Proposal for dual zip line on kunanyi/Mount Wellington alive as public meeting called
A proposal for a 1.2km dual zip line on kunanyi/Mount Wellington is well and truly alive, but already the project has already attracted criticism. The details.
Tasmania
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The developer behind a 1km zip line planned for kunanyi/Mount Wellington says he hopes it will be up and running by November next year as resistance to the proposal continues to build, with one opponent describing it as “the last thing we need on the mountain”.
TAZZIP director Shane Abel said a planning application had been lodged with Hobart City Council and about $400,000 had been invested in the project to date.
“At the end of the day, the biggest issue was always going to be the visual impact. So we had a consultant from the mainland do a fairly detailed report on that,” he said.
“The outcome of that was it was low impact because of where we positioned the tower.
“That was a pretty good outcome so we’re happy with that.”
The proposed dual zip line, which has been touted as the “longest, fastest, highest” zip line of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, would be 1266 metres long and would require a 25-metre takeoff tower to be built near the Springs carpark.
It would run from the Springs to the Stumpside Track off Strickland Ave.
Users would reach speeds of up to 100 km/h, suspended at heights of up to 50m above the ground.
TAZZIP is hosting a public consultation session at the Fern Tree Community Hall on Saturday, July 20, which will start at 11am and continue until 2pm.
Mr Abel has developed treetop walks in Victoria and NSW, as well as New Zealand, where he has also established a zip line.
He said he was now waiting for a development application to be publicly advertised by the council. If it is approved, Mr Abel said construction of the zip line would begin next year with the aim of completing it by October/November 2025.
Tasmanian National Parks Association (TNPA) president Nick Sawyer is staunchly opposed to the zip line, saying it would exacerbate existing problems on the mountain.
“It’s TNPA’s position that something like this is the last thing we need on the mountain, basically,” he said.
“Mount Wellington or kunanyi is a great natural area. It’s already got overuse problems for people who are going there primarily to appreciate those natural qualities. And the zip line has absolutely nothing to do with appreciating the natural qualities of the mountain.
“It’s just using it as a convenient place … [to] give people an adrenaline rush whizzing down the cables.”
Fern Tree Community Association president Dave McNamara said his organisation had not yet formed a position on the proposal and acknowledged that there were “always varying views with stuff to do with the mountain”.
“But it’s only fair to have a consultation first, and obviously separating it from other proposals that have been on the mountain is important because [this is] a fresh thing,” he said.
The zip line debate comes amid a state government-led review of the management of kunanyi/Mount Wellington, with Business, Industry and Resources Minister Eric Abetz saying its “land management, transport options, visitor infrastructure and cultural experiences” are “not up to standard”.
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