After spending a week teaching electrical safety in Hawkes Bay to nearly 300 electrical workers I needed to get out and catch some country air and a summit. Komata is a relatively easy 6 point summit located just off the Napier Taihape Rd. I did this one solo so the photos aren’t so crash hot. However I would have no problems taking Emma and the kids to this one in the future. This track is part of an old rabbiter’s trail. There were other vehicles parked up at the hut. As it was in the roar, the dear hunting season, I decided taking a Hi Viz vest with me was a good idea.
The walk starts gentle however soon becomes a series of zig-zags up the face of the summit. The forest is mainly wilding pines and a few had recently fallen creating short detours on the track. On the way up there were some great views across to the Kaweka Ranges and Kohinga. Sadly there were no views from the summit.
Once I got to the top I quickly discovered I had no mobile coverage so had to rely on Phil ZL2RO to alert SOTA chasers via 670 and Facebook. Kyle then spotted me on Sotawatch to get me going. A couple of simplex contacts on 146 MHz then to 7 MHz where I worked 5 stations. I heard ZL4BEN ZL1BU and ZL1PO however they must have been inside the skip zone sadly. I attempted a S2S contact with Wade in VK1 but he couldn’t quite pull me out of the noise. Up to 14 MHz but no contacts were made. Ditto with 21 MHz. By now could had descended and things were getting a little damp. Time to pack up and head down. The walk down was quick – just in case the cloud decided to pop. Fortunately for me it didn’t. Another nice activation – 64th unique summit.
Details
Summit – ZL1/MW-066 Komata
Height –1083 m
Access – From the Napier Taihape Rd, turn left into Comet Rd – drive to end near Comet Hutt. Follow track to the summit.
Nominal time to summit – 1 hour drive from Hastings, 45 minute walk to summit.
Mobile and internet coverage from the summit – Nil – use 670 or 725 repeater for ground watch
Summit Marker – No marker except for a few cairns. GPS is helpful however if you start going downhill you have probably passed it.
Land Access Permission – Not required – public land.
