from your accommodation (charged at R11 per kilometre)
Khumbulani Ndaba
Mathiba et al
What to Bring
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Comfortable walking shoes
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A hat & sun protection
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Water & snacks
Ready to walk in the footsteps of ancient artists?
Let’s uncover the stories hidden in the stones.
To book your unforgettable Game Pass experience, contact:
A visit to a rock art site can be disappointing if the guides don’t give you time to stop, look and appreciate the experience.
Often the guide cannot offer more than a short, scripted commentary, answer questions, or point out special details that are easy to miss. You end up walking past the most significant and meaningful parts of the place without knowing it.
A superficial experience and a wasted opportunity.
South Africa has some of the best rock art in the world
Rock Art in Southern Africa
With an expert and enthusiastic guide, a visit to a rock art site is a totally different experience:
I will show you features of the landscape, its plants, birds and animals as we walk through the mountain wilderness.
I show you details of these complex and detailed rock paintings and their meanings.
I tell you about the customs and beliefs of these ancient artists and their descendants.
Visiting rock art sites
Rock art is a non-renewable resource. Once damaged it cannot ever be replaced. When you visit a rock art site there are some simple rules to bear in mind.
- Do not touch the art with your hands or any object (e.g. a stick). The fats and oils in your hands and other parts of your body hasten the decay of the art and contaminate it for any dating techniques and chemical analysis.
- No matter how tempting, never throw water or any other liquid over the images. Not only is this illegal, but the practice rapidly destroys the art.
- Avoid stirring up dust from the shelter floor. This dust settles on the art and bonds with water and other substances to form an opaque crust over the paintings.
South Africa has some of the best rock art in the world
Mnweni rock art
VISITING ROCK ART SITES (continued)
- Never remove any stone tools or other artefacts from rock art sites. You may think that no one will miss a single artefact but if many people do the same, the sites will be destroyed.
- Always get permission from the landowner or relevant officials before visiting a rock art site.
- Follow the wilderness motto of “Leave nothing but your footsteps behind”.
- If you see other people damaging the art, intervene. If they persist then contact management or the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).
Acknowledgement: This code of etiquette comes from the book Fragile Heritage: a rock art fieldguide (1998), by Lewis-Williams and Blundell and Rock art of the Waterberg (2025) by Wadley and Laue.
TESTIMONIALS
Dr Jeremy Hollmann is the ideal guide for anyone who wants to see the amazing southern African San (Bushman) rock art. He has studied the art from the Western Cape to the Drakensberg, and north to Zimbabwe.
Importantly, his knowledge of the San people is second to none, and he wrote his PhD thesis on their beliefs and art.
He has also published numerous articles on various features of the art, always explaining them in terms of authentic San beliefs and rituals.
In the sites, he opens visitors’ eyes to details that most people miss. In addition, he is an affable, relaxed and modest person to be with, out in the open and climbing up to sites about which few people know.
David Lewis-Williams
Emeritus Professor
Rock Art Research Institute
University of the Witwatersrand
Thank you, Jeremy, for such wonderful rock art hikes over two days. We saw exquisite paintings, full of drama and life…Your knowledge and understanding of San rock art was so interesting and insightful. We learned a lot – thank you!
Tanya Blumenfeld and Kasia Gdaniec
We were fortunate to have Jeremy provide us with a tour to the Kamberg nature reserve to see the Rock Art. It was a memorable experience…We would highly recommend Jeremy for Rock Art tours and walking excursions. He is knowledgeable, personable, and an interesting guide.
Julia Robertson and James Buchanan