The King Country farm turned climber’s paradise

Dangling from a 30m highline bolted between two cliffs is the type of adrenaline rush that attracted hundreds of climbers to a rural paddock in the King Country over the long weekend.

Karl “Merry” Schimanski’s property, nestled among sprawling farmland east of Otorohanga, is a climber’s paradise after buying the place in 2021 in order to keep it open long-term.

The Waipari property was the scene for RockFest, a three-day event that essentially turned the land into a climbers’ commune for the second year running.

The towering stone faces make an ideal playground for climbers seeking a slice of “zen”. They say it can become an “obsession”, fuelled by a fascination with heights and mental challenges.

Schimanski, an avid climber of more than 20 years, scaled his first walls here.

Despite “paying significantly more” than expected for the site three years ago, it was an investment into a long-held dream of improving access to rock climbing and bouldering areas around NZ.

“This place was up for auction at the time and there was a very real concern that we might lose access to climbing,” he told the

Waikato Times yesterday. People came from both overseas and close to home in search of the more loose environment, outdoor camping and concerts, spine tingling activities and tight-knit community that attendees say is worth travelling for.

It becomes a “habit”, veteran climber and highlining fanatic Matt Warwick said. And at times debilitating battle with anxiety can’t stop Warwick from clipping his harness in and putting faith in his skills and ability to remain “calm” and composed. Waikato was regarded as the “epicentre” of climbing, those at the site say, but regardless of the country or the terrain “it’s all the same, a mountain is a mountain”.

Growing Waikato’s climbing culture is what the organiser, Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust, is all about.

While there was a serious appetite for climbing overseas, New Zealand didn’t have the same “legacy of climbing” compared to places such as Europe and the US,, general manager Edwin Sheppard said. w

Climbing becomes an obsession, veteran climber and highlining fanatic Matt Warwick says.

Improving access to rock climbing is the catalyst for hosting RockFest, says Aotearoa Trust’s Edwin Sheppard, right Karl Schimanski.

PHOTOS: CHRISTEL YARDLEY/WAIKATO TIMES A Waikato farmer’s rural property has become a mecca for climbers seeking a slice of “zen”.