Up, Up, Up! was designed for young adults to climb.

The coloured rockfaces may not be the only steep part of these two artificial boulders.

The pair, installed for climbing on in central Christchurch, cost ratepayers over $60,000.

Called Up, Up, Up!, the objects were put temporarily on vacant land between Tuam and Lichfield streets by the city's bus interchange. They went up as part of the Christchurch City Council's Transitional City programme.

Carolyn Ingles – head of urban design, regeneration and heritage for the council – said the artificial boulders cost over $38,100 to have designed, made and delivered, including GST. They were designed by sport-climbing champion Peter Taw.

Another $26,000 was spent on preparing the site, installing the boulders and adding bark, making a total of $64,100 for the project. A solar charging table brought from elsewhere in the central city was also added to the site.

The boulders were aimed at providing young adults with something fun to do in the central city.

They were developed with the input of youth group network Youth Voice Canterbury. Both are under 3 metres high, and can be climbed without equipment such as ropes.

Up, Up, Up! went in last August and was intended to be moved to another site after three months or more. Ingles said no permanent location had been chosen for them yet.

The council did not know how many people climb on the boulders, but Ingles said they were used more at weekends. However, the phone charging table is monitored, with an average of four people a day using it since installation.

When a photographer visited on Friday, the only person there was a gentleman enjoying his afternoon liquor.

Also installed by the council last year were two lower boulders designed for children to climb in the Botanic Gardens. They were funded with the help of $30,000 raised by the 2015 Botanic D'Lights event.

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