Wayo Carson estimates he has spent about 20,000 hours in a harness working on various cliffs in the Wanaka region, but he still prefers to relax by rock climbing.

Wayo is an industrial rope access expert who has maintained cliffs here since 1999, including those on the Makarora to Haast Road, Kawarau Gorge, the Nevis Bluff, Cromwell Gorge, the Queenstown to Kingston road and the Lindis Pass.

While some people with his qualification spend their time washing windows or inspecting dairy factory vats, Wayo prefers to specialise in geo-technical abseiling. "I like the rock aspect,” Wayo said. "Drilling, blasting, rock scaling, meshing - stabilisation type stuff.”

Wayo has been climbing since he was a kid: he grew up near Elephant Rocks (inland from Oamaru) and came to Wanaka for the rock climbing in 1997. He’s lived here ever since. For his day job he does cliff maintenance, inspections and emergency responses after slips. Our local cliffs deteriorate all the time, Wayo said, with rain and wind hammering the soft schist.

For his spare time (what there is of it for a busy father of four), he likes to climb that same schist. The activities are quite different, Wayo said: "Mostly when I’m at work I’m hanging on a rope, but when I’m climbing I’m avoiding hanging on a rope.”

Wayo likes all rock. Struggling to explain why he loves climbing, he settled on "it’s a part of me.” "Forging a line through nature” is how he describes route-setting (identifying a line to climb and placing bolts for protection). Most people look at a cliff and just see rock, Wayo reckons. He sees a line, an aesthetic. "When you’re finding your way up, you don’t necessarily look for the easiest way. There’s always something that draws your eye to where you’re going - a colour in the rock, a plant, a steep point.”

Even when he’s maintaining and stabilising cliffs he likes to leave them looking natural. Wayo has done this working for Geovert, Drilling and Abseil Services, Fulton Hogan, Downers and Oamaru Landing Services. He recently completed the final stage of Wanaka’s first via ferrata, Wild Wire, as head of construction (he spent a year and a half on the project, working out the route up the waterfall and placing protection). Now he is setting up his own business, Cliff Care, contracting his services.

Wayo working on Wildwire.

He has also set routes for climbing competitions and has established rock climbing routes around New Zealand - as many as 60, he estimates. One of his well-known Wanaka routes is a stiff grade 25, five-pitch (approximately 120 metre) route at Wishbone Falls in the Matukituki Valley, called ‘Fat Freddy’. He has also climbed in the USA, Australia, Thailand, France, Spain and the UK.

Wayo has worked on the Nevis Bluff since 2004, twice a year for maintenance and on longer term projects too. While the bluff itself isn’t beautiful after decades of manipulation, the vantage point gives Wayo a different perspective. "The sheer size of it, seeing the way it ages…” He and wife Kate named their youngest child Nevis.

Rope access is a good way to make a living here, Wayo believes. "It keeps you fit, gets you out in unique environments. My favourite place in the whole area is the Makarora road - it has stunning views and it’s a beautiful part of the lake.”

He works in all weather - snow, rain, wind and searing heat but said the worst part of the job is the dust. A hard freeze is difficult too. "I’d rather fry in the heat than shiver in the cold.” He likes heights but also respects them. "I’ve been hit by a few rocks. I’ve had a few moments on some active slips when things have starting falling down around me.”

There’s a whole other world on the cliffs: Wayo sees plants and wildlife, mainly geckos and spiders, the odd rat and possum. He sees a few falcons, including one that lives at the top of the Nevis Bluff.

Maybe you’re the kind of person who sees nothing but rock when you look at a cliff. Next time you’re travelling our roads beside the precarious cliffs Wayo helps maintain, try to glimpse that other world, the one that keeps Wayo in his harness.

PHOTOS: Supplied