Adventures

Climbing the Totem pole in Tasmania

What and where is the Totem pole?

If you took a pencil and balanced it on it’s end, then moved some books and pencil cases in so they were close, but not touching the pencil, and then spread some bits of mashed up green jelly around and in between these things then you would have made a model of a wild rocky place called Cape Huay in Tasmania and the pencil is the “The totem pole”.

The Totem pole really exists, and it actually resembles a giant pencil. It is a giant skinny rectangular prism that is 65m tall and only 4m wide at it's base!

It sticks up out of the cold waters between Cape Huay (the mainland) and a tall rocky island called "the Candlestick" in Tasman national park.

It is an amazing wild place:

  • the ocean waves surge between the walls of the Cape and the Candlestick
  • Giant kelp and other marine plants are attached to the sheer rocky walls just below the water level
  • Seals and many other sea animals are found in the rough waters
  • The Totem pole actually sways when big waves strike it’s base!

Since I was a child I have often dreamed about what it is like to visit the Totem pole and climb to it’s tiny summit.

But climbing a dangerous mountain like this is not something that happens without a lot of careful planning, special skills and equipment. I had to get organised and make a plan!

How did we prepare?

When I was in high school I started learning how to safely rock-climb on big natural cliff faces. I practised and practised and had some fantastic adventures climbing many beautiful steep cliffs all over the world.

The Totem pole has been climbed before, and people come from all over the world to try to get to the top. But it is a very difficult climb. It is made of a rock called dolerite, which is pretty smooth, a climber must be able to climb up the tiny cracks and edges which are the only features on the sheer face.

In early 2017 a climbing friend who has a sailing boat and I decided we would sail all the way to Tasmania and try to climb the Totem pole.

We used the boat for our transport and as a "floating basecamp" while we climbed the amazing cliff faces that rise straight up out of the Ocean.

Did we make it to the top? You bet we did! (Here is a clickable panorama from the summit)

See below for the details on how we made the climb.

Inspecting the Totem pole

Here is what we had to do: (and what we felt when doing it)

  1. Sail over 1000km of coastal and open ocean to get to Cape Huay in Tasmania - seasick!
  2. Anchor the big sailing boat and launch the little boat (dinghy) - wet!
  3. Prepare all our climbing gear, including harnesses, ropes and helmets - concentration!
  4. Motor slowly past some curious seals into the dark watery canyon between Cape Huay and the Candlestick - beautiful!
  5. We got to within 20m of the base of the Totem pole, but the breaking waves were just too big and dangerous - terrifying!
  6. We went back to the big boat and started planning another attempt - thoughtful!
  7. The next time we motored the dinghy to the Cape nearby, where the waves were not so dangerous - relieved!
  8. We leapt out of the dinghy and onto the wet rock and climbed 100m up until we were near the top of the Totem pole - nervous!
  9. We tied a long red rope into the rock and descended down to water level where we could finally swing across to the Totem pole, make ourselves safe and start climbing - exciting!
  10. There was a ledge half way, which was a great place to rest our fingers and have a chocolate break - relief!
  11. Then the final 35m climb to the top. I fell twice, but the ropes caught me and I was able to grab back on and climb through to the top - exhausting!
  12. The summit was scary and amazing, everywhere you looked was a spectacular view - astounding!
  13. We had pulled the end of the long red rope up with us as we climbed and now we pulled it tight until we made a sort of zipline that we use could clip into and get back to the cape - exhilarating!
  14. Finally we climbed back down to the water’s edge and motored the dinghy back to the big boat. what a day! happy and relieved!

See the video from the summit below:

Totem pole location and features:

  • On the map you can zoom out to find exactly where the Totem pole is
  • The Totem pole is made of Dolerite, a tough, medium grained Igneous rock that forms boxy pillar shapes which are slowly worn away by the wind, waves and rain.
  • The totem pole is one Dolerite pillar that is tougher and has remained standing while others next to it have worn away or fallen into the sea.
  • The Totem pole is going to fall down one day, maybe soon. I hope no-one is climbing it when it falls!
  • The zip line method of getting off the top is called a "Tyrolean traverse" some amazing people have done a tightrope walk.
  • The Totem pole is in Tasman national park, which is managed for the conservation of natural and Aboriginal heritage. Adventurers such as I are very lucky that these wild places have been preserved and so we made sure we left no trace of our visit.
  • We saw the following animals: New Zealand fur seals, Shearwaters, fish, dolphins and some very fast little birds.