Our third and final VKFF park activation for Thursday, the 30th day of April 2026, was Bailey Plain Bushland Reserve VKFF-4521. The reserve is located about 11 km west of the town of Piangil.

Above: Map showing the location of Bailey Plain Bushland Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps

The reserve is located on the northern side of Mallee Highway, between Fire Access Road and Salt Pan Road.

Above: the boundaries of the Bailey Plain Bushland Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth

The reserve is about 177 hectares in size and was established on the 8th day of May 1990. The park is located on the Bailey Plain Salt Pan. (Dcceew.gov.au 2023)

Chris and I drove into the park along a 4WD track. We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole. We swapped the mic for this activation.

It was nice to see the long path open on 20m to Europe and the UK. We even made a Park to Park contact with a French station.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK3JT
3. VK2BD
4. VK3WSG
5. VK3WRD
6. VK3EV
7. VK5KKT
8. VK3CEO
9. F5PYI
10. VK2EXA
11. VK3AKD
12. VK7PJM
13. VK3UP
14. VK5WU
15. VK4NH
16. VK4DXA
17. VK3BEL
18. VK3BEB
19. VK2IO/P (VKFF-1272)
20. VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-1272)
21. VK4HMI
22. VK4CPS
23. VK5OZ
24. VK2MAB
25. VK2LUE
26. VK2PKT
27. VK2KFT
28. VK3TDX
29. VK3HBG
30. VK3TBS
31. VK5IS
32. VK5ZLT/P
33. VK3APJ
34. VK2NP
35. VK1DI
36. VK2VIC
37. VK1VIC
38. VK2GOY
39. VK2IO/P (VKFF-1271)
40. VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-1271)
41. VK5TOM

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4FNQ
2. VK4NH
3. VK4DXA
4. KG5CIK
5. VK2VW
6. VK2HFI
7. VK2AKA
8. VK2BUG
9. VK6XL
10. EA3MP
11. IW2NEF
12. IU2SMA
13. PD1JN
14. KL1OQ
15. KH6DE
16. OH1MM
17. EB3AM
18. GB9IOW
19. IU4VLX
20. CT7BIZ
21. SP7MW
22. EA7HNE
23. VK6LK
24. ZL1HIM
25. IK1GPG
26. DL1EBR
27. OM3CND
28. F5NZO
29. MW0YVK
30. G1IZQ
31. HB9EFJ
32. UT5PI
33. G0IDX
34. TK5AE
35. SQ9FMC
36. SP5GOH
37. IK3HMB
38. OH6GAZ
39. F4GYM
40. F6KBK
41. F6EOC (FFF-0300)
42. LB1LJ
43. EA1FMZ
44. ON7MZ
45. G8AKL

Chris and I still had a significant number of European stations calling us, but we needed to go QRT to get to our accommodation at Kyalite. Apologies to all those who were calling.

We drove west along the Mallee Highway to the town of Piangil and enjoyed a magnificent sunset as we drove along. We then crossed over the Murray River from Victoria into New South Wales.

Chris and I checked into the Kyalite Pub, unloaded the 4WD and then went to the pub for dinner.

I had crumbed cutlets for dinner, and they were sensational.

After a very nice meal and a few ales, we headed back to our rooms for a good night’s sleep after a very enjoyable day.

References.

1. Dcceew.gov.au. (2023). Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2022 – DCCEEW. [online] Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad/2022. [Accessed 8 May. 2026]‌

Our next activation for Thursday, the 30th day of April 2026, was the Piangil West Bushland Reserve VKFF-5714.

Above: Map showing the location of the Piangil West Bushland Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps

The reserve is located on the northern and southern sides of the Mallee Highway, at the junction with Kookoomboo Road.

Chris and I were very surprised to see a sign at the corner of Malleee Highway and Kookoomboo Road that said ‘Kookoomboo Bushland Reserve.’ It was an old wooden sign, and I suspect it is the old name for the reserve.

The reserve is about 17 hectares in size and was established on the 1st day of May 1979. (Dcceew.gov.au 2023)

We had no internet coverage in this park, so thank you to everyone who took the time to spot us on parksnpeaks. Chris and I ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole. We swapped the mic during this activation. We set up in the northeast section of the park.

Above: an aerial view of the reserve looking east. Image c/o Google Maps

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2VIC
2. VK1VIC
3. VK2GOY
4. VK3WSG
5. VK3ZSC
6. VK3BSC
7. VK2IO/P (VKFF-1386)
8. VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-1386)
9. VK3AJE
10. VK3PF (VKFF-6420)
11. VK3CJN
12. VK3QHU
13. VK3KRL
14. VK3DBW
15. VK3CE
16. VK2VW
17. VK2HFI
18. VK2AKA
19. VK2BUG
20. VK2MAB
21. VK2LUE
22. VK3EV
23. VK5WU
24. VK7IAN
25. VK2ICW
26. VK2VAR
27. VK2GOM
28. VK1AD
29. VK1NAM
30. VK1OE
31. VK3IDM
32. VK3BEL
33. VK3BEB
34. VK3XAT
35. VK7PJM
36. VK3CLD
37. VK2DBF
38. VK5QA
39. VK3BKO
40. VK4MGL/P (VKFF-0859)
41. VK4NH
42. VK4DXA
43. VK2XWB/P (VKFF-2229)
44. VK3NCR
45. VK3UDL
46. VK4EMP
47. VK4TI
48. VK4GKO
49. VK3PF (SOTA VK3/ VE-015 & VKFF-0619)
50. VK7MAT
51. VK2NP
52. VK5FANA

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. KG5CIK
2. VK2VW
3. VK2HFI
4. VK2AKA
5. VK2BUG
6. VK2USH
7. VK1AO/P (VKFF-2594)
8. VK2MET/P (VKFF-2594)
9. VK4NH
10. VK4DXA
11. VK2UGB
12. VK6XL
13. VK7PJM

References.

1. Dcceew.gov.au. (2023). Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2022 – DCCEEW. [online] Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad/2022. [Accessed 8 May. 2026]‌

On Wednesday evening, 29th April 2026, my mate Chris VK5FR stayed overnight in preparation for our trip to Abury, New South Wales, for the 2026 VK Summit event, and the 2026 AGM for the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA). My wife Marija cooked a beautiful meal, and we enjoyed a nice bottle of red. Chris also had some fun in my radio shack, making several contacts into the USA and Canada on the Southern Cross DX Net on the 20m band.

Bright and early on Thursday morning, the 30th day of April 2026, Chris and I left home and headed to Kyalite in New South Wales, where we had booked in to stay for one night at the Kyalite Hotel. We had 476 km to drive that day out through the Murray Mallee region of South Australia and into the Mallee region of northwest Victoria.

Our first stop was just down the road from home at the Strathalbyn bakery for some breakfast. We enjoyed a magnificent sunrise as we travelled along the way.

Chris and I stopped briefly at the Victorian and South Australian border to stretch our legs. We then continued east along the Mallee Highway in Victoria to the town of Ouyen, where we stopped for lunch. We then headed to our first park activation of the day, the Kookoombo West Bushland Reserve VKFF-5246.

The reserve is located on the northern and southern sides of the Mallee Highway at Manangatang, just to the east of Meridian Road.

The reserve is about 35 hectares in size and was established on the 1st day of May 1979. I have not been able to find the origin of the name of the park. The northern section of the park consists of a small piece of remnant scrub, while the southern section is grassland. (Dcceew.gov.au 2023)

Chris and I accessed the northern side of the park. We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole. Chris and I swapped the mic for this activation.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SMW
2. VK2MAB
3. VK2LUE
4. VK3SQ
5. VK2BD
6. VK3JT
7. VK3VIN
8. VK2VW
9. VK2HFI
10. VK2AKA
11. VK2BUG
12. VK3BEL
13. VK3BEB
14. VK1AC
15. VK3ZSC
16. VK3BSC
17. VK5WU
18. VK1AO/P (VKFF-1392)
19. VK2MET/P (VKFF-1392)
20. VK3WSC
21. VK1DI
22. VK3PF
23. VK3OTR (VKFF-3904)
24. VK3FS/M
25. VK3ATT/M
26. VK3ETT/M
27. VK3CJN
28. VK3QHU
29. VK2IO/P (VKFF-1386)
30. VK2GEZ/P (VKFF-1386)
31. VK3SWL
32. VK2SWL
33. VK1AD
34. VK1NAM
35. VK1OE
36. VK3AMO
37. VK5BJE
38. VK7EE
39. VK2YW
40. VK4MGL/P (VKFF-0939)
41. VK2PKT
42. VK2KFT
43. VK3PF (VKFF-6240)
44. VK3ARK
45. VK5AOK
46. VK5EDY
47. VK3BSF
48. VK3APJ
49. VK3AUX
50. VK2GQR

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4FNQ
2. KG5CIK

It had been a very enjoyable and rewarding activation, and with a combined total of 108 QSOs in the log, Chris and I packed up and hit the road and headed to our next VKFF park activation.

References.

1. Dcceew.gov.au. (2023). Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2022 – DCCEEW. [online] Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad/2022. [Accessed 8 May. 2026]‌