The 2023 VKFF National Get-Together was held on Friday 27th October, Saturday 28th, and Sunday 29th October 2023. It was held at Renmark, South Australia.
A total of 27 amateurs attended the event from VK1, VK3, VK5, and VK6.
On Wednesday 25th October, I picked up Hans VK6XN from the Adelaide Airport and then took Hans for a drive around the Fleurieu Peninsula where I live. We called into my local pub, the Greenman Inn and enjoyed a few ales. We then headed back to my little property and showed Hans around, including the radio shack. Marija arrived home from work and that evening we enjoyed some pizza for dinner and then headed back out to the shack where Hans made a number of contacts into the USA on 20m.
On Thursday morning, we left bright and early for Renmark. Our first stop was the Strathalbyn Bakery for a brekkie roll and a coffee.
On the way up to Renmark, we activated a number of silos for the Silos On The Air (SiOTA) program and some parks in Victoria for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. These were Hans’s first-ever SiOTA activations.
That evening we caught up with Peter VK3PF at the Werrimul Hotel in Victoria for an evening meal.
During the day on Friday, we activated the Cooltong Conservation Park VKFF-0823, and the Murray River National Park VKFF-0372. Marija and I then attended the Hotel Renmark and caught up with Chris VK5FR and inspected the Nanya Function Room and tidied up a few issues for the next day’s presentations.
Chris VK5FR, Hans VK6XN and I then headed out to the Pike River Conservation Park VKFF-0831 for an activation.
The Get Together officially commenced on Friday evening with a meal at the Renmark Club. All of the attendees were issued with their welcome packs at the dinner.
On Saturday there was a series of presentations in the Nanya Function Room at the Hotel Renmark. This included everything from an introduction to VKFF, a fly wire vertical antenna, VK-port-a-log, a home brew half wave antenna matching unit, and snake bite procedures.
There was also a series of presentations to the guest speakers.
Certificates were also presented to the attending VKFF State/Territory reps, Marija VK5MAZ the VKFF Treasurer, and myself. I was very surprised to receive a magnificent basket of chocolates and nuts.
A raffle was also drawn with a total. The sponsors were Ivan VK5HS who offered a boat trip to Bulyong Island (Murray River National Park), Jaycar with a $10.00 voucher and two $50.00 vouchers, Haverford with a 7-metre squid pole, Danny VK5DW from RivComm Radio Solutions with a 100m roll of RG58, and Daryl VK3AWA with various VKFF National Get Together clothing. I very much thank all those who kindly donated a prize. It is greatly appreciated.
On Saturday evening, we enjoyed a beautiful meal in the Nanya Function Room at the Hotel Renmark. The Renmark Paringa Mayor Peter Hunter attended and delivered a presentation after dinner on the Friends of Paringa paddocks group (Murray River National Park) and the recent Riverland floods. Peter’s Friends of the Parks group was presented $200.00 raised from the raffle.
On Sunday morning, the Renmark Radio Club hosted a BBQ breakfast at the Jarret Memorial Gardens in Renmark. The BBQ breakfast was needed to soak up some of the alcohol from the evening before.
A number of amateurs then ventured out into the field to undertake VKFF park activations. Marija VK5MAZ, Hans VK6XN, and I headed to the remote Danggali Conservation Park VKFF-0825 and then to Chowilla Regional Reserve VKFF-1698.
That evening we caught up with a number of amateurs at the Paringa Hotel for an evening meal.
On Monday, Hans, Marija and I headed back into Victoria and undertook some more VKFF park activations and SiOTA activations. We then headed back into Renmark and caught up with a group of amateurs for an evening meal at Ashley’s Restaurant at the Citrus Valley Motel where we were staying.
On Tuesday we left Renmark and headed back to Adelaide to drop off Hans at his motel where he had booked to stay for the evening. We snuck in a VKFF park activation and a SiOTA activation on the way home.
Below are the results for Marija and myself during our time away……..
- 17 x parks – VKFF
- 15 x silos – SiOTA
- 1,024 QSOs
- 230 Park to Park
More information on the 2023 VKFF Activation Weekend can be found at…….
VK5PAS 