Our final park activation for 2nd November 2022 was the Wye River State Reserve VKFF-1841. The park is located about 23 km north west of Swansea.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Wye River State Reserve. Map c/o Google maps

The Wye River State Reserve was created to protect forest communities and threatened flora species. Wye River is predominantly dry sclerophyll forest with some areas of wet eucalypt forest and in the north areas of Oyster Bay pine forest.

Above:- An aerial view of the Wye River State Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.

The Reserve which comprises the former Bluemans Creek State Reserve and Wye River Bluemans Creek State Reserve, was proclaimed on the 31st day of May 2000. The area of the Wye River State Reserve which was formerly Bluemans Creek State Reserve is listed on the Register of the National Estate in Tasmania.

We operated from the Bluemans Creek roadside stop area on the Lake Leake Highway. Equipment used was the Yaesu FT857d, 40 watts output and the 20/40/80m linked dipole, inverted vee, supported on a 7 metre heavy duty telescopic squid pole.

I enjoyed a nice little opening on the 20m band, long path into Europe, working Italy, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Finland, Poland, Romania, Germany, and Greece.

Marija made the following QSOs on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK3SQ
3. VK3VIN
4. VK2VH
5. VK4AAC
6. VK4TJ
7. VK3GRX
8. VK3MTT
9. VK2MET
10. VK1AO
11. VK5FB

I made the following QSOs on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK3SQ
3. VK3VIN
4. VK2VH
5. VK4AAC
6. VK4TJ
7. VK3GRX
8. VK3MTT
9. VK2MET
10. VK1AO
11. VK5FB
12. VK4NH
13. VK4DXA
14. VK2MOE
15. VK2NP
16. VK5FANA
17. VK5IS
18. VK5KVA
19. VK2IO
20. VK3NP
21. Vk7XX
22. VK3ZPF
23. VK1DI
24. VK3EJ
25. VK2YAK/m
26. VK3KST
27. VK3DNB
28. VK1FPRV
29. VK2PCT/m
30. VK2ACK
31. VK7HBR
32. VK5CZ
33. VK4PDX
34. VK3NZC
35. VK3YSA/m
36. VK3ACZ
37. VK3QA
38. VK3DJC
39. VK5WU
40. ZL3MR
41. VK3BKO
42. VK2PKT
43. VK2DA
44. VK1DA
45. VK2EXA

I made the following QSOs on 20m SSB:-

1. ZL4NVW
2. IK4IDF
3. VK4NH
4. VK4DXA
5. IK1GPG
6. IK3QAN
7. VK4EMP
8. EA4FLS
9. F4CIM
10. IZ5CML
11. VK4HAT
12. OK7WA
13. VK4KC
14. VK4MAD
15. VK4DOG
16. EA3AKP
17. EA3HZX
18. VK4EW
19. VK4BXX
20. OH1MM
21. SP7MW
22. F1BLL
23. VK4PDX
24. YO3APJ
25. IK8NSR
26. DK4RM
27. EA3IM
28. IW2BNA
29. VK4MUD
30. SV3SFJ
31. DJ1AL
32. SP9AW
33. KG5CIK

Unfortunately we had to conclude the activation, even with callers still calling, due to us needing to get to our accomodation. It was nearly 6.00 p.m.

We headed in to the little town of Swansea and checked in to our accomodation at the Swansea Beach Chalets.

Below are some of the views of the bay and the coastline from where we were staying.

The town of Swansea is situated on the east coast of Tasmania on the north west shore of Great Oyster Bay and overlooks Frecinet National Park. The town was established in 1821 and was named Swansea by George Meredith, a Welshman who settled in the area, after Swansea in Wales.

There are a number of historic buildings in the town including Morris’ General Store which was built in 1838, and Schouten House which was built in 1845.

After freshening up we headed out for dinner at the Saltshaker Restaurant in Swansea, enjoying some of the local seafood.

References.

1. Aussie Towns, 2022, <https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/swansea-tas>, viewed 17th December 2022.
2. Freycinet National Park and Wye River Management Plan, 2000, Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania
3. Wikipedia, 2022, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swansea,_Tasmania>, viewed 17th December 2022.