"Lyndon Lump" ZL3/CB-570 21 Sept 2019

Another fantastic spring day in Canterbury so off we set for Lake Lyndon in the Canterbury High Country. This hill sits at the South East end of the lake and is adjacent to Trig M where Ian ZL3GIG was headed. 15km away is Peak Hill and John ZL3MR. There was just the small matter of Red Hill in the way!

Looking to the Rakaia. Lake Coleridge and John ZL3MR behind the snowy hill!

 I was nice and early so got everything set up including the 2m Slim Jim to give the best chances on 2m. Terrain/Path predictions showed only line of sight to North Canterbury however this was soon put to rest. I worked Ian and then had good signals from Mark ZL3AB and Bill ZL3NB in the city and Geoff ZL3QR in Rangiora - 4 contacts and jobs a goodun! Also worked John through (or around) Red Hill and Rick ZL3RIK who was mobile, grid square chasing.

Christchurch is right through the centre of this view - edge refraction maybe?

Looking North East up the lake with Trig M on right, Foggy Peak and Castle Hill centre

HF conditions were great although with no cell coverage at the operating position, it was tricky to know where everyone else was and get spotted. Found John ZL1BYZ (Pirongia) on 40m CW and then Warren ZL2AJ spotted me on 40m SSB. Once I had worked the ZLs, I went to 20m CW (so the RBN could do the spotting) and worked a string of VKs and also two W7s which was a nice surprise.
Tried 17, 15 and 30m without much luck. Waited for the UTC rollover and worked all the locals again and John ZL1BYZ. A good haul, 32 QSOs, 6 S2S (couldn't hear Dan or Steve).

Take your fishing gear, we spotted these guys cruising the shallows right beside the track on the way out!

 John, Ian Rick and I had arranged to meet at Springfield for coffee and debrief on the way home, as is our custom. Happy to recommend the Highway Cafe in Springfield - nice food, good service and great coffee. We had a really good debrief - the highlight for me was Ian's face when Francie commented on "the very different ground plane effect between river flats and summits" (In a previous career she earned an NZCE Telecomms).


This is a nice easy 4 pointer - about an hours climb but take a walking pole for coming down, lots of loose material to negotiate. Andrew has loaded a GPS track on SOTA Maps.

Track is unmarked, follow the old 4WD track up to the ridge, then you'll see the summit post

 Andrew's directions to get there are perfect, only thing I would add is that the road in to the parking area off the Lyndon Road is a bit gnarly - deep potholes full of water. If you haven't got good ground clearance, park at the turnoff and walk in. It's not far and you may get a glimpse of the fish!

Peak Hill ZL3/CB-542 14 Sept 2019

 This hill is situated on the South side of Lake Coleridge. It qualifies for the winter bonus and was previously un-activated. My original plan was to activate on Saturday 13th for the Andrew White Memorial but it wasn't to be. The High Country forecast was poor with snow down to 800m (I would be at 1240m...) so I postponed to Sunday 14th. The other Canterbury activators did too.
Sunday morning dawned just as bad in Kaiapoi but the forecast was good so off we set. The drive to Lake Coleridge is spectacular - you run out of superlatives long before you get there!
The weather on arrival was perfect and the hill was largely clear of snow, just a few patches visible near the summit.

View from the Intake Road. Peak Hill on the left, lower slopes of Kaka Hill on the right.

 Access is via a well marked DOC track with the first bit an easement across farmland.
 Once you enter the Conservation Area, it's a steep grunt straight up to the ridge.
From there you walk along the ridge and, after several false peaks, end up at the summit

Traditional cairn at the summit. There's also an excellent information board

As soon as I set foot in the activation zone, I heard activity on 2m and worked Mark ZL3X on Moorhouse Range, Rick ZL3RIK on Carews Peak and Robin ZL3REW in Rakaia (the only one I was expecting to work on 2m!). Once I arrived at the summit, I worked Jim ZL3ND in Methven and I had my four contacts, a new peak activated!

Looking East towards Rakaia, the only line of sight path!

South East towards Mark on Moorhouse Range. How we worked on 2m is beyond me!

I set up HF with the endfed antenna "pointing" North. With no wireless broadband available, I hit the normal watering hole frequencies and worked John ZL1BYZ on AK-018 and John ZL3MR on Saddle Hill. Warren ZL2AJ worked me and kindly spotted me on Sotawatch. That brought a flurry of regular Chasers and I then changed to 20m for VK. No callers on SSB so I went to CW in the hope that the RBN would pick me up and alert. It must have as I worked a flurry of VKs. Caught up with the other activators again after 0000z and most of the locals. Last contact was at 0025z and I commenced packing up as the wind was rising and temperature dropping as was forecast.

Looking North. Very little snow thankfully and a stunning vista!

This is a really spectacular summit and highly recommended for the reasonably fit activator. Be well prepared, this is the Canterbury High Country and this hill is extremely exposed to weather.

Getting there: EDIT 5th Sept 2020:

"drive through the Lake Coleridge village and turn onto Algidus Road to the carpark, about 9km."

This road from the village is a forestry road and can be closed. A better route is to turn off at Homestead Road (before the village-signage for Peak Hill) and then left into Algidus Road.

 Follow the markers across the easement and up the track. It's about 1 1/2 hours to the top. Walking poles (if you have them) are recommended for the descent, the track is on the South side and pretty slippery.

It's worth stopping in at the village on the way home to check out the power station, fascinating information boards and displays.

ZL3/CB-617 Un-named summit West of Mt Thomas

Another winter walk on a fine day. This summit is reached after a 2 1/2 hour climb through forest and native bush. It's quite a challenging walk - a reasonable level of fitness is required.
John ZL3MR came with me on this one and we used his HF gear to try it all out.

 There were a number of trees down along the track and it was quite muddy in places.

 John operating HF in the background, antenna pole bungied to the summit marker (waratah) in the foreground. Yes, that's snow on the ground!

 View towards Mt Oxford with the Southern Alps in the background. Not a bad day for the day day of winter!

Panorama of the Canterbury Plains with the Port Hills in the background. It's a tough walk but well worth it!

We made a good number of contacts on 40/20m SSB and 2m FM. Highlight was working Tony VK3CAT summit to summit on an 8 point Victorian mountain! Other S2S with Rick ZL3RIK, Ian ZL3GIG and John ZL1BYZ.

I will add this one to my annual must-do list. It's quite a grunt but well worth the effort and quite close to home. It's 20m higher than Mt Thomas - hence why it is designated as the SOTA peak.

Mt Pearce 24 August 2019

First hill since returning from holiday, a nice break in the winter weather prompted a visit to Mt Pearce on Banks Peninsula. This is normally a drive-up but a bit dangerous in winter. Besides, it's a nice 30 minute walk up from the Summit Road. I checked with the farmer first even though it's shown as a road on topomaps, just in case he was still lambing. Andrew Craw 027 4557340

It was a beautiful sunny day in Christchurch but on the Summit Road - not so much! Drank my coffee and off I went. By the time I got near the top, the weather cleared and it started to warm up.

Going up through the reserve would be tough going - stick to the road!

Gear setup as usual, endfed 41' wire (UNUN at left) and KX2 strapped to my leg. A good number of chasers, local and NZ/Aus/Japan. Ian was on Saddle Hill and John on "Johns Hill" for S2S :-)
31 contacts and 2 points in the bag.

 View looking across to Saddle Hill where Ian ZL3GIG was operating.

Spectacular view of Pigeon bay from my operating position.

All in all, a great day out. A nice walk, good weather, plenty of contacts and finished off with a nice coffee and chat with Ian back at the Little River cafe!

I'd highly recommend this summit as one you could use as an introductory walk and/or SOTA.

Duvauchelle Peak ZL3/CB-759 13 July 2019

Saturday 13th July dawned fine as predicted and a group of us headed for the Bank Peninsula peaks. Me (and Francie) on Duvauchelle Peak, Mark ZL3AB and Adele to Saddle Hill, Rick ZL3RIK to Flag Peak and Ian ZL3GIG to Mt Sinclair.

Duvauchelle Peak is on private land so with a little research and assistance from Walking Access NZ, I found contact details and spoke to the farmer mid-week. He was very accomodating and gave permission and guidance to the start of the track. Please make sure you ask permission the week before if wanting to climb this peak. Mike Williams 03 3048610

It's a 30 minute climb up the ridge from the Summit Road and gives spectacular views of the other peaks, bays and up the Akaroa harbour.

Duvauchelle in the foreground, Akaroa on the left and Wainui of the right

Mt Sinclair on the right (where Ian ZL3GIG was operating)

Hey, who's that balding guy? I must remember to wear a hat... Picture of concentration here. A great collection of contacts - our loyal local chasers, Auckland (ZL1BYZ - S2S), Wellington (ZL2ATH), several from Australia and two firsts for me, Spain (EA1IRE) and then Portugal (CT1ASM)! Not bad at the bottom of the solar cycle with 12 watts and 41' of wire! 29 contacts, 8 of those were summit to summit.

I was really happy that Francie decided to climb with me today - her first "real" summit climb (let's face it, Carews Peak really doesn't count!). Very proud that she kept at it and made it to the top in good time. For a change, we both took a pretty good photo.

We met up with the other activators at Little River Cafe and Gallery for a coffee, lunch and catch-up. Yarns exchanged, some gentle ribbing and looking forward to the next one!

The activators, L to R: me, Francie, Adele and Mark (ZL3AB), Rose and Ian (ZL3GIG) and Rick (ZL3RIK)

Trig M 29 June 2019

This rather unimaginatively named hill is a great walk. Located in the Korowai/Torlesse Tussocklands Park and accessed from State Highway 73 at Starvation Gully on the western side of Porters Pass it is 1251m ASL. The summit has fantastic views of the alps and Lake Lyndon and lots of snow around, it was a good day. The strong westerly wind foiled my HF plans - it was a solo activation so I am always a little more cautious. Wind chill was a factor- there is no ability to shelter from the westerly as the summit drops off steeply on the eastern side.

Looking West at the head of Lake Lyndon and SH73

VHF coverage was good to Christchurch and the other activators, Ian on Flag Peak, Rick on Lavericks and Mark on Mt Oxford. I made 10 contacts in all and once again am thankful we have such a loyal band of 2m chasers around Canterbury.

View to the East, North Canterbury, Christchurch and the Port Hills in the background

I look forward to doing this one again with less wind! At the southern end of Lake Lyndon is another un-named summit, ZL3/CB-570 which I am keen to activate soon.

Southern end of Lake Lyndon and CB-570 on the left. You can just see the Lyndon Lodge on the lake edge

Another enjoyable day in the Canterbury High Country. Lots of others taking advantage as well judging by the 9 cars parked at the side of the road. Only saw two other parties, both whilst I was descending.

ZL3/MB-286 02 June 2019

This was the inaugural activation of this peak and my first MB activation. MB-286 (un-named) is a nice 572m hill, just a 20 minute climb up an unmarked but clear track on the border of the Robertson Range Scenic Reserve. Easy walk with pine forest on your left and native bush reserve on your right. Lots of curious Tui, fantails and wood pigeon about to keep you company. The track is well used and I saw several utes with dog crates parked beside the road so there are probably pig hunters active in the area.

The start point is about an hours drive from Blenheim via Picton, Waikawa Bay and Whatamango Bay. The carpark/start point is 4.7 km past the bridge at Whatamango Bay.

Start point of the track - where the spur meets the road

You need to turn off the track and bush-bash the last bit to the summit. There is no marker/trig so you'll need to use GPS and Topomaps or similar. Upon arrival I discovered a bush covered summit which is very unusual for me, Canterbury summits all tend to be bare, rock or alpine tussock! Here's a 360 degree panorama of the summit to illustrate what I mean:

If you zoom in and look carefully, you can see my 8m pole supporting the end of my 41' wire.

I got set up and started on 60m as arranged with Warren ZL2AJ. John ZL1BYZ and Jacky ZL1WA were first to call me with great signals - Warren reported I was in the noise in Taranaki so I switched to 80m and worked him and several of the NZART Conference SOTA session participants. It's a great way to demo - a live-cross to a summit! The other bands (40m, 20m and 17m) were flat but I did manage JH1MXV on 20m CW (got 219...) before deciding I was getting too cold (it had only warmed up to +4 degrees C by the time I got back to the car...) and packing up. 8 contacts in the log. Thanks to John for keeping everyone up to date with what I was up to.

Usual setup - KX2, FT-270R and 41" endfed

Heading down was a little slippery due to the southerly storm that had passed through on Friday/Saturday but no falls!

This would be a good summit for a family walk, there are no views from the summit but the birdsong makes up for it! There are however, nice views from the carpark of the seaward Kaikouras covered in snow and several of the Port Underwood bays.