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.

Southern sojourn Oct 2020

We had been invited to spend the weekend in Luggate celebrating the first wedding anniversary of our son and daughter in law. An extended family and friends gathering, I was a little under the weather on Saturday morning so was glad I had only alerted for Mt Iron, a 1 pointer in Wanaka!

The day dawned fine but with a predicted lunchtime change. The climb is an easy one, about 20 minutes up a popular public track to a large activation zone with spectacular views over Wanaka and the surrounding mountains. I set up away from the busy summit with a convenient fence-post supporting the pole and worked a steady string of contacts around VK and ZL using the KX2 and 41 foot EFRW. 

View towards Chris on Isthmus Peak. QRPGuys UNUNtenna in foreground

One interested Mountain Biker stopped and chatted about what I was doing. I headed down once the rain started to settle in. I hadn't heard from Chris ZL4RA on Isthmus Peak - of course he was spotted once I was about 10 minutes into the descent!

Relaxing (over a couple more drinks!) afterwards I figured I should do Mt John on the way home on Monday. Mark ZL3AB and Rick ZL3RIK provided the email address for the onsite UC Superintendent who was good enough to confirm access a couple of hours later.

 

After a pleasant 2 hour drive from Luggate, the Mt John turnoff is reached (just before Tekapo). You follow the public road and then reach the UC tollbooth (operates 10.30am to 2.30pm) where your $8 toll is paid (Eftpos). It's a pleasant 10 minute drive to the summit and a large carpark which is within the AZ.

Panorama from the operating site.

  I found a spot on the Western edge of the carpark where you can sit on railway sleeper edging (or down on the grass out of the wind). A couple of concrete blocks made an excellent pole support and so I decided to use the 66 foot (60-15m) open wire fed doublet. 

Tip of Lake Alexandrina and the Southern Alps. Open wire feeders and balun in foreground

 

 Good signals from all around the country meant I comfortably activated the hill on 60m prior to UTC rollover. 2m was tried with Rick ZL3RIK and Robin ZL3REW but no contacts resulted. After rollover I worked the ZLs again along with a good number of VKs including Gerard VK2IO mobile! At this point the wind changed and it started to rain quite heavily. A hasty pack up ensued due to the thunderstorm threat.

Operating spot showing the antenna support and SOTA-Dog Skye keeping an eye on me.

 

These are both very easy summits with incredible views - well worth doing if you are down that way. 

As always, thanks to the Chasers, especially the weekday ones!

Ladbrooks Hill ZL3/CB-618 Oct 2020

 This is a re-visit to a very nice summit in the North Canterbury foothills, located between Mt Oxford and Mt Richardson. At 1041m it's a bit more than a "hill"! The views are expansive, back to the alps, across into Lees Valley and across the plains.

 

Across into Lees Valley

 I had planned to do this in the last weekend of the winter bonus period and had carefully planned a route that was on Conservation land from the Lees Valley Road and would avoid having to seek permission to cross farmland. I headed up off the road and straight into thick bush - genuine bush-bashing and, after 1/2 hour of climbing, i stopped to check the GPS and wondered why it was blurry. Went to adjust my glasses which were gone.... Lost somewhere in the bush. With risk factors mounting, i abandoned the attempt and followed the breadcrumb GPS trail back down. No sign of my glasses but I did find a nice Silva compass! Home early, chased everyone else and went to Specsavers!

A week later, I decided to have another crack - this time via the farmers land and nice track!! I rang him on Friday and permission was readily granted. David ZL3DRN decided I couldn't be trusted on my own so came along to keep an eye on me ;-)

Gale force Nor Westers were forecast for the afternoon so we headed up fairly early and found the start of the track. You need to scramble up a bank about 10m around Ladbrooks Corner where your car (preferably SUV, the road is pretty rough) is parked (don't block the gate!) See the GPX track on the SOTA Maps site. The start of the track has several warning signs about being private land - do not ignore these, make sure you have rung and asked for permission to cross (he is very sensitive about trespassers but very accommodating if you ask). The track heads up the ridge through gorse initially but soon opens out into a nice track, sporadically marked. It's a straight-forward climb to the first summit at point 1030, marked Ladbrooks Hill on the topomap. This is not the SOTA summit, you need to continue South East to the next summit at 1041m.

East with the Port Hills on the horizon

West to the Southern Alps

Panorama showing a nice flat summit and spectacular views

 The summit is a large flat area, marked with a rock cairn. Plenty of room for big antennas if you are so inclined. The weather was great, a light NW breeze and warm. We found a spot that would be sheltered if wind came up and set up the HF antenna before working the locals on 2m FM. Mark ZL3AB called in to let us know he was about 30 min away from the summit of Mt Alford.

Looking South towards Mark ZL3AB on Mt Alford (on horizon). Mt Oxford on right

 

HF was tough with the A index at 13. I worked the ZL HF chasers on CW including Jacky ZL1WA, John ZL1BYZ and Wynne ZL2ATH and a couple of VKs. Mark called on 2m for an S2S and then David took over on HF SSB, working a string of ZL and VK stations and really enjoying himself.

David hard at work

 The Nor Wester was starting to build so we decided to pack up and adjourn back to the first summit for lunch in the sun (and shelter) and then headed back down the track with an uneventful descent.

Permission required: The first 300m is across private land. Ring Tim 029 2359909 the day before and request access. He'll ask you to txt your car registration number and your approx entry and exit times.

Directions: Drive to Lees Valley Road (just North of Oxford) and head towards Lees Valley. It's about a 1/2 hour drive along a rough road. Over the Middle Bridge, past a set of yards and you come to Ladbrooks Corner where two power lines meet at the road. Park on the corner (away from the gate!) and walk about 10m further along the road and you'll find the access point.

Spark and Vodafone 4G coverage at the summit (but not along the valley road)

All Canterbury repeaters accessible.

Walking Time: 1 hour 20 to the summit, about the same on descent. 540m elevation gain.

 

An unusual day of SOTA and long distance driving - Peak Hill ZL3/CB-542 Sept 2020

 The weather forecast for the weekend was for strong Westerlies however I identified that Mt Alford ZL3/CB-568 would be somewhat sheltered and worth climbing. I did my usual planning and checked that the easement would be open by using my photographs from last year - 20 Sep to 20 Oct the sign said...

Saturday saw an early start, leaving home at 6:45am to get there for an 8:30am start and QRV by 11:30am. Upon arrival I was greeted with a new sign on the gate proclaiming the easement closed, despite the permanent signage still showing the later dates

After fuming for a bit, I re-planned to head back North West and try Peak Hill ZL3/CB-542. The wind seemed to be OK, steady but not too strong. I followed the usual road through the Lake Coleridge village and was greeted by a closed road...

This day is not going well! I reasoned there must be another road so backtracked and found it, Homestead Road then Algidus Road. Soon I was at the base of Peak Hill and ready to start the hike at 9:45am. Quite windy but warm enough and only a light dusting of snow visible.

The climb was uneventful until I stopped at about 60 vertical meters from the summit to update the locals on my progress. Geoff ZL3QR passed on a message that I was to ring home ASAP... Ominous. Hmm, no cell coverage until I get to the top of this one so off I set, hustling to the summit. Mark ZL3AB called in from his Banks Peninsula summit with more information that my daughter had had a blowout in Otago but was OK. I pushed on to the summit and sure enough - cell coverage! Caught up with the full info - the car was badly damaged and being towed to Dunedin but they'd need a lift home due to have a dog with them, they couldn't fly! I made 4 quick 2m simplex contacts and hustled down the slippery (from snow melt) hill. Only fell over once (and took it a little slower after that). The wind was gusting 40 kmh which made the ridge traverse interesting but not dangerous.

 

Looking West to the Alps - note Nor West Arch above

Once I reached the car, a quick snack and then I set off South via SH72, the Inland Scenic Route (beautiful road, lots of SOTA summits!) and made it to Dunedin about 5pm. Packed up their gear and we were off back to Christchurch! I arrived home at 10:25pm. Google tells me it was a 15 hour/860 km day!

Lessons learnt/reinforced:

1. Don't rely on last year's notes - check the DOC website for current closures etc...

2. Make sure your partners, kids etc have contact details for your SOTA buddies, in this case my daughter contacted David ZL3DRN who alerted the rest of the troops and the message was passed as soon as I was reachable. Fantastic work, thanks guys.

What a day! Very thankful it all worked out as well as it did. For interest, the rear tyre of their Landcruiser Prado blew out at 100 kmh causing them to clip a power pole and come to rest in a ditch. Passenger side window broken, wing mirror destroyed and multiple front suspension components bent/broken. Skillful driving by my daughter's partner as there was oncoming traffic - it could have been so much worse...

Here's how Google saw my day:

Mt Richardson - ZL3/CB-612 Winter Bonus and Shortest Day - 21 June 2020

I don't normally write a blog for subsequent activations but this one was special in a few ways.

After a rough week of weather (Westerlies and 20 Deg immediately followed by Southerlies and snow to low levels) and just about resigned to a weekend without SOTA, Chris ZL4RA and I were chatting on Saturday afternoon and both commented that actually, Sunday weather wasn't looking too bad! We selected a couple of hills and alerted - we were committed! We agreed an early activation time was best so aimed for 10:30am QRV. I decided on Mt Richardson as it's the nearest to me (40 min drive) and a very nice hill - becoming one of my favourites. At 1047m it's just 53m short of being worth 4 points but it's not all about the points...

I set sail at just after 7am on a cold morning with low cloud in Kaiapoi. By the time I got to the Glentui picnic area and set off at start of the track it was 8am - sunrise on the Shortest Day. 4 degrees and high cloud. The DOC sign says 2 hour 15 to the summit so I was right on target.

I ran into the first patches of snow at the 800m point and added another layer.

Pushed on and got into fairly solid snow cover around 870m. I was surprised to see boot prints coming down the hill but think they must have been from the day before. Either that or someone (and their dog) had made a very early start!

Getting icy

I reached the summit just before 10am . Good covering of snow with high cloud above

Mt Oxford in the background under the cloud

I set up jamming the pole in a convenient bush and sitting on the remains of the old wooden trig. Worked the locals on 2m FM including S2S with Ian on Mt Pleasant ZL3/CB-822 and then got on HF looking for my sked with Chris on 60m CW at 1030am. He was running a little late so I started calling CQ and was called by Mr Reliable - AKA John ZL1BYZ with a great signal. John ZL3MR just about blew me off the hill from his Loburn QTH, about 10km away! It was so loud I was busy winding down the volume and missed his callsign! Recovering quickly I was chuffed to be called by Wynne ZL2ATH. Wellington is a tricky distance from Christchurch so 60m proved it's worth again!

Then came the highlight of my day (in a day full of highlights) - I was called by Jacky ZL1WA - her very first CW SOTA contact!! I bet I was smiling just as much as you were Jacky! Thank you, it made my day!

Next up was Chris ZL4RA from ZL3/OT-354 with a good signal and sure fist. Another very tricky distance but 60m seems to be the answer for Queenstown to Christchurch.

I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself at this point so I QSY to 40m SSB to see if Warren was around and was promptly called by Andrew VK2UH/VK1DA. He said he was also copying me on 60m (c'mon Aussies, keep lobbying for some access, it's a great band!) and then John VK4TJ also called me. Weaker but perfectly readable. Pretty sure it's the first time I have worked VK QRP on SSB in the middle of the day.

The cloud had broken up and the sun was shining out of a clear blue dome. I had several groups of visitors some whom seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing but it was time to pack up and head down. I sent David ZL3DRN a txt to see if he wanted a couple of points towards his Shack Sloth award and blow me down, he says he's just arrived at Saddle Hill summit ZL3/CB-725!! Called him on 2m and another S2S in the bag!

View of Lees Valley and Southern Alps in the background. You can see the antenna wire (41 foot UNUNTenna) sloping down left to right from my beanie.

Given advice from my alpine mentor David ZL3DRN that one should (almost) never descend the same way one ascended, I decided to take the long way home via the aptly named Blowhard Track and then the Bypass Track back to the carpark. Turns out it's the best way down this hill, despite it being a little longer distance-wise, it's a lot gentler on the knees (Mark - take note) and much safer given it's more Northerly aspect. It's actually faster too.

View of the start of the Blowhard Track, as you can see, all my summit visitors had headed down this way too.

Looks like I'm finally getting my layering right too, toasty warm even after spending over 1.5 hours sitting on the summit.

Thanks everybody for a truly memorable day I will remember for a long time.

Kahikatea ZL3/MB-274

This was my second Marlborough summit and is just across the road from MB-286 which I activated at Queens Birthday weekend in 2019. Research on Google maps showed a forestry road network and Topomaps showed a vehicle track nearly to the pre-summit where a large TV and microwave tower is located.

The forestry road is a good one, suitable for 2WD vehicles with care. There is a locked gate but about 100m before this, the public track veers off left and climbs steeply. Don't take your car up here! The road is suitable for high clearance 4WD vehicles and skilled drivers only! Lots of scouring on corners etc. Francie was staying with the car so I parked in the track entrance and set off on foot. If leaving your vehicle, there's an area to park it about 300m back down the road.

View from the track, looking south down Port Underwood

It's a fairly easy walk up the road to the locked gate which prevents public vehicle access to the transmission tower site. Climb over the metal stile at the left end and continue up the road to the tower. It's about 30 minutes to this point.

Gate to the tower and summit

Entrance to the summit track is over the rock in centre of view

Climb up the rock and you'll find the track!

The track up the ridge is unmarked but well used and quite distinct. Soon you come to a clearing and a few meters further reveals the summit with a disused tower base.

As the wind was fairly brisk and cool, I set up on the lee side of the clearing and ran the 41' UnunTenna up with the pole bungeed to a tree. This is another bush-clad summit.

I wanted to work Wynne ZL2ATH who was holed up in his cabin in the Orongorongo Valley across Cook Strait. we tried 2m simplex but no joy. I also put out a general call on the Belmont 2m repeater that I was looking for simplex contacts on 146.5 but no calls. Wynne heard me weakly on 40m CW so we tried 80m which resulted in an easy QSO. That done, I saw Soren ZL1SKL spotted so called him for a nice S2S. Great signals on 40m up and down the country  and across the Tasman on 20m. Also managed a SSB QSO with David ZL3DRN who hastily erected his SOTA gear BYOTA-style.

Mark ZL3AB reported he was running late to his summit so I packed up and headed down. A great day on a nice hill. You could very easily do both Kahikatea and MB-286 in a couple of hours.

Getting there: Use my ZL3/MB-286 instructions and instead of parking, turn left onto dirt road. Follow until you see the road fork and head uphill. Park in the clearing about 200m back (another road heads off South here) and walk up the road, taking the LH fork. Make sure you park in a safe spot, lots of logging trucks through here!

Access permission: None needed Kahikatea Scenic Reserve
Repeater: Belmont 147.1 ok, others not tried.

Time: 40 minutes from the fork.

GPX track uploaded to the SOTA Mapping site.