Pukemako is a summit not far from Pureora. I had spotted it on the maps before and wondered if it would be get able. Access is via a forestry road that peels of the road to the Pureora summit not far from SH30. Dont do what I did, and stay on the same forestry road until you get to the last turn off to the … Continue reading ZL1/Wk-068

This trip to Wellington was primarily driven by an open day at Steam Inc, where amoung many other things you could drive the full sized steam engine down the 200 m long track and back. Well how many people can say they have driven a steam engine? Now I can, having driven (is that even the right word here?) AB 608 down the track and … Continue reading Belmont ZL1/WL-110

This one has been on my list for a long time so on the 3rd of December (2nd December UTC) I made my way out. To get here head to A.R.A drive and you will get to a carpark with facilities. Park up there and then you can walk the road in. Head up the dam first then turn left and along until you see … Continue reading Mangatangi

Continued from the Kohinga Blog Once I packed up at the summit of Kohinga I needed to find the shortest way to Burns Ridge. I came down the southern side of the ridge which was mostly grassland and looked for a good path down. Ultimately there wasn’t one but given gravity was on my side and I could see a skid site below I aimed … Continue reading Burns Range

Kohinga is a summit I have climbed once before – when we were trialing different radio repeater sites for the Kaweka Challenge mountain marathon. The marathon doesn’t exist anymore but the mountain is still there. I contacted the forestry and the manager gave me permission to enter. Based on this and previous conversations he seems happy provided its outside of the roar and the fire … Continue reading Kohinga / Bonny Mary

After leaving ZL1/WK-110 I carried on to Ngaroma. I parked up near an impliment shed and walked up through the paddocks, accross the airstrip and to the bushline. From there I found what I thought was a track however I got vined out. So I found a way around the vines and climbed up to a ridge where I unexpectedly found track markers. From there … Continue reading Ngaroma – ZL1/WK-080

On our way home from the Toley Road summit we drove past this one and it looked like an easy walk. All I had to do was to figure out who owned the land. So on my way to the Ngaroma summit ZL1/WK-080 I figured I’d door knock until I found the owner. The last house on Aotea Road on the right just before the … Continue reading Zl1/WK-110

This is a summit that I have flown over a couple of times on my way to Whakaahu (ZL1/WK-084) and pondered its accessibility. It turns out I had some dealings with the land owner from work so I reached out to him to see if he would give us permission to walk to the top. The land owner being a friendly local said I could … Continue reading Tolley Road – Zl1/WK-078

This summit I attempted to do on the Sunday morning of NZART conference – with a promise to Geoff ZL3GA that I had to be back before my SOTA talk at conference. Fortunately the weather was good despite a light morning show however the rainbow that ensued made up for the water. This is a great wee summit to do as part of a morning … Continue reading Zl1/WL-129 Makara

After completing Don Juan earlier in the day I decided to go for a drive and see if I could door knock to get permission to summit the Dome. From the property on the right after you pass the summit I was privaledged to be given permission to walk up from the roadside to the top. Following animal tracks and fencelines to the summit is … Continue reading ZL1/HN-120 – The Dome