Brisbane City Council approves Australia's longest sky-high ride

Australia's longest zipline has been approved for Brisbane landmark Mount Coot-tha, with thrillseekers soon to enjoy a 1500 metre long treetop attraction.

Construction on the zipline, part of a Brisbane City Council plan to attract more visitors to the area and its botanic gardens in Brisbane's west, will begin in the New Year and open in 2019.

The main attraction, to be built by Brisbane-based company Zipline Australia, will begin at the Mount Coot-tha summit and wind through the forest finishing at the JC Slaughter Falls picnic area.

A shorter 1,400 metre ‘megazip"’ would let adventurers ride side-by-side while taking in views of the Brisbane CBD at up to 65 kilometres per hour.

The megazip will start at the Mount Coot-tha lookout and finish at the Botanical Gardens at Toowong.

Zipline Australia spokesman Matthew Thompson said the project would be the longest and highest vertical drop in the country.

Thompson told the ABC “we're not looking to build the fastest zipline, we're looking to deliver an excellent experience that is safe and sympathetic to the environment.”

Explaining that the technology being used would be previously unseen in Australia, Thompson added “this really takes it to another level.”

Brisbane City Council will contribute $1 million to the public/private partnership project.

Zipline Australia will also construct the longest pedestrian suspended bridge walk in the Southern Hemisphere - a 300-metre walk through the treetops above JC Slaughter Falls.

The project had been touted for several years and was promised by Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk before his re-election in 2016.

Click here for more information.

Images: The planned zipline (top), an artists impression of proposed suspension bridge as part of zipline project on Mt Coot-tha in Brisbane (middle) and a plan of the site (below). Courtesy of Brisbane City Council.

1st September 2017 - WORLD’S LONGEST ZIP LINE TO REACH SPEEDS OF 100 KILOMETRES PER HOUR

7th December 2016 - BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL BEGINS $15 MILLION UPGRADE AT MT COOT-THA BOTANIC GARDENS 

3rd November 2013 - QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT INVITES ZIPLINE PROPOSALS FOR SUNSHINE COAST’S OBI OBI GORGE

12th December 2012 - BRISBANE PARKLANDS HANDOVER A STEP CLOSER

22nd November 2011 - WI-FI ACCESS IN BRISBANE PARKS

9th February 2010 - BRISBANE’S PARKS PROMOTED AS PLACES FOR FUN, VISITS & PLAY