Summit number two for today. I have only been to Pirauau once before, deploying a portable for a car rally many years ago. Knowing who to contact to get access to some of the hills I have visited in the past, and how to get to them turned out to be very useful here.
Pirauau is a hill inland from Tolaga Bay which used to house a TV off-air relay site, and radio equipment for the local power authority. It is a decent drive from Gisborne to access this site, with quite windy roads. However the views from the summit make it worth while. With the clear day you could take in the remoteness of where you were mixed with the beauty of the terrain.
3.7 MHz seemed to be quite fruitful today with 7 contacts and another 4 contacts on 7 MHz. With the sun getting low however I packed up as I still had one more summit I wanted to do before darkness.
Details
Summit – ZL1/GI-077 Pirauau
Height –729 m
Access – Head north from Gisborne on SH35. Before Tolaga Bay turn left onto Mata Road. Near the summit there is a gravel track on the left. Head up that to the summit.
Nominal time to summit – 90 minute drive from Gisborne.
Mobile and internet coverage from the summit – 3G on Vodafone and Spark.
Repeater coverage – 685 access.
Summit Marker – Trig and radio site.
Land Access Permission – Required from farmer or Kordia.
