WIZwireless

01/09/2026

Story time!

On Sunday the 23rd of August, in weather so wild that the Wairarapa Cancer Society Inc was forced to postpone the Daffodil Day Motor Show, (until 18th October - get amongst it, it's a great day out) the wind at Te Awaiti snapped a 12mm coach bolt and ripped the solar panels off the transmission site. Thanks to a very deep battery bank, we were able to sit tight and wait for a relatively wind free day. Which didn't happen for a week and a half. That's Wairarapa at lambing/calving time for ya, folks.

The team attended on Friday 28th to assess the damage and deploy a generator to top off the batteries in case we were unable to get back there in a timely manner. Thankfully the solar panels had shifted a mere 10m to the East and were undamaged, sitting in the lee of the hill. They were strapped down, and "eyes on the forecast" were deployed. Today was the day for the rebuild. First day of Spring, time for a fresh start!

Several trips up and down the hill on foot from the side by side, 10 metres of timber, clamps, and more bugle screws than I can be bothered counting later, we had her back up and charging. It's not an easy walk, but it's a lovely spot to have lunch :-)

Kahu eyed readers may notice Shaun rocking the Wairarapa Wild Bird Rescue hoodie. If you want one, get hold of Danielle. We're coming into baby bird season and our local manu need all the help they can get.

That's all from me for now - be excellent to each other, support local, and we'll do what we do best at WIZwireless - keeping Wairarapa connected.

-Ben

22/08/2026

Customers fed through Snowden will be experiencing issues as this wind comes through. Technicians are on route to attempt access.

04/08/2026

If you are feeling a little chill around the edges. You are not wrong. Stay warm out there. Breeze Wairarapa 99.9FM

28/07/2026

Kia ora I know we've been flooding your feed lately but this is the last one for a while, I promise. You already know that Wairarapa wild bird rescue is one of our favourite local charities, so please spend 5 minutes of your life sending a vote their way in the Environment category, they'd certainly appreciate it. What do you get for your vote? Awesome hi-res photos of Wairarapa wildlife, and the knowledge that you've supported a good local charity that deserves it. Speaking of which, hit up Danielle if you want a hoodie or a beanie for a cause. They're still available any time.

While we're on the subject of voting, enrol to vote! Make sure your voice is heard. We all know what's happening in November, but right now the Greater Wellington by-election is live and local. Get amongst it, it's super important that you do.

Whilst all this goes on, we're still doing what we do best, keeping Wairarapa connected. Tomorrow Shaun and I are off to Mauriceville to do the prep work for a major tower resilience upgrade coming next week. Basically our 20 year old pole is potentially vulnerable to Spring winds, no longer fit for purpose, and we're moving all the antennae over to a custom made, 5m high steel beast that will outlive everyone reading this.

Stay warm, be excellent to each other, and remember that it never hurts to help.

-Ben, Gemma, and your local WIZwireless team

Supporting schools and not-for-profits who are addressing social and environmental issues in their community, inspiring change for future generations.

28/07/2026

Open the gate to a great cause

Every ticket helps the Wairarapa Cancer Society continue providing free support and services for local people and whānau affected by cancer.

A huge thank you to Butcher Fencing and all the generous local sponsors for making this incredible raffle possible.

Get your tickets before entries close on 12 September.

https://events.humanitix.com/farm-or-lifestyle-block-fence-raffle

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook.

Turtons Masterton thank you for all your support in this amazing prize pack

22/07/2026

Over the moon today to see an idea come to fruition. I caught up with Danielle at Henley Lake to hand over the first batch of Wairarapa wild bird rescue hoodies and beanies. - Get one. Get two! Kit out the whole family for a good cause.

16/07/2026

Happened to check the cameras at the right time. You can almost feel the season changing a little day by day now. ^SM

08/07/2026

Out with the old, in with the new. Battery replacement today at Mangapurupuru. After 10 years of service, the batteries here were reaching end-of life for a remote site. Having done the heavy lifting, (literally, they're 40 & 60kgs each respectively) Shaun got out of the rain for 15 minutes to complete the wiring of the new array. The old batteries have been returned to base to assess if they're useful for any other projects. We may be offering these for sale at heavily discounted rates at some point in the future, so watch this space.

No network downtime, 500m above sea level in remote Bideford? Nice job, if I do say so myself. At least it's dry inside the hut :-)

We're also excited to announce the launch of our brand new website, created by our friends at Satellite Design and rolled out today by Steevie, our tireless Network Manager. Check it out for yourself at https://wizbiz.co.nz - Here you'll find a network status page, a link to our local webcams, and a whole bunch of other goodies.

In other news across the WIZwireless network, we've got remote start generators topping up batteries on sites along the Tararua Ranges, which haven't seen a lot of sun in the last few days. Hoping for a break in the weather soon, but we're stable and actively monitoring.

In the meantime, we'll be doing what we do best, keeping Wairarapa connected. Have a great Matariki weekend everyone, stay dry, and spare a though for all the folks battling yet another weather event. Onwards and upwards!

-Ben, and the WIZwireless team

26/06/2026

Good evening everyone - it's pretty grim out there. Shaun and I have been running about the countryside with Generators all day and part of this evening, topping up the batteries on solar sites that haven't seen a lot of sun over the last week.

We couldn't get everywhere we would have liked to for safety reasons, the video below shows water pouring over a bridge, between us and a site out Homewood ways. If anyone's got a problem with us turning down this crossing in the dark on the return journey, sing out in the comments and I'll happily educate you.

We've done what we can for tonight, there's going to be more of the same over the next couple of days. While we don't think any of our sites are going to go completely dark, there's always that possibility. As always, we'll be out there doing our absolute best for Wairarapa.

In positive news, we're also providing habitat, in the form of nice warm battery boxes. Our friend here wasn't expecting visitors this evening.

Stay safe, be very careful on the roads, and look after each other.

-Ben, and the team at WIZwireless

25/06/2026

Looking a bit wooly on the south coast. Stay safe out there.