Moorhouse Range ZL3/CB-574

First 2 days of our Christmas holiday we were based at Mount Somers domain camping ground (a great base for activators).

It's a 20 minute drive to the start of the easement at the end of Chapman's Road. See Mark ZL3AB's excellent blog for full directions from Christchurch.

I parked the truck in the shade and set off. After a km or so figured out I had left my walking poles in the car but decided to carry on as the weather was getting warm! I would regret that decision later...

Mark's directions were good but I have uploaded a GPS track to the SOTA site as this is an unmarked route. Just a few meters into the conservation area I spotted a red deer hind watching me from about 100m away before gliding off. About 3/4 of the way up an NZ Falcon watched me approach, very unconcerned until I got within about 15m. A beautiful thing to see in it's natural environment.

After a couple of false summits I arrived at point 1153, the highest point of the  Moorhouse Range. Weather was fine but windy, my Garmin was showing 30 degrees most of the way up... A call on 2m FM netted three contacts using the Signal Stick 1/4 wave whip. I put up the pole (conveniently held by the fence wires at the strainer) with HF Ununtenna and 2m Slim Jim. The Slim Jim meant ZL3QR could  copy me for the all-important 4th contact!

HF fired up and promptly worked the ultra reliable John ZL1BYZ and Andre ZL1TM on 40m CW. 30m was barren but 20m produced a swathe of VKs including S2S with Peter VK3PF and Tony VK3CAT. JA5QJX/0 called in too, a nice surprise. 17m produced Allen VK3ARH and Bill ZL3NB (QSO #102).

I was alerted by Rick that David ZL3ASN was on CB-806 on 2m so grabbed him for another S2S! With the wind increasing, I  packed up HF and briefly called on 2m for UTC rollover.

Heading down the hill, I really regretted the lack of walking poles. By the time I got home my feet were badly blistered due to not re-lacing my boots after the hot climb and extra pressure caused by the lack of poles. I won't make that mistake again! This resulted in my New Years Day summit being walked in jackals- I still can't wear shoes...

A great day out with no human interaction except over the air! This is a nice hill for reasonably fit activators, 10.5 km round trip and 800m of climbing.

Tyrwhitt Peak ZL3/OT-493

This is a new one I have had my eye on for some time. New Years in Luggate meant a golden opportunity to activate. The peak is on Mou Waho, a DOC Reserve island in Lake Wanaka. It has a glacial lake on the island, just below the summit too so you can cool off with a swim! 

The island is also a Buff Weka sanctuary and the curious little fellows are very friendly and cheeky! Don't leave any of your gear lying around, it'll be gone! 

We caught the Wanaka Water Taxi out, I can recommend this outfit, brilliant service and knowledgeable skippers. We headed out and had the island to ourselves, an easy 30 minute climb to the activation zone, only complicated by doing it in jandals (due to blisters from Moorhouse Range). The last bit is bush-bashed off the lookout track to get within the zone, lots of scrub and dead wilding pines but not too bad if you were to wear boots and gaiters/longs!

A very compromised antenna was rigged, the end supported by a 6m telescoping pole with the wire draped across the top of the Manuka trees.

CQ and spot (Spark/Skinny 4G) on 40m CW netted John ZL1BYZ S2S, Andre ZL1TM and Wynne ZL2ATH S2S. By this point it was pouring with rain and I only had 30 minutes to get back down to catch the boat! Peter VK3PF/P S2S responded to a 20m CQ and I was done. Packed up, picked up Fancie from  the lake and headed down to the boat. As I type this, a few hours later, we have torrential rain and a severe weather warning - our timing was perfect!

I recommend this summit if you want something different, it's not cheap (normally $125 pp but $95 at the moment) but it is XYL-friendly and that counts for a lot when on holiday! If they have sufficient bookings for 10am and 2pm trips, you can go out on the early boat and come back on the second, this would allow a more relaxed activation and time for a swim. Note that the discounted price doesn't apply for this option.