Today (Sunday 3rd September 2017) I had a terrific day with the family for Fathers Day. We headed over to the Great Eastern Hotel at Littlehampton for lunch. Once we got home I had a tune across the 40m band and saw that it was another busy day for park activations, as it was yesterday. The weather was less than ideal, but Marija and I decided to head over to the Mylor Conservation Park 5CP-156 & VKFF-0785 for a quick activation.
I have activated Mylor a number of times previously, so this was going to be another activation for the recently released Boomerang Award for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Mylor Conservation Park in the Adelaide Hills. Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
The Mylor Conservation Park is about 49 hectares in size and was proclaimed on the 27th day of February 1997. It is located just outside the little town of Mylor in the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’.
Above:- Aerial shot of the park, looking west. Image courtesy of Google maps.
Much of the region surrounding Mylor Conservation Park has been cleared for residential and agricultural purposes, but the park preserves a little slice of remnant bushland. The park is mostly Open Forest with Candlebark Gum, Brown Stringybark, Messmate Stringybark, Cup Gum, Pink Gum and Manna Gum. Understory plants include Myrtle Wattle, Spiny Wattle, Narrow-leaf Bitter-pea, Large-leaf Bush-pea and Silver Banskia.
As we are now in the early stages of Spring, many of the native plants in the park were starting to come out in flower.
Over 50 species of native birds have been recorded in the park including Adelaide Rosella, White-throated Treecreeper, Superb Fairywren, Grey Fantail, Australian Golden Whistler, Eastern Spinebill, Brown-headed Honeyeater, Scarlet Robin, Rufous Whistler, & Red-brown Finch.
A number of native animals call the park home including Western Grey kangaros and the endangered Southern Brown bandicoot. During our visit we sighted a Tammar Wallaby.
The park is well signposted on the Strathalbyn Road and access is via Whitehead Road at the northern end of the town of Mylor.
The park is located in close proximity to the little town of Mylor which was surveyed in 1885, with a plan to develop the land as a focal point for orchard development in South Australia. The town was proclaimed in 1891 by Acting Governor of South Australia, Sir James Boucaut who named it after his Cornish birthplace.
Above:- Sir James Boucaut. Image courtesy of wikipedia.
We headed for my normal operating spot which is Centre Track which runs off Whitehead Road.
Above:- Aerial shot of the park showing my operating spot. Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
My first contact was with Bill VK4FW/p who was activating the Mudlo National Park VKFF-0697. I then headed up to 7.150 and asked if the frequency was in use. Peter VK3PF came back to advise that it was clear. Peter was kind enough to spot me and as a result a small pile up ensued. I had contact number 10 in the log after just 6 minutes.
The 40m band was in excellent condition with all signals 5/9 or better. I worked a total of 48 stations on 40m including two further Park to Park contacts, with Mark VK4MSA/p in the Esk National Park VKFF-0677 and Adam VK2YK in the Werakata State Conservation Area VKFF-1391.
The weather was starting to move in quite quickly and we were experiencing the occasional drop of rain. I headed off to 14.310 on 20m and I was rewarded with just one contact after 5 minutes of CQ calls. That was with Tadashi JA1VRY in Japan. I tuned across the 20m band and heard a few faint European signals and also some faint signals from Japan as the All Asian Contest was in full swing.
As it was almost about to rain, we lowered the squid pole and inserted the links for 80m and called CQ on 3.610, with Marija spotting me on parksnpeaks. My CQ call was answered by Peter VK3ZPF who was a good 5/7, followed by Adrian VK5FANA on the Yorke Peninsula. Sadly, the heavens opened up and it was a made scramble to pack up the gear and head back to the vehicle.
I had a total of 52 contacts in the log, including three Park to Park contacts.
Marija did not jump on air during this activation, and was happy to go for a walk through the park. We will have to return so she can qualify the park. This won’t present a problem as the park is just a short drive from home.
On the way home I had a nice chat on 40m from the mobile with Chris VK2SR, Peter W5FP, and Gordie W5AZ. Peter gave me a 5/9 with his stacked arrays and I was 5/5 with Gordie.
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK4FW/p (Mudlo National Park VKFF-0697)
- VK3PF
- VK3GGG
- VK3PMG
- VK3ZPF
- VK5IK
- VK5FUZZ
- VK3ANL
- VK3FSPG
- VK3MPR
- VK7DW
- VK7VZ/3
- VK4SMA/p (Esk National Park VKFF-0677)
- VK7AN
- VK2YK/p (Werakata State Conservation Area VKFF-1391)
- VK5NJ
- VK5FMWW
- VK3BBB
- VK3UH
- VK2VW
- VK3HSR
- VK1MA
- VK2KT
- VK3ZMD
- VK3EGR
- VK5XD
- VK5FANA
- VK2VRC
- VK2VU
- VK4KUS
- VK7ZGK
- VK5FDEC
- VK2HHA
- VK4NH
- VK5MR
- VK5KLV
- VK3OAK
- VK2NP
- VK5NEM
- VK2PKT
- VK3FRAB
- VK2LEE
- VK3VZX
- VK7JON
- VK2LEZ
- VK5IS
- VK2BHO
- VK3FAHS
- VK2FOUZ
I worked the following station on 20m SSB:-
- JA1VRY
I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-
- VK3ZPF
- VK5FANA
References.
Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/mylor-conservation-park/>, viewed 3rd September 2017
Wikipedia, 2017, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylor,_South_Australia>, viewed 3rd September 2017
VK5PAS 