Beta
Experiencing kunanyi from above
When you step off and you find that first bit of thermal lift you start to go up and then you start to move away from the mountain enough that you can go up in circles, and then you're above the summit.
At that point you feel the world's your oyster.
Some days, it's just sometimes, you can go miles. You go down to Kingston, or some people have flown to Flowerpot and to New Norfolk. It's those days that you kind of always hope for. I haven't got one yet after 20 years.
You just need a light thermic breeze coming up from the north east and then you need it to be just light enough that the thermals stay cohesive. They stay as these solid columns of air going up and you climb up on them and join them up, join the dots.
About three, four years ago a guy called Ramon Brasnja opened a school here and the whole sport has blossomed here since that. There's now probably 105 pilots in the local club and it's just a joy watching them grow. There's a steady progression and you can't fly from the mountain until you're an experienced pilot, because you can't see the landing from the launch and it's also quite a rocky launch with some potential hazards.
On the mountain itself, each flight is just a joy. Just being above the top of the mountain looking around, looking to the south west, that's glorious.
As a remote access park, I hope and dream that it will stay as it is. I think you can divide the mountain into two zones. Below the springs, fine, build trails, hide them in the trees, whatever. But once you get above that and into the Alpine region, let's keep it nice and remote.
For the paragliding community, I just hope that we can improve our launch area and make it smoother and safer so that a broader spectrum of our community can play on that mountain and enjoy it.
Simon Allen
When you step off and you find that first bit of thermal lift you start to go up and then you start to move away from the mountain enough that you can go up in circles, and then you're above the summit.
At that point you feel the world's your oyster.
Some days, it's just sometimes, you can go miles. You go down to Kingston, or some people have flown to Flowerpot and to New Norfolk. It's those days that you kind of always hope for. I haven't got one yet after 20 years.
You just need a light thermic breeze coming up from the north east and then you need it to be just light enough that the thermals stay cohesive. They stay as these solid columns of air going up and you climb up on them and join them up, join the dots.
About three, four years ago a guy called Ramon Brasnja opened a school here and the whole sport has blossomed here since that. There's now probably 105 pilots in the local club and it's just a joy watching them grow. There's a steady progression and you can't fly from the mountain until you're an experienced pilot, because you can't see the landing from the launch and it's also quite a rocky launch with some potential hazards.
On the mountain itself, each flight is just a joy. Just being above the top of the mountain looking around, looking to the south west, that's glorious.
As a remote access park, I hope and dream that it will stay as it is. I think you can divide the mountain into two zones. Below the springs, fine, build trails, hide them in the trees, whatever. But once you get above that and into the Alpine region, let's keep it nice and remote.
For the paragliding community, I just hope that we can improve our launch area and make it smoother and safer so that a broader spectrum of our community can play on that mountain and enjoy it.
You might like...
On the Shoulders of Giants Some thoughts on climbing on the Organ Pipes, Kunanyi
Kunanyi "The Mountain" Hobart's special place
The beauty of nature guiding
Newsletter
Sign up to keep in touch with articles, updates, events or news from Kuno, your platform for nature