Today we were in Auckland for a delayed family Christmas outing with Warren’s work to the Auckland Zoo. Warren took the opportunity of course to slip in and get another summit under his belt and in his log. While Warren is not the first to activate Mt Eden for ZL SOTA, this was a first for him all the same. Andrew VK3ARR activated Mt Eden a few days after SOTA went live in the North Island for New Zealand, and many will have already read and heard about his achievement.
ZL1/AK-023 Maungawhau / Mt Eden
This was great for Andrew being in New Zealand as SOTA went live as he had played a major part in getting things up and running along with Warren, Don ZL3DMC and Richard ZL4FZ.
Mt Eden as of next week will no longer be accessible by vehicle / road and today was no different, we had to park at a lower car-park and make our way on foot to the summit, a good 20-30min walk, though it wasn’t hard, the heat was the biggest barrier. Those with mobility issues will be able to obtain an access code on the day of their visit by calling Auckland Council and providing their total mobility scheme or mobility parking permit number.
Pedestrians and cyclists will continue to have unrestricted use of the road.
Getting the dipole up proved a bit of a tricky one on this activation. The line was hung low from the trig and tied at the other end on a low bench seat used for people to sit and admire the view of the city out over the Auckland motorway. However once on the air Warren had a successful time, nabbing 13 contacts for his log, taking his SOTA points to 35
Summit Information
ZL1/AK-023 (Mt Eden / Maungawhau)
Summit height – 196 m
Access via Mount Eden Road then to Puhi Huia Road.
Nominal time to summit – 20 minute walk.
Summit marker – Trig Station.
Land access permission – Public land – not required.
