Fly on the Wall
Climbing and Abseiling Tasmania

It is one of the fundamental rules of abseiling that your harness should be a good snug fit.
I wrenched the blue nylon cords as tight as possible. And then gave them another determined tug. It's not the done thing in the macho world of extreme abseiling to ask for a hug before you 'go over the edge'...but that's exactly what I needed.
Tasmania's Gordon Dam is the site of the world's highest commercial abseil. To put it in perspective, stepping over the safety barrier on top of this 140 metre-high concrete wall is like climbing out of a window in the middle floor of the Empire State Building.
The scale of this immense concrete cliff is so huge that bystanders watching from the observation point struggle not to lose sight of abseilers. As I try to peel my white-knuckled fingers from the barrier Phil Harris, who has been leading tours here for several years now, reassures me that he is yet to 'lose anyone' on a more permanent basis.
I force myself to think of anything but the awesome drop that lies behind me and focus instead on the concrete that slowly begins to slide past my fixed stare as I feed the rope through the descending device. Gordon Dam was built to withstand the pressure of Australia's largest reservoir and the wall's strength comes more from its shape than its physical thickness. Its face is scooped into a concave so that the pressure of 12.5 billion tonnes of water (about 27 times more than Sydney Harbour) pushes it outwards against the edge of the gorge. This is great for dam design but I begin to realise the disadvantages for novice abseilers; within just a few metres I am already hanging free, unable to touch the wall with my feet and by the time I reached the halfway mark I am swinging about ten metres away from the wall. A gentle breeze wafts up from the Gordon River to twirl me playfully around, as if some sadistic spirit of the gorge wants to show me the view.
It is a humbling experience to be such a tiny 'fly' on one of the world's largest walls.
            The Gordon River, its tumultuous flow stemmed by the hydro-electric plant which gives the state an eighth of all its electricity, rumbles below me. Like all the great rivers in Tasmania's wild south western region it is stained the colour of strong tea by the tannin from thousands of hectares of button-grass plains and it is fed by an annual rainfall that often exceeds three metres.
Even today, the 2,300 square miles of south western wilderness is home only to a few hardy pioneers. There are areas here, the size of English counties, in which the human population barely reaches double-figures. The chirp of a mobile phone has never been heard in these parts and, under sultry cloud-heavy skies, you are frequently beyond reach even of a satellite signal.
In the late '60s plans for the proposed dam which would flood Lakes Pedder and Gordon caused the greatest conservation uproar that Australia had ever seen. Although the campaign ultimately failed (the original Lake Pedder has gone the way of the Tassie tiger as one of the state's extinct treasures) the struggle led to the creation of what is believed to be the world's first Green political party. Subsequent plans to flood the beautiful Franklin River - one of the most pristine wild rivers on the planet - were fought with more success and the whole area was designated a World Heritage site in 1981.
Despite its inaccessibility (most of the Southwest NP and the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers NP cannot be reached without a week of trekking), Tasmania's wild southwest has become a real adventure Mecca for hardcore wilderness lovers, from rafters and kayakers to trekkers, mountain-bikers and climbers.
This is not the place to be seen asking for a hug!

Tasmania's Top Climbing / Abseiling Areas -

1
Name/location of climbing spot:
Freycinet Peninsula (East coast).
Grade:
Suitable for all climbers.
What's great about it:
There's everything here - from 'bouldering' to 300m slab climbs. Towering granite sea cliffs, good slab and face-climbing and great wildlife spotting - including whales from Whitewater Walls!

2
Name/location of climbing spot:
'Organ pipes' (near Hobart).
Grade:
For at least moderately experienced climbers.
What's great about it:
Truly spectacular cliff (just 20 minutes from Hobart) with impressive dolerite columns and good crack-climbs as well as some challenging faces.

3
Name/location of climbing spot:
Cape Hauy, Tasman Peninsula (South East)
Grade:
Experienced climbers only...not or the faint-hearted! 
What's great about it:
Coastal dolerite columns, incorporating the world-famous Candlestick and Totem pole, narrow spines of rock, completely surrounded by treacherous water

4
Name/location of climbing spot:
Frenchman’s Cap (Western Tasmania)
Grade:
Isolated wilderness climbing, for experienced climbers only.
What's great about it:
A true wilderness cliff requiring several days trek into the heart of the World Heritage area.  

5
Name/location of climbing spot:
Stacks Bluff (Central Tasmania) 
Grade:
A reasonably challenging climb, requiring determination to reach.
What's great about it:
Dolerite cliff-face, located in sub-alpine wilderness. Great face and crack climbs offering outstanding views.

The End