Wellington Land SAR held a Dog SAREX in the 12,000 acre Terawhiti Station behind Makara and out to the remote southeast coast of Wellington.
Attending were:
Brain Fearnley ZL2BRF
Dave Walker ZL2BHE
Rick Smith ZL2TVY
Tom Clarke ZL2TDD
John Yaldwyn ZL4JY
VHF operation was established on ESB58 using a Police portable repeater deployed by 4WD and an AREC Icom F110 base. VHF was used exclusively with teams and the Westpac helicopter on the same channel.
One lesson learnt on this SAREX was to properly mark stakes used for antenna pole guys to ensure that they can be clearly seen by exercise participants.
Some photos here: http://spin.co.nz/gallery/album23
This was a relatively straightforward but productive dog handling exercise, with cradio ommunications primarily of an organizational nature.
- ZL4JY, Section Leader