Incline towards steep thrills

Like Rome, the city of Dunedin at the southern end of New Zealand also has seven hills. However, unlike Rome, Dunedin has the steepest street in the world. This hotly contested fact has also been recorded in The Guinness Book of Records.

Baldwin Street, in the North East Valley suburbs, is not for the faint-hearted. Recently, two pedestrians trying to climb the steep incline suffered heart attacks and had to be hospitalised. The gradient at the steepest section has been recorded at 1 in 2.86, giving an angle of 19.3 degrees from the horizontal.

Of course, when our American friends heard our little old New Zealand street was in the illustrious book, they spat the dummy. They were sure they had not just one, but two contenders for the 'steepest street in the world' tag.

Everyone in San Francisco believed that both Filbert Street and 22nd Street deserved the honour. Local retired engineer Dan McCarthy stepped in to sort the claim and came to the conclusion Baldwin Street was a whopping two degrees steeper than those Californian rivals.

Path history

The street came into existence when a Captain William Baldwin purchased ten acres of land in the valley in 1877 and had the area surveyed into 132 building sections. The surveyor had never visited the location, so, had no idea some of the acreage was ankle-bendingly steep.

We can only imagine how the early builders must have struggled with horse and cart to carry the materials to build houses.

Recently, a pre-fabricated house was being constructed at the very top of the street. It was a circus to watch the large sections being brought up the incline and put into position.

Now, let us consider those who use the street as part of their job or those who live here. Mind you, there are no overweight postal workers delivering mail on this street. There are 274 steps to help the climb but that also means the same number down.

With the dramatic angle of ascent, it is no wonder the upper part of the street was grassy for many years.

The lower part was not sealed until the 1950s and the middle bit had to wait till the mid 1960s before it was sealed.

Stepping up

After finally completing the long-awaited job, the hapless council discovered that during the summer, the bitumen formed into little waves and rolled down the steep gradient. To overcome this, a roughened concrete surface was laid in 1972.

That step proved to be money well spent. Not only did the bitumen stay put in the heat, it also allowed the residents living on the steeper parts to leave their houses without risking broken bones from sliding on the winter ice.

The street has attracted its share of accidents, too. In 2006, a female student climbed into a garbage bin with wheels for a bit of a laugh. Her decidedly stupid 'friends' set her loose at the top of the street. It seemed a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, the bin rolled down the slope, out of control, hitting a trailer on the side of the road. It killed the poor girl.

However, the adventurous types still flock to the street to challenge themselves against the incline.

A group of young men made it to the top, but decided to see how fast they could speed down. It was nail-biting fun for all of ten seconds. They reached 100km/h before hitting their car into a brick wall. Fortunately, they were not injured.

I drove up the street recently and had the frightening sensation the car was going to flip over. I have never experienced such a horrific feeling.

Sweet time

In the past few years, Baldwin Street has received more media coverage. In January this year, American Keith Wheeler made it to the front pages when he lugged a 40kg cross to the top.

The Baldwin Street Gutbuster has been an annual event since 1987. Stephen Woodrow, who used to deliver papers in the street as a boy and, should know better, has completed the challenge 13 times!

A more sensible way to celebrate the street's semi -perpendicular surface is to roll inanimate objects all the way down, such as in the annual jaffa race, where thousands of little red candy balls are let loose. The bouncing red wave of candy ends up in a jumbled mess at the bottom, with hopefully a winning jaffa crossing the finish line first. It is lots of fun and a safe way to celebrate a little street with a big claim to fame.

— Ceidrik Heward is a New Zealand-based freelance writer

Go there...Dunedin

From the UAE
From Dubai: Emirates and Air New Zealand fly daily via Christchurch. Fare from Dh6,070
— Information courtesy: The Holiday Lounge by Dnata