Kangaroo Point is a narrow peninsula of tall buildings with water on three sides, and the towers along River Terrace and Main Street are almost all glass facing it. Between them and the river is the cliff, which means several buildings have no ground access at all on their best elevation. Behind the ridge towards Shafston Avenue the buildings drop to three to eight storeys and look more like New Farm than like the river towers.
Wind is the thing that decides a Kangaroo Point programme. The river funnels it and the towers sit side on, so the same afternoon that is fine in the CBD will stop work here. We plan these buildings for morning drops and build contingency days into the programme rather than into the invoice. The river elevations are also where rope access earns its keep: no stage or lift can get to them, and the view glass is the first thing residents complain about.
Kangaroo Point at a glance
Building types
River facing glass towers, plus three to eight storey blocks behind the ridge
Typical access
Roof anchors. Several elevations have no ground access at all
Usual frequency
Twice a year for glass, annual for anchors
What we watch for
Wind off the river, which decides the programme more than rain does
Photos
On site in Kangaroo Point
Local work
On the ropes around Kangaroo Point
The river elevations are the reason buildings here call a rope access crew rather than a general cleaner. There is nowhere to stand a lift, the glass is what the apartment was sold on, and the only way to reach it is from the roof.
We also train on the Kangaroo Point cliffs, so the crew that works these buildings knows the wind here better than most. Morning starts, and we come off the building when it turns rather than pushing through it.