Tasmania plays host to one of the world’s scariest waves. It’s Shipstern Bluff, that massive, pitching, terrifyingly awesome slab that produces waves only a few people on earth dare to surf. The headland that faces it–the one that the wave is named after–has partially collapsed.
Since people only really go there when the swell is right, no one is exactly sure when the collapse happened. Had it occurred when surfers were there, though, it would’ve been a bad situation. The bluff collapsed right where surfers suit up. “If you had been under there you would have been brown bread,” said Andrew Chisholm to The Mercury. Chisholm is the surfer and photographer responsible for the before and after photo you see above. Stu Gibson heard about the collapse and took a flight over the area. “Andy Chiza and James Polly Polanowski noticed the rubble first,” Gibson wrote on Facebook. “I flew over for a check and a major part of the cliff has fallen down almost wiping out the whole front area that everyone stands and films! the cliff has lots of loose boulders hanging on still, be careful down there, people were climbing over it as if it was normal.”
Chisholm doesn’t think the collapse will stop anyone from surfing there, though. “If surfers are going to surf that wave they will go down regardless,” he continued. “As a surfer and a photographer, it’s an amazing spot. You have to err on the side of caution anywhere around the world when you are in the wilderness.
The Parks and Wildlife Service are posting signs warning visitors to steer clear of the rockfall, as it’s likely it will happen again. “The walking track to Raoul Bay remains open, however, people visiting the area are asked to respect any warning signage beyond the end of the track in the interests of their own safety as the rockfall site is likely to be unstable for a number of weeks,” said Shane Breen, PWS Southern Region operations manager. “These events are part of the natural erosion process in a dynamic coastal environment.”
