• Mt Balaclava summit

Mt Balaclava had been on my radar for a while and as it turned out was my first activation in the Marlborough region. It is off the Wairau Hanmer Springs Hydro Road which is past Lake Tennyson north of Hanmer Springs. Although 1937m in height you start from about 1200m so the climb is manageable. It is one of a number of peaks in the area named after places and incidents in the Crimean war. Interestingly you have to drive over Island Saddle to get to it and that is reputedly the highest road in New Zealand at 1330m.

  • Island Saddle looking South

A favourable weather forecast saw me off early in the morning. I had originally thought about going left up a gradual climb to start with but changed my mind when I got there as the more direct route did not seem too steep.

  • Looking North West while climbing the hill – my car is at the centre bottom

And so it proved. 90min after I started I was at the top. The last kilometre was a nice gradual climb. It was a lovely warm day with only a gentle breeze. The view was stunning with mountains all around and the alps in the distance.

Balaclava is typical of summits in this region: covered in shingle and rocks. As is also typical, it had a rather small usable activation zone as the summit dropped away sharply on the west and east sides. Getting the pole up meant tying the guys to rocks and putting rocks around the base and luckily with little wind I raised it on the summit. I have also just changed to a Sotabeams 6m fibreglass pole and apart from the weight improvement, it is also easier to manage than my old 10m one.

  • Antenna pole on the summit

Being so far north of Hanmer Springs I was not surprised I had no cell coverage, but amazed I could hit most of the Canterbury 2m repeaters with 5 watts. It also meant Geoff ZL3QR could act as liaison for me by posting my band changes on Sotawatch. This proved a real bonus as I was concerned I would struggle to get my 4 QSOs without it.

For all of that QSOs were hard to come by. Geoff ZL3GA was number 4 with a 60m cw contact. He was in Westport and together with the Canterbury locals had the problem of being in my skip zone on most other bands. Geoff ZL3QR relayed a message from him to try 60m and there he was. The bands seemed flat in general but I did manage some VKs on 20m CW.

  • Looking down from where I was sitting – not much margin for error

After an hour the wind started to come up so it was time to pack up. I headed down the way I had originally planned to come up, which included going down a great shingle scree, and it affirmed my decision to go up the way I did. Although it was a gradual start you were going to pay for it later with a steep climb. All in all a fantastic day. Thanks to the chasers!

  • Looking Northwest

Getting there: From Hanmer Springs head up Clarence Valley Road, over Jacks Pass and then turn left onto Tophouse Road. Follow the road past Lake Tennyson and driver over Island Saddle. There is a small area next to the road you can park your car. Using topo maps head to point 1666 and then go left. There is no track.

Trig: a pipe

  • The Trig!

Cell coverage: None

VHF coverage: most Canterbury 2m repeaters. 705 was very good

Permission: None needed, conservation land

Time to the top: 90min to two and a half hours depending on fitness.

  • Going past the summit of ZL3/MB-087 on the way down – not today