Balls Pyramid

Ball’s Pyramid

Ball’s Pyramid is an Australian uninhabited island located west of the mainland, in the Tasman Sea, 20km southeast of Lord Howe Island. Balls Pyramid is the tallest volcanic cliff on planet Earth. Its height is 562 meters and its maximum base width is only 200 m². The shape of the island resembles a sail.

Video: Bols Pyramid

Nature

At the base of the Balls Pyramids lies the Tasmanian continent. It is a huge submerged plateau with New Zealand as the tip. Just imagine how deep it goes underwater, while also becoming the highest volcanic island above sea level! Over the centuries, the volcano’s eruptions have been accompanied by an outpouring of magma, solidifying in layers and creating this amazing natural creation.

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At first glance, sullen and lifeless, Bols Pyramid holds its secrets. Rainwater left between the stones nourishes the plants. And dying off, they create humus, in which biologists found Dryococelus australis – a giant stick insect. These insects were long thought to be extinct. Of course, some of them were immediately sent to the zoo.

History and present day

It was discovered in 1788 by Captain Lidgberd. The captain discerned Balls Pyramid from its larger neighbor Lord Howe and put it on the map. Incidentally, even today the island is still administered by the Lord Howe local government, as Balls Pyramid has been designated as part of its Marine Park since 2000.

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By an unknown coincidence, it wasn’t until 94 years later that a human foot first set foot on the island’s shores. It was the Australian geologist Henry Wilkinson.

And the first ascent to the top of Bols Pyramids took place on February 14, 1965. It was made by a group of climbers from the Sydney Climbers Club (Bryden Allen, John Davies, Jack Pattigrew and David Witham). All earlier attempts had failed. For example, Dick Smith’s team was close to the goal, but had to return on the fifth day of the climb due to lack of provisions. But as a real man, accustomed to achieve his own, Dick Smith still returned to the island in 1979 and reached the summit in the company of climbers John Worrell and Hugh Ward. On the peak, they ceremoniously planted the flag of the Australian state of New South Wales, issued to them personally by the state’s premier, Nevin Wran, and proclaimed the island a territory of .

To stop a string of accidents related to the conquest of the Balls Pyramids, climbing on the island has been strictly forbidden since1982, and access to it since 1986.