“A pipe dream come true” is how a new climbing wall, currently being built in Te Anau, has been described.

The indoor climbing wall is the dream child of Vaughn Filmer and Andy Magness who both have climbing experience.

Mr Filmer is a rock climbing instructor and brings his enthusiasm for the sport to pupils at Fiordland College where he is a teacher and was instrumental in getting a climbing wall built at the college. Mr Magness has previously been involved in starting and operating climbing walls in the United States.

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Last Monday, after two years in the planning, building the new sport facility in the Fiordland Community Event Centre began in earnest by specialist climbing wall builders Uprising of Christchurch, with two volunteers from the Te Anau community helping out. It is expected to be completed in about four weeks.

The project is a collaboration between FEAR society (Fiordland Endeavour and Adventure Racing) and the event centre trust with the trust providing the building and FEAR society supplying the equipment, and they will also manage the facility once it is finished.

It has a build budget of $275,000 with a further $50,000 required to cover the cost of permits and purchasing equipment.

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The cost is being met through sponsorship and grants and Mr Filmer, who is in charge of raising the finance, said there have been some real highs and lows in their quest to meet the projected budget.

He said he has been amazed at the buy in from local businesses and individuals “beyond what we could have expected” he said, especially given the COVID-19 circumstances and the effect the pandemic has had on businesses in the region.

However, funding hopes were dashed when the Lotteries Community Facility Fund turned down their request for $200,000 and they were faced with finding an alternative stream of funding.

They currently have an application before Sport New Zealand to help shore up the short-fall and they are still seeking donations.

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Mr Filmer said most people probably think of the term ‘clip and climb’ when they imagine a climbing wall, however the term is actually a brand franchise, which they are not associated with.

The climbing wall facility will have a similar system, known as auto-belays, where ropes are clipped onto the climber and attached to anchor points on the wall.

It is expected the wall will be used by all ages and abilities and FEAR society will have up to 12 qualified supervisors/instructors.

Fiordland Community Event Centre Trust Chairman Mike Schuck said this was another example of the event centre collaborating with local sports groups and follows in the footsteps of the squash club and the tennis club, both of which have built facilities on or in the event centre property.

He said that once the climbing wall was finished, it would be the closest indoor climbing wall to the best climbing country in New Zealand.