Weraroa is one I had looked at in the past but decided it was beyond my abilities. During a work flight I flew over this summit and reminded myself that it was a) there and B) doable. A bit of online research regarding access let me to believe a 4wd drive track took you a good way in. Well it does but not as far as the topo map would lead you to believe.
This summit took 3.5 hours to scale. You start at the carpark which I have marked on the first map below at roughly 660 mASL. From there a quad bike track takes you where the 4wd track is indicated on the map. Where the topo map changes from vehicle track to person track, the track goes down into a stream crossing, the first of 5. All small enough and with good flow – so a nice place to wet the forehead. Once up out of that gully it is a relatively flat walk to the track junction – turn right to head towards Weraroa.
Along this track the gradient is fairly flat so you can get a good pace on. The track gets vague in a couple of places so keep an eye on the orange triangles. You pass a bog which turns into a small tarn. There is also a campsite near one of the stream crossings that resembles something from the WIlderpeople movie. After the last tarn the track heads up the final ascent to the top. Once you get to the top you will find a sign pointing one way to Bog Inn and the other to Waihora and Waihaha. A few more metres along there is an overgrown helipad. The views are limited but from the helipad a tall person can see above the bushline.
40 metres was the money band. 1 contact on 60, 6 on 40 and another 2 on 20. 6 points added and a new first time unique (unique number 126). My mistake was I left my walking shoes behind so I went in work boots. My feet (particularly the skin on the back above my heels) took 2 weeks to forgive me and heal. Worth it. But lesson learnt. My final thought with this summit – why hadnt I (or anyone else) done it sooner? This was an enjoyable walk (except for the sore feet thing).
Details
Summit – ZL1/MW-065 Weraroa
Height – 1088 m ASL (420 to climb)
Access – Access from Western Bay Road ( SH32) just South of Tihoi tavern.
Coverage – Cell coverage OK at summit but limited most of the way up. 675 repeater coverage.
Summit Marker – Bog Inn sign (see above)
Land Access Permission – Conservation Land, not required.
NB: Photos are not for use elsewhere, without prior approval
ZL-SOTA. Warren (ZL2AJ) and Emma 
All read enjoyed the arm chair walk be good to do but I don’t have any portable gear
Thanks for writing and photos.
Howard
LikeLike