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South Kaweka

This little unnamed summit is quite a walk in but it isnt as bad as it appears on the map. The first climb to the trig at 899 m is the steepest part – the rest is a healthy but not painful gradient. The track is in good shape with plenty of views along the way.

This summit is located on the southern end of Kiwi Saddle where 3 tracks meet. There is a clearing at the top with plenty of room to set up and trees to hang an antenna from. The walk is in one place very exposed to a large drop into ultimately the Ngaruroro river. The day I did this it was quite windy so caution was needed.

From the tops to the West Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu (ZL1/MW-002 and 001 respectively) were clearly visibly between the clouds. To the East Cape Kidnappers marked where Hastings and Napier could be found.

The bands weren’t in fantastic shape for radio but they did improve as time went on. One summit to summit was made to Waiheke Island (ZL1/AK-020). I was a few days short of the winter bonus but this one is worth doing and I may even do this one again one day. 23 contacts in all.

Details

Summit – ZL1/HB-014

Height – 1381 mASL (height gain apx 660 m)

Access – Lakes Road – Kaweka Forest (off Napier Taihape Road)

Coverage – Mobile coverage OK on Telecom. Repeater coverage OK into 670 and 725.

Summit Marker – Track junction.

Land Access Permission – DoC land – permission not required.

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