We are home following our trip to Tasmania. We had a fantastic three weeks in Tassie, filling our days with plenty of sightseeing, park activating, and of course the Tassie Ham Conference and Expo. Congratulations to the organisers. It was a great event, and Marija and I are very pleased that we were invited to deliver a presentation on the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program and have a display table on the Sunday at the Expo.

Whilst we were away we activated the following:-

• 13 SiOTA silo activations
• 1 SOTA summit activation
• 41 WWFF park activations
• 2 Islands On The Air (IOTA) activations.

We have quite a bit of log processing and uploading to do:-

• 2,493 QSOs
• 179 Park to Park

We travelled 5316 km during the trip.

Below is a breakdown of our activations:-

• Kaniva 2 silo VK-KNV3
  • 8 QSOs (Paul)
  • 4 QSOs (Marija)
• North Geelong silo VK-NRG3
  • 6 QSOs (Paul)
  • 4 QSOs (Marija)
• Quoiba silo VK-QBA7
  • 13 QSOs (Paul)
  • 9 QSOs (Marija)
• Devonport silo VK-DVT7
  • 12 QSOs (Paul)
  • 4 QSOs (Marija)
• Narawntapu National Park VKFF-0005
  • 48 QSOs (Paul)
  • 5 Park to Park
  • 46 QSOs (Marija)
  • 5 Park to Park
• Don Heads Conservation Park VKFF-2903
  • 44 QSOs (Paul)
  • 3 Park to Park
  • 14 QSOs (Marija)
  • 3 Park to Park
• Liffey Falls State Reserve VKFF-1143
  • 45 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Kate Reed Nature Recreation Area VKFF-1141
  • 57 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Tamar Conservation Area VKFF-1154
  • 47 QSOs (Paul)
  • 1 Park to Park
  • 13 QSOs (Marija)
  • 1 Park to Park
• Tom Gibson Nature Reserve VKFF-1155
  • 16 QSOs (Paul)
  • 2 Park to Park
  • 12 QSOs (Marija)
  • 2 Park to Park
• Lost Falls Conservation Area VKFF-2908
  • 30 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Wye River State Reserve VKFF-1841
  • 78 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Freycinet National Park VKFF-0188
  • 53 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Lake Dulverton Conservation Area VKFF-2907
  • 48 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Wellington Park VKFF-2932 & Mount Wellington VK7/ SC-001
  • 65 QSOs (Paul)
  • 12 QSOs (Marija)
• Quarantine Station State Reserve VKFF-1823 & IOTA OC-233
  • 45 QSOs (Paul)
  • 1 Park to Park
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
  • 1 Park to Park
• South Bruny National Park VKFF-0456 & IOTA OC-233
  • 50 QSOs (Paul)
  • 1 Park to Park
  • 13 QSOs (Marija)
  • 1 Park to Park
• Tasman National Park VKF-0481
  • 21 QSOs (Paul)
  • 2 Park to Park
  • 13 QSOs (Marija)
  • 2 Park to Park
• East Risdon State Reserve VKFF-1798
  • 17 QSOs (Paul)
  • 2 Park to Park
  • 13 QSOs (Marija)
  • 2 Park to Park
• Rosny Hill Nature Reserve VKFF-2928
  • 54 QSOs (Paul)
  • 2 Park to Park
  • 12 QSOs (Marija)
  • 2 Park to Park
• Derwent Cliffs State Park VKFF-1794
  • 12 QSOs (Paul)
  • 1 Park to Park
  • 10 QSOs (Marija)
  • 1 Park to Park
• Mount Field National Park VKFF-0347
  • 12 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park VKFF-0117
  • 31 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park VKFF-0117
  • 65 QSOs (Paul)
  • 3 Park to Park
  • 4 QSOs (Marija)
  • 3 Park to Park
• Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park VKFF-0185
  • 48 QSOs (Paul)
  • 9 Park to Park
  • 22 QSOs (Marija)
  • 9 Park to Park
• Henty Glacial Erratics State Reserve VKFF-1805
  • 48 QSOs (Paul)
  • 3 Park to Park
  • 12 QSOs (Marija)
  • 2 Park to Park
• Trial Harbour State Reserve VKFF-1835
  • 54 QSOs (Paul)
  • 13 QSOs (Marija)
• Vale of Belvoir Conservation Area VKFF-2925
  • 52 QSOs (Paul)
  • 12 QSOs (Marija)
• Mount Roland Regional Reserve VKFF-2938
  • 45 QSOs (Paul)
  • 6 Park to Park
  • 17 QSOs (Marija)
  • 6 Park to Park
• Mole Creek Karst National Park VKFF-0322
  • 23 QSOs (Paul)
  • 18 QSOs (Marija)
• Allum Cliffs State Reserve VKFF-1790
  • 17 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park VKFF-0117
  • 18 QSOs (Paul)
  • 1 Park to Park
  • 1 QSO (Marija)
  • 1 Park to Park
• Hellyer Gorge State Reserve VKFF-1139
  • 44 QSOs (Paul)
  • 2 Park to Park
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
  • 1 Park to Park
• Table Cape State Reserve VKFF-1827
  • 65 QSOs (Paul)
  • 1 Park to Park
  • 12 QSOs (Marija)
  • 1 Park to Park
• The Nut State Reserve VKFF-1831
  • 24 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Stanley Conservation Area VKFF-2919
  • 49 QSOs (Paul)
  • 2 Park to Park
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Tatlows Beach Conservation Area VKFF-2921
  • 48 QSOs (Paul)
  • 12 QSOs (Marija)
• Peggs Beach Conservation Area VKFF-2913
  • 24 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Little Peggs Beach State Reserve VKFF-1812
  • 48 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 Park to Park
  • 26 QSOs (Marija)
  • 11 Park to Park
• Rocky Cape National Park VKFF-0432
  • 57 QSOs (Paul)
  • 10 Park to Park
  • 16 QSOs (Marija)
  • 9 Park to Park
• Inverleigh Flora Reserve VKFF–2336
  • 53 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 Park to Park
  • 19 QSOs (Marija)
  • 11 Park to Park
• Rokewood Common Nature Conservation Area VKFF-2182
  • 59 QSOs (Paul)
  • 9 Park to Park
  • 17 QSOs (Marija)
  • 9 Park to Park
• Blacks Creek Nature Conservation Area VKFF-2049
  • 44 QSOs (Paul)
  • 3 Park to Park
  • 13 QSOs (Marija)
  • 3 Park to Park
• Illawarra Nature Conservation Area VKFF-2111
  • 59 QSOs (Paul)
  • 1 Park to Park
  • 14 QSOs (Marija)
  • 1 Park to Park
• JJ Kingston Wildflower Sanctuary VKFF-2337
  • 16 QSOs (Paul)
  • 12 QSOs (Marija)
• Horsham silo VK-HRM3
  • 8 QSOs (Paul)
  • 4 QSOs (Marija)
• Vectis silo VK-VCS3
  • 8 QSOs (Paul)
  • 6 QSOs (Marija)
• Dahlen Siding silo VK-DHG3
  • 10 QSOs (Paul)
  • 9 QSOs (Marija)
• Pimpinio silo VK-PMO3
  • 10 QSOs (Paul)
  • 5 QSOs (Marija)
• Wail silo VK-WLL3
  • 13 QSOs (Paul)
  • 10 QSOs (Marija)
• Dimboola silo VK-DMA3
  • 4 QSOs (Paul)
  • 4 QSOs (Marija)
• Gerang Gerung silo VK-GRU3
  • 12 QSOs (Paul)
  • 11 QSOs (Marija)
• Kiata silo VK-KTT3
  • 18 QSOs (Paul)
  • 6 QSOs (Marija)
• Kaniva 2 silo VK-KNV3
  • 6 QSOs (Paul)
  • 4 QSOs (Marija)

THANK YOU to everyone who called us.

Sadly it was time to head home to Adelaide. Marija and I would like to thank Andrew VK6AS for his hospitality. It is always a pleasure to catch up with Andrew. We would also like to thank the organisers of PerthTech. I hope I have inspired a few more VK6 amateurs to try activating parks for VKFF.

After arriving in Adelaide Marija and I had a quick look at the new Vickers Vimy display at the Adelaide Airport. The Vickers Vimy aircraft which was flown by brothers Sir Keith and Ross Smith in the famous London to Australia air race of 1919-20, was recently moved to a new purpose built facility at the airport. 

https://www.adelaideairport.com.au/corporate/environment/aviation-heritage/

This was our last day (24th October 2022) before heading home. Marija and I headed to Freemantle and then caught the ferry over to Rottnest Island.

We were going to take some amateur radio gear over to Rottnest Island, but decided to spend the day sightseeing over there instead. Rottnest Island is a 19-square-kilometre island about 18 km west of Freemantle. The island is a popular recreational and tourist destination.

Marija and I caught the ferry back to Fremantle and whilst waiting for Hans VK6XN to pick us, we wandered around the streets of Freemantle. There are some magnificent historic buildings in ‘Freeo’.

Hans VK6XN then picked us up and we headed to the Alfred Cove Nature Reserve VKFF-1844 for an activation for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Alfred Cove Nature Reserve. Map c/o Google maps.

The park is named after the adjacent sheltered cove, Alfred Cove, in the Swan River. It was named after Alfred Waylen (b. 1805. d. 1856), an early settler, who was granted Swan Location 74, covering most of the present day Alfred Cove and Myaree. His son, Alfred Waylen was the first person born in the colony of Western Australia to qualify as a doctor.

Above:- Dr. Alfred Waylen. c/o Swan Guildford Historical Society.

The park is popular for caonoeing, kayaking, and fishing. The park contains mudflats, seagrass beds and intertidal vegetation, which provide many different habitats for a variety of animals and birds. Of these the most important are the migratory wading birds due to their international significance. These birds come to Alfred Cove from thousands of kilometres away from places as far away as Asia, Mongolia and Siberia.

The marshland is the breeding area of about 31 species of bird including the Buff-banded Rail, Spotless Crake, and Black-winged Stilt. A total of 48 species of bird have been recorded in the mud flats. The treed area of the park is home to about 36 species of bird including Galah, Striated Pardalote, and Tree Martin. Numerous raptors also call the park home including Ospreys.

Below is a view of the CBD of Perth, not far from where we were operating from.

We found a nice comfortable bench and table and ran Han’s Yaesu FT857 and end fed antenna for this activation. Both Marija and I qualified the park for the VKFF program with 10 contacts each, all on the 40m band. We had no luck this time with DX on the 20m band. It was quite a surprise to work Danny ON4ON on 40m.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK5FANA
3. VK5HS
4. VK5BJE
5. VK5CZ
6. VK3BBB
7. VK2CCP
8. VK6JQ
9. VK6GUY
10. VK6NU
11. VK2IO

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK5FANA
3. VK5HS
4. VK5BJE
5. VK6JQ
6. VK6GUY
7. VK6NU
8. VK2IO
9. VK6GC
10. VK3APJ
11. VK4SMA
12. VK4TJ
13. ON4ON

References.

1. BirdLife Western Australia, Birdwatching around Melville brouchure
2. Parks WA, 2022, <https://exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/park/alfred-cove-nature-reserve>, viewed 24th November 2022.
3. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rottnest_Island>, viewed 24th November 2022.
4. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Cove,_Western_Australia>, viewed 24th November 2022.

On Sunday 23rd October 2022, Andrew VK6AS kindly loaned us his car, so after breakfast Marija and I headed up into the hills on the Toodyay Road. We wanted to have a look around Gidgegannup and also visit the old Newcastle Gaol at Toodyay.

Our first stop was the Toodyay Red Hill Convict Road Station ruins. Sadly we didn’t get to see the ruins through the scrub, but we did get to see many of the wildflowers out in bloom.

The Convict station ruins were once a substantial group of buildings made of mud bricks to house convict work crews. The Newcastle Road, later to become known as the Toodyay Road, was constructed by convicts.

We continued on to the town of Toodyay, about 85 km north-east of Perth. The town was originally known as Newcastle between 1860 to 1910. It is believed that Toodyay is derived from an aboriginal word “Dudja’ meaning ‘mist’. The town was declared a historic town by the National Trust in 1980. The Avon River flows through the town. The world’s longest white-water race is held each year on the Avon River.

We paid a visit to the Newcastle Gaol which was completed in 1864 and used as a state prison until 1909. It is one of only five remaining convict built gaols on Western Australia.

We then visited the old court house which is now used as Shire of Toodyay offices.

We then visited Pelham Reserve and lookout which overlooks the town of Toodyay. The Reserve is about 50 hectares of bushland.

It was time to get some lunch so we headed to the Cola Cafe Museum in Toodyay. The cafe is a 1950’s style Cafe which features a collection of Coca Cola memorabilla.

We then had a look at Connor’s Mill, a steam driven flour mill which was built in 1870 by local builder George Hassel for Dan Connor, a store owner.

Marija and I then drove back into Gidgegannup as we had planned to take a number of amateurs out into the field to activate parks, with Hans VK6XN and Phil VK6ADF. Sadly from around lunchtime the heavens absolutely opened up and it poured down with rain. Along the way we stopped briefly to admire the wildflowers.

As it was so wet and continually raining, we decided to cancel the park activations. The rain had also kept a lot of people away who had planned to meet us on Sunday afternoon. Instead of heading out, Hans and I showed a small group our portable setups.

We then decided to brave the weather and we visited the small but beautiful Noble Falls.

Our next stop was a very wet Lake Leschenaultia which is a former railway dam which is now a recreational lake.

We then drove back into the town of Gidgegannup, whose name originates from an aboriginal Noongar word meaning ‘place where spears are made’.

We then visited the Peter Brock memorial in honour of the motor racing legend. He was killed in 2006 whilst competing in the Targa West rally, about 3 km from the finish of the second stage of the race at Gidgegannup.

The rain had subside slightly, so Marija and I decided to activate the Walyunga National Park VKFF-0516, about 35 km north-east of Perth. The park was established in 1970 and covers an area of about 4,480 acres. Walyunga is an aboriginal word meaning ‘happy place’.

We used Hans end fed antenna and Yaesu FT857 for this activation. However, we had real problems with VSWR and could not operate on the 20m band. The VSWR was alo quite high on 40m, but we ‘boxed on’ and managed to qualify the park for VKFF with 10 contacts.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK2VH
3. VK4AAC
4. VK6TB
5. VK2YK
6. VK5GA
7. VK5HS
8. VK3KAI
9. VK3GV
10. Vk5DW
11. VK5FANA

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK2VH
3. VK4AAC
4. VK6TB
5. VK2YK
6. VK5GA
7. VK5HS
8. VK3KAI
9. VK3GV
10. VK5DW
11. VK5FANA
12. VK5CZ
13. VK3ZPF

We then headed back into Perth for a hot shower and headed out for tea with a number of amateurs and their wives.

References.

1. Monument Australia, 2022, <https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/sport/display/93139-peter-brock>, viewed 24th November 2022.
2. Shire of Toodyay, 2022, <https://www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/council/about-our-shire.aspx>, viewed 24th November 2022.
3. Western Australia.com, 2022, <https://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Attraction/Newcastle_Gaol_Museum_Toodyay>, viewed 24th November 2022.
4. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toodyay,_Western_Australia>, viewed 24th November 2022.
5. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Leschenaultia>, viewed 24th November 202.