Here is my most recent certificate for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program…..the Murray River Parks Award Activator certificate. It is issued for having activated 20 or more qualifying Murray River parks.
More info on the award can be found on the WWFF Australia website.
Today via email I received my County Hunters Award from 10-10 International. It is issued for making contact with USA stations in at least 100 different counties on the 10m band.
Thanks to Brad K0DBK, the 10-10 County Awards Manager.
After leaving Hale Conservation Park, I headed for the Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park 5CP-097 & VKFF-0897, which is located about 80 km north east of Adelaide and about 12 km south east of Tanunda.
Map showing the location of the Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park. Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
I stopped off briefly at the junction of Warren Road and Springton Road at Williamstown where there is a small display, including an old timber jinker. The old horse drawn timber jinker was used in the Mount Crawford area during the early 1900’s to haul logs out of the forest to small ‘bush’ sawmills.
I then travelled north out of Williamstown on the Lyndoch Valley Road towards Lyndoch. This is the southern area of the famous wine growing region, the Barossa Valley. The Barossa is one of the world’s great wine regions and is certainly the most famous in Australia.
I stopped briefly at Mengler’s Hill which offers fantastic panoramic views of the Barossa. Although it was generally a fine day, there were some very threatening dark clouds out to the west as can be seen in the photographs below.
I initially travelled out along Krondorf Road with access to the western side of the park showing on the GPS. Sadly, this was not to be the case. Although showing on the GPS and maps as a road, there is no access to the park along Little Kaiser Stuhl Road. I had to detour around to Bethany and then up Mengler’s Hill Road. At the junction with Tanunda Creek Road, there is a sign indicating the park.
The Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park is located about 12 km south east of the town of Tanunda and is nestled amonst the Barossa Ranges. The park is 390 hectares in size and was dedicated in 1978 to protected one of the last remnants of native vegetation in the region, in particular the northern-most population of Brown Stringybark. More than 360 species of native plant are found in the park, many of which are of conservation significance.
The park is named after the nearby 600 metre high Kaiserstuhl summit. Kaiserstuhl means ’emperor’s chair’. The summit was named by geologist Johann Menge (1788-1852) after the Kaiserstuhl mountain range near Freiburg in south western Germany, a famous winegrowing region. The summit is known by the local aboriginals as Patpoori, meaning ‘big grass hill’. During the First World War, the name of the summit was changed to Mount Kitchener, as part of the anti German sentiment. It has since reverted back to Kaiserstuhl.
The park is home to a large amount of native wildlife including Western Grey Kangaroos, Euros, Short-beaker Echindas, Common Brushtail Possums, and Common Ringtail Possums. More than 135 species of bird have been recorded in the park including Lauching Kookaburra, Superb Fairywren, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, New Holland Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-naped Honeyeater, Crescent Honeyeater, and Grey Shrikethrush. Reptiles that call the park home include Eastern Bearded Dragons, Sleepy Lizards, Eastern Brown Snake, and Red-bellied Black Snake.
Kaisertuhl was first proclaimed on 3rd May 1979 with further areas of land being added on 5th June 1986 and again on the 3rd December 1987.
Between 1958-1962, the South Australian Field Naturalists Society recommended that an area of land near Kaiserstuhl, which was then known as Mount Kitchener, be acquired for conservation purposes. In 1970, while surrounding bushland was still being cleared for agriculture, Mr C.W. Bonython made a submission to the National Parks Commission seeking the creation of a national park in the Mount Kitchener region, where an area of approximately 1,000 hectares was still available. Both the Chairman of the Land Board, Mr C.E. Rix, and Director of National Parks, Mr R.G. Lyons inspected the land separately and reported favourably to the Commissioner in October 1971. Following the Commissioner’s recommendations, in November 1971 an approach was made to the principal landowner without success.
In 1974, in a submission to the Commonwealth Government for a grant under the State Grants (Nature Conservation) Act, a report was included on the Kaiserstuhl proposed area. However, because the assessor from the Federal Department of Environment did not inspect this locality, no further action was taken and no funds to purchase land in the Barossa Ranges were made available.
In March 1975, the Society for Growing Australian Plants wrote to the Premier of South Australia expressing concern that the (then) Woods and Forest Department had acquired land in the Kaiserstuhl region that they felt would be better suited for a national park. The Society had previously presented a submission, included in the Mount Lofty Ranges Study released by the State Planning Authority in August 1974, recommending that a new national park be established in the Barossa Ranges. The Outer Metropolitan Planning Area Development Plan had also recommended investigations of areas around the Tanunda Creek headwaters for possible acquisition for open space purposes.
In February 1978, Mr M.A. Picard, Project Officer with the Nature Conservation Society of SA, presented a report to the Society on the conservation value of land known as the Pohlner Estate, situated in the vicinity of Kaiserstuhl. When the area became available for sale, a portion was purchased at auction with funds provided by Mr Leo Wakem Nicholls (1894-1971), who left the sum of $30,000 to the Field Naturalists’ Society of SA Inc in a bequest. There is a small plaque in the park which is dedicated to the memory of the late Mr Nicholls who was a keen bushwalker.
I set up just inside gate 1 on Wallowa Track. As there were signs specifying that people should remain on the paths, I set up about 1 foot off the main walking trail. As a result I had a lot of interaction with members of the public during the afternoon. One couple in particular showed great interest and were amazed that I was talking to people all around Australia.
Map showing my operating spon in Kaiserstuhl. Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
I was set up and ready to go by just before 3.30 p.m. South Australian local time. As is the case each day at this time of the year, the 40m band was open to Europe, the USA and the Carribean. It was hard to find a clear spot on the band. Pedro NP4A was operating on 7.143, so 7.144 was out of the question. I headed up to 7.155 and started calling CQ. Unfortunately there was no mobile phone coverage with Telstra in the park (amazing!), so I could not self spot.
I called CQ for a few minutes and finally David VK3UCD came back to my call, running his newly put together Bitx40 transceiver. Andrew VK7DW was next, followed by Stef VK5HSX/2 and then Mike VK3ZMD. After 14 minutes, I had contact number 10 in the log, a QSO with Darrin VK3ER.
Band conditions had picked up very well since my earlier activation, with excellent signals from the east coast. Contact number 20 of the activation was a Park to Park QSO with Mark VK4SMA/p who was activating the Mount Perry Conservation Park VKFF-1609 in Queensland.
Just when I thought that local propagation was not working on 40m, I heard my wife Marija VK5FMAZ call in with an excellent 5/9 signal. I also logged a few more VK5’s including Andrew VK5MR, Sue VK5AYL, Ivan VK5HS, and Trevor VK5TW, before the band fell out again for local contacts. It was also nice to log my good mate Greg VK8GM in Alice Springs, who had a very strong 5/9 + signal.
I logged a total of 42 stations on 40m from VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK7, and VK8 before heading to the 20m band.
I headed to 14.310, the normal park & SOTA calling frequency on 20m, and asked if the frequency was in use. Much to my surprise, Hans VK6XN/p came back, stating he had taken a break from his activation to take a few photographs. I logged Hans who was in the Gooseberry Hill National Park VKFF-0201, with a strong 5/8 signal. Hans kindly spotted me on 14.305 and that is where I headed. Fred VK4FE was the first in the log on that frequency, followed by Daniel VK6WE, and then Tadashi JA1VRY in Japan. But that was the limit of my callers, and about 5 minutes of CQ calls went unanswered.
I then moved to 3.610 on the 80m band and called CQ for around 5 minutes with no takers. Unfortunately I was unable to self spot due to no phone coverage. So I decided to head back to 40m and hopefully work someone who could spot me. I was lucky, because I found Hans VK6XN had QSYd to 7.144 from 20m. I logged Hans and then asked if Hans could spot me on 3.610, which he kindly did.
I headed back to 3.610 and it was clear that the spot had worked well, as there were a lot of stations who came back to my CQ call. I logged a total of 18 stations on 80m from VK2, VK3, VK4, and VK5.
It was now approaching 5.30 p.m. local time and the temperature had dropped very quickly to 6 deg C. I had a total of 65 contacts in the log.
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-
References.
Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/kaiserstuhl-conservation-park/>, viewed 25th June 2017
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 2010, ‘Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park’.
Department for Environment and Heritage. Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park Management Plan, 2006.
Wikipedia, 2017, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiserstuhl_Conservation_Park>, viewed 25th June 2017
Yesterday morning (Saturday 24th June 2017) I enjoyed a bit of a sleep in on my weekend off. I then ventured up to the shack where I booked in to the Riverland Radio Club Net on 40m, whist enjoying a cup of coffee and some toast. At the end of the net I headed up to the study to check my emails and decided that heading out to a park or two was going to be a much more enjoyable option.
So I jumped on to Location SA Map Viewer to check out which parks I should head out to activate. I have pretty much flogged to death all of the parks within a 300 km radius from home, but there was one park which I had not qualified for the global World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. That being the Hale Conservation Park 5CP-086 & VKFF-0889, which is located near the town of Williamstown, about 60 km north east of Adelaide. The park is located on the southern boundary of the famous wine growing region, the Barossa Valley.
Map showing the location of the Hale Conservation Park, north east of Adelaide. Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
It is a beautiful drive out to the park from my home, through the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’. I headed out through Woodside and then on towards Mount Torrens. The GPS took me through some of the back roads and then north along Warren Road until I reached the park.
Hale Conservation Park was established in 1964 and was named after Herbert Mathew Hale, OBE (1895-1963), who was a Director of the South Australian Museum and Commissioner of National Parks and Wildlife until 1963. The park is 189 hectares (470 acres)in size.
Herbert Hale. Image courtesy of Trove.
Hale is mostly Woodland comprised of Long-leaf Box, Pimk Gum, Messmate Stringybark, Golden Wattle and Yacca. The park conserves the Oyster Bay Cypress Pine. For a few weeks each year in winter, there are stunning blooms of Red Flame Heath, and during my visit I was lucky enough to witness this. The landscape was alive with red flowers.
There are a number of challenging walking trails in the park which provide spectacular views of the South Para valley and reservoir. Thanks to the Walking Trails Support Group, there are a number of signs and distance markers along the trail.
The park is home to a large amount of native wildlife including Western Grey Kangaroos, Echidnas, and the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot. More than 85 species of bird have been recorded in the park including Superb Fairywren, Eastern Spinebill, New Holland Honeyeater, Crescent Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Australian Golden Whistler, and Black-winged Currawong.
Access to the park is on Warren Road, about 2 km out of Williamstown. The park is well signposted from the road, and there is a small carparking area here.
I set up along Hale Track, using my normal portable equipment: Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts output, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole, inverted vee @ 7 metres. Whilst setting up I had a chat with a lady who was out bushwalking with her young daughter. It turned out that she was aware of the hobby of amateur radio as she had been involved in the ARISS program as a school teacher.
Map showing my operating spot in the park. Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
On my way to the park I had worked Gerard VK2JNG/p who was activating the Eurobodalla National Park VKFF-0164. Gerard was one of 3 people I had taken out into the field on the Sunday of the recent WIA AGM & Convention at Hahndorf, and he has certainly been bitten by the portable bug. So prior to calling CQ, I tuned across the 40m band hoping to get Gerard in the log, Park to Park. I found Gerard calling CQ on 7.090 and logged Gerard, 5/9 both ways. I had been doing a bit of work at home during the week erecting a 2m yagi, 70cm yagi, and a 6m yagi, and I realised after working Gerard that I still had the tx set on 5 watts.
I then moved up the band to 7.144 and started calling CQ. First taker was Dennis VK2HHA in Albury with a nice 5/9 + signal, followed by Peter VK3PF and then Brett VK2VW. It was slow and steady going, with contact number 10 in the log after 12 minutes, thus qualifying the park for me for VKFF. Regular park hunter Sergio VK3SFG was contact number 10.
Fred VK4FE was contact number 11 in the log, and it was at this time that Mick VK3GGG sent me an SMS message to advise that Tony VK3XV wason 14.244 in a park in the USA. I was fortunate in that callers were slow on 40m, so I quickly lowered the squid pole and removed the links for 20m, and headed to 14.244. I could just barely hear Tony, certainly not strong enough for a QSO, but I could hear the USA park hunters giving Tony a shout for the Field Day.
I headed back to 7.144 and called CQ again, which was answered by John VK4TJ. A few calls later, I had another Park to Park contact in the log. This time with Bill VK3CWF/p who was activating Arthurs Seat State Park VKFF-0750. Despite it being a weekend, there was not the normal flurry of callers, but rather a steady flow. It was clear that local propagation on 40m was not working, with my wife Marija VK5FMAZ texting me, advising that there was no copy back to our home QTH at Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills.
I logged a total of 46 stations on 40m, with contact number 44 being with Peter VK3FPHG in Ballarat. The 44 QSOs had taken me 1 hour & 15 minutes. Amongst these QSOs was another Park to Park contact, with Ian VK5MA/6 who was at Thomas River in the Cape Arid National Park VKFF-0076 near Esperance in Western Australia. Ian had a beautiful strong 5/8 signal and reciprocated with a 5/5 for me. I logged a few QRP stations including Glenn VK2GPT running 5 watts and a new loop antenna, and Jason VK2FAVL in Sydney Harbour who was running QRP 5 watts and a Buddipole.
I then headed over to 3.610 on the 80m band hoping to log a few of the VK5’s. First in the log was Roy VK3FRC who had followed me down from 40m. Next was Ivan VK5HS in the Riverland who was 5/9 +, Eric VK3BSG 125 km NW of Melbourne, and then Marija VK5FMAZ who was contact number 50. I worked a further 6 stations from VK3 and VK5, before heading over to 14.310 on the 20m band.
Sadly, my only station logged there was Rob VK4AAC/2 who was struggling to hear me. Not long after I had started calling CQ, a USA Field station had come up on frequency and started calling CQ. After a few minutes I decided it just wasn’t worth trying to compete with her on the same frequency, so I pack up and headed off to my next park, the Kaiser Stuhl Conservation Park. I had a total of 57 stations in the log, and a unique park qualified for WWFF.
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-
I worked the following station on 20m SSB:-
References.
Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/hale-conservation-park/>, viewed 25th June 2017
National Parks South Australia, 2017, <http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Barossa/hale-conservation-park>, viewed 25th June 2017
Wikipedia, 2017, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hale_Conservation_Park>, viewed 25th June 2017
I have just qualified for my VKFF Activator Honour Roll 175 certificate which is issued for having activated 175 different VKFF reference areas.
Thanks to all of the hunters who have called me during these activations.
Following up on my previous post, I’ve now completed Marija’s log for the 2017 VK Shires Contest. This was Marija’s first ever Contest.
Marija ended up with 78 QSOs and 62 different Shires & 1 Zone. Her claimed score is 4,914 points in the Single Op All Band Rover section.
Marija activated the following shires during the contest:-
The graph below shows Marija’s activity during the contest.
Not a bad effort at all considering Marija’s legitimate 10 watts PEP, her first contest, and challenging band conditions. WELL DONE.
I have finalised my log for the 2017 VK Shires Contest. I entered into the Single Op All Band Rover section. I activated the following shires during the contest:-
I ended up with a total of 193 QSOs. I worked a total of 151 different Shires and two Zones. My claimed score is 29,529 points.
The band conditions were quite challenging at times during the contest, with close in propagation being non existant at times.
I ran my normal portable station for the contest, consisting of Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts, and a 20/40/80m linked dipole, inverted vee, supported on a 7m telescopic heavy duty squid pole.
I was active from around 0714 UTC on Saturday 10h June in the Telford Scrub Conservation Park, just north of Mount Gambier. This is located in the Grant District Council area. I activated the park for around 2 hours & 15 minutes, making a total of 79 contacts on 40m SSB & 80m SSB. Marija VK5FMAZ was also with me and spent a little bit of time on air making some contacts for the contest. In the end it got just too cold for us in the park, so we headed into Mount Gambier to buy some tea. I made a handful (6) of contacts whilst in Mount Gambier.
Then on Sunday morning, 11th June, Marija and I headed to the Lower Glenelg River Conservation Park situated right on the VK5/VK3 border. This is also located in the Grant District Council area. I was on air from around 0016 UTC until 0151 UTC and made a total of 44 contacts for the Contest. Plus a few double ups for those I had worked the day before, but who wanted to log the park. Marija also qualified the park and made a number of contacts for the contest.
We then crossed the border into Victoria and activated the Lower Glenelg National Park which was located in Glenelg Shire Council (GL3). I made a total of 65 contacts on 40m SSB & 20m SSB. Marija also qualified the park for both the WWFF global program and also VKFF, and also the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award.
Below is a graph (from VK Contest Logger) which shows my activity. From around 0714 UTC on Saturday for a bit over 2 hours. And then again on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon.
The vast majority of my contacts were made on SSB on the 40m band – a total of 155 QSOs.
The graph below shows my activity on the 40m band where I made a total of 155 QSOs.
The graph below shows my activity on the 80m band where I made a total of 35 QSOs.
And just 3 QSOs on the 20m band on SSB. Conditions on 20m were extremely poor.
Last year I made a total of 156 QSOs with 16,704 points and came first in the Rover section. This year I made an additional 33 contacts on top of last year. I’ll be keen to see the results for this year’s contest.
I will tally up Marija’s contest QSOs and place another post once I have completed her log.
This morning I received a very nice certificate from Romania. It is issued for having worked 10 different WWFF reference areas, and making 200 QSOs or more in each of those reference areas.
Thanks to Pit YO3JW, the YOFF Awards Manager.
Our final trip for our trip away, on Monday 12th June 2017 was the Padthaway Conservation Park 5CP-169 & VKFF-0924. The park is located about 287 km south east of Adelaide.
Map showing the location of the Padthaway Conservation Park. Map courtesy of Protected Planet.
We travelled through the little town of Padthaway which is at the centre of the Padthaway wine growing region which is 62 km long and 8 km wide, with the Riddoch Highway running through the middle. The park is well signposted from the Highway.
The park is situated just 2 km north east of the town of Padthaway. We accessed the park via Vogelsang Road.
Aerial view of the park. Image courtesy of Google maps
The park which preserves a remnant block of native vegetation, was first proclaimed as the Padthaway National Park on 18th Match 1971. It became the Padthaway Conservation Park on 27th April 1972. The park consists of South Australian Blue Gum and Rough barked Manna Gum woodland, and Brown Stringybark low open forest.
More than 95 species of bird have been recorded in the park including Rainbow Lorikeet, White-throated Treecreeper, Superb Fairywren, Brown Thornbill, New Holland Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, Mallee Ringneck, Blue-winged Parrot, Fuscous Honeyeater, Black-capped Sittella, Restless Flycatcher, & Eastern Yellow Robin.
Padthaway was the name of the original pastoral station which was established near the town in 1847 by a successful Scottish businessman, Robert Lawson. In 1882 the Padthaway Estate Homestead was built by Eliza and Robert Lawson. In 1952 Padthaway became the centre of a soldier settlement scheme. The first vineyards were planted in the region in 1968 and today Padthaway is a top wine-producing region.
This was to be another unique park for both Marija and I, for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. I had activated the park back in 2014 as part of the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award.
We set up in a clearing just off a track which ran from Vogelsang Road. We ran our normal operating equipment for this activation: the Yaesu Ft-857d (on 10w for Marija and 40w for me), and the 80/40/20m linked dipole.
As is normally the case when Marija and I activate parks together, Marija started off on the mic first. Marija called CQ on 7.135 and this was answered by Jonathan VK7JON, followed by Dennis VK2HHA, Geoff VK3SQ, and Rick VK4RF/VK4HA. It took Marija just 9 minutes to reach contact number 10, qualifying the park for VKFF. Contact number 10 was with Bill VK2KT. When Marija had 15 contacts in the log, we swapped the mic.
First taker for me was Gerard VK2NP, followed by Geoff VK3SQ, Lee VK2LEE, and then Mark VK3FOTO mobile. The 40m band was in excellent condition and had certainly improved since our activation at Glen Roy. A mini pile up soon ensued. I had contact number 10 in the log after 9 minutes, with contact number 44 after being on air for 45 minutes. I worked a total of 69 stations on 40m, until things started to slow down. This included Park to Park contacts with Rob VK4AAC/2 in Sea Acres National Park VKFF-0606, Stef VK5HSX/2 in the Paroo Darling National Park VKFF-0410, David VK2JDR/p in the Royal National Park VKFF-0435, and Gerard VK2IO/p in the Limeburners Creek National Park VKFF-0597.
I then headed over to 14.310 on the 20m band where I worked a total of 5 stations from VK2 and VK4. Sadly, no DX. To complete the activation, I called CQ on 3.610 on the 80m band. This was answered by John Vk5BJE, then Mick VK3GGG/VK3PMG, and then Geoff VK3SQ. I logged a total of 10 stations on 80m.
Whilst activating, this little fella, a Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike, showed continual interest in our activation. He continually flew from tree to tree above our operating spot. The Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike has a very distinctive flight pattern. It gives a few flaps of its wings, then glides with them by its side for a second or two. During this glide, the bird loses elevation until it flaps again, giving the flight is characteristic undulating pattern.
The Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike who showed great interest in us.
This was another successful activation. Marija had 19 contacts in the log, while I had 84. This included 10 Park to Park contacts between the two of us.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-
I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-
After packing up, we continued on our journey home, stopping off at the Riverside Hotel at Tailem Bend for tea. Marija enjoyed a nice curry, while I had a beautiful steak and a bundy & coke or two. It was the end of a great few days away.
References.
Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/padthaway-conservation-park/>, viewed 15th June 2017
Birdlife, 2017, <http://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/black-faced-cuckoo-shrike>, viewed 15th June 2017
Padthaway Wine Region, 2017, <http://www.padthawaywineregion.com/>, viewed 15th June 2017
Our first planned park activation for Monday 12th June 2017 was the Glen Roy Conservation Park 5CP-077 & VKFF-0797, which is located about 75 km north of Mount Gambier, and about 363 km south east of Adelaide.
Map showing the location of the Glen Roy Conservation Park. Map courtesy of Protected Planet.
Marija and I were up early again and on the road by 7.30 a.m. Again we headed to Subway for some breakfast and to pick up some lunch. We then had a quick look at the Umpherston Sinkhole, a typical limestone cave that was formed by the corrosion of limestone rocks by seawater waves. The sinkhole was naturally created when the chamber’s roof collapsed. The Umpherston Sinkhole was made into a garden by James Umpherston in 1886. As it was winter, many of the plants were not in flower and we were a little disapointed with the amount of rubbish that was strewn around.
We then headed out for a quick look at the Blue Lake, an extinct volcanic crater which boasts a vibrant cobalt blue colour during the months of December to March each year. As we were in the South East in winter, the lake did not have the distinct blue colour.
We then started heading north out of Mount Gambier along the Riddoch Highway towards Glen Roy. Just north of the Mount Gambier airport we saw a large flock of Yellow-tailed Black cockatoos. I stopped for a bit of a photo opportunity. The Yellow tailed Black cockatoo is a large cockatoo which is easily identifiable by its mostly black plumage, with most body feathers edged with yellow. It has a yellow cheek patch and yellow panels on the tail. They are listed as vulnerable in South Australia, so it was great to see so many of these amazing birds.
We then detoured into the Telford Scrub Conservation Park and took a walk along the 100 metre long boardwalk which is 4 metres above the ground in the forest. This is definitely worth having a look at.
We then continued north on the Riddoch Highway and stopped briefly at Penola. Penola is a beautiful little town located in the Coonawarra wine growing region. It is known as the central location in the life of Mary MacKillop, St Mary of the Cross, the first Australian to gain Roman Catholic sainthood. Together with the Reverend Julian Tenison Woods, she founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites), a congregation of religious sisters, that established a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australasia with an emphasis on education for the rural poor.
We had a look at Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, a purpose built school building which was constructed when Mary MacKillop and Rev Woods classeses outgrew a small cottage. Work commenced in October 1866 and was completed in May 1867.
We continued along the Riddoch Highway and then turned right onto the Edenhope Road. Soon after we took a forestry road on our left and this took us to the southern boundary of the Glen Roy Conservation Park.
The park was first proclaimed on 12 November 1970 as the Glen Roy National Park. It was re-proclaimed as Glen Roy Conservation Park on 27 April 1972. The park is 544 hectares in size and comprised open forests of Brown Stringybark and Pink Gum. In the west of the park there are low lying River Red Gum woodlands.
More than 90 species of birds have been recorded in the park including Crimson Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, Superb Fairywren, Yellow-faced honeyeater, Eastern Yellow Robin, and Grey Fantail. The park was certainly alive with Superb Fairywrens. They were everywhere.
The park is home to a large amount of native wildlife including Western Grey Kangaroos, Common wombat, and the Yellow footed antichinus.
The park is named after the former Glen Roy station which was established by Scottish settlers in the area in the 1800’s.
Aerial shot of the park, looking east back towards Penola. Image courtesy of Goodle maps
Although it was overcast, the showers had held off, so we did not initially worry about rolling out the awning/annexe for the Toyota Hi Lux. We stretched out the 80/40/20m linked dipole, and put up the fold up table and deck chair.
Aerial shot of the Glen Roy Conservation Park. Image courtesy of Protected Planet.
This was to be another unique park for both Marija and I, for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. I had activated the park back in 2014 as part of the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award. Marija kicked off the activation, tracking down Stef VK5HSX/2 on 7.140 who was activating the Paroo Darling National Park VKFF-0410. I also logged Stef. We then found Tony VK3XV/p on 7.135 who was activating the Broken-Boosey State Park VKFF-0752. It was a nice way to start the activation with two Park to Park contacts.
Marija then headed down to 7.135 where she called CQ. Rod VK7FRJG was the first taker, followed by Sergio VK3SFG and then Les VK5KLV. It wasn’t long and Marija had her 10 contacts in the log, qualifying the park for VKFF.
After logging 13 stations, including a further Park to Park with Gerard VK2IO/p who was in the Goolawah National Park VKFF-1170, Marija and I swapped the mic. Within 5 minutes I had my 10 contacts, qualifying the park for VKFF. But from there on, it was very slow going on 40m.
I QSYd to 3.610 on the 80m band where I worked John VK5BJE, followed by Hans VK5YX and then Adrian VK5FANA. There was good propagation back to Adelaide and across the Yorke Penminsula, with strong signals from John, Hans and Adrian. I then spoke with two South East locals, Ron VK5AKJ and Col VK5HCF.
I then headed off to 20m where I called CQ on 14.310 for around 5 minutes, with absolutely no takers. So I ventured back to 40m where I called CQ again on 7.135. It was around this time that the rain came down, so it was a mad dash to roll out the awning on the Hi Lux. The rain was so heavy that a number of callers mentioned they could hear the rain in the background.
I logged a further 36 stations on 40m, reaching contact number 44, two hours into the activation. Peter VK2NEO at Leeton was my 44th contact. Two further Park to Park contacts were logged: Ian VK1DI/2 in the Eurobodalla National Park VKFF-0164, and Mark VK5QI in the Hogwash Bend Conservation Park 5CP-092 & VKFF-0892. Another notable contact was with Colin VK2CTB/p who was portable at Oberon, running QRP 1 watt. Colin was an excellent 55 signal into Glen Roy.
Marija and I had both qualified the park and it was time to pack up and head off to our next activation for the day, the Padthaway Conservation Park. Marija had15 contacts in the log, while I had 53 contacts.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-
After leaving the park we continued along the Riddoch Highway and stopped in briefly to Father Woods Park. The park was established on land donated to the Archdiocese of Adelaide by Mr Jack Gartner as a memorial in recognition of the work done by Father Julian Edmund Tenison Woods. Chainsaw sculptor Kevin Gilders transformed pine tree trunks into a series of sculptures depicting Woods as a bush priest, good citizen, scientist and explorer, founder and educator. On 23 May Archbishop Philip Wilson blessed the sculptures and re-dedicated the park as a place of pilgrimage, prayer and contemplation.
References
Birdlife Australia, 2017, <http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/Yellow-tailed-Black-Cockatoo>, viewed 15th June 2017
Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/glen-roy-conservation-park/>, viewed 15th June 2017
Mary MacKillop Penola Centre, 2017, <http://www.mackilloppenola.org.au/memorialpark/dsp-default.cfm?loadref=147>, viewed 15th June 2017
Mount Gambier Point, 2017, <http://www.mountgambierpoint.com.au/attractions/caves/umpherston-sinkhole/>, viewed 15th June 2017
Wikipedia, 2017, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_MacKillop>, viewed 15th June 2017
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