Hawke’s Bay, North Island, New Zealand                   IOTA OC-036                CQ zone 32             ITU zone 60            Locator RF80LQ

Thanks to the extreme generosity of our very kind and supportive farmer friends (Jim and Phips), the club has a permanent location on the East coast of New Zealand’s North Island, just north of Napier in sunny Hawke’s Bay, home to many famous NZ vineyards.

The site is a hilltop some 100m/300ft a.s.l. with a fabulous ~360-degree view to the visible horizon.  For approximately 180 degrees, the horizon is the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean looking East towards the Americas.  We are close enough to the coast to hear the surf but not quite close enough to get the near-zone enhancement of all that lovely conductive salt water, unfortunately.

The antennas and equipment are clustered around the farm buildings at the highest point of the site.  For wire antennas, we make use of the convenient tall trees just to the West and North of the shack, while the beams are near or in some cases fixed to the farm sheds.

On the Great Circle map from ZL, the most productive directions are roughly NW to N (Europe and Asia) and NE (north America) through SE (South America).  Africa (with few QSOs but lots of juicy mults) lies to our W or SW, with Europe long path being SSE. 

The club previously operated the Jock White Field Day from a nearby beach site.  Despite the fantastic location, difficult site access was a serious drawback for anyone without a 4x4 or strong walking boots:

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