I am aware that there is an Association in ZL1 - North Island of new Zealand (Constituted: 1 December, 2015). I am inquiring about the possibility that an Association encompassing South Island of New Zealand is in planning?
Thank you for any information, as I am planning to visit New Zealand sometime in the next year or two, and it would be nice if there was a SOTA Association on South Island, where most of the really big / alpine peaks are.
From recent discussions, I understand the survey work is under way. The survey team will be able to give more details but the main reason for the extra time is that there are so many summits. You will have plenty to choose from.
We’ve passed the half-way mark on checking. It will likely be several months yet, but well worth the wait! There are so many nice mountains of all shapes and sizes, a good number of walking trails and many many mountain huts (Ok, some of them look little more than a garden shed!).
The best I can say is “soonish”, the work is well along but there are about 3,700 summits to deal with, so it adds up to a lot of checking. I think it is safe to say that if your visit isn’t too imminant then the Association will have gone live.