Today (Sunday 23rd July 2017) Marija VK5FMAZ and I activated the Sturt Gorge Recreation Park VKFF-1750.  The park is located about 13 km south of Adelaide.

It was quite a miserable day compared to the day before which was bright and sunny.  But despite the rather gloomy weather, we decided to head out.  We had attended a friend’s house the night before for dinner for an event called ‘The Longest Table’, the Hospital Research Foundation’s annual cancer fundraiser.  I had indulged in more than a bit of red wine, so I figured some fresh air would be of benefit to me

Above:- Map showing the location of the Sturt Gorge Recreation Park.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The Sturt Gorge Recreation Park is 244 hectares (600 acres) in size and was established on the 4th October 1973.  The park lies between the suburbs of Bellevue Heights and Flagstaff Hill along the Sturt River.

During the 1964, Mr. Robin Millhouse, the Member for Mitcham (later to become the Attorney General of SA) raised the issue in Parliament of acquiring Sturt Gorge for use as a National Park.  In a letter to the Minister of Lands dated 6th August 1964 Millhouse stated:

“The area I have in mind is that below the flood control dam site.  I am sure you would agree that it is most suitable for a National Park”.

Unfortunately no action was taken by the Government, and in January 1966, Millhouse again raised the question with the new Minister of Lands, Mr. J.D. Corcoran.  They both visited the area and later requested action be taken under the Town Planning Act to ensure that no subdividing for housing took place in the area.  Unfortunately no powers exited at the time for this, and several applications to subdivide were received in 1965-1966.

Millhouse then had discussions with the de Rose family who owned the land and found the property was available for sale at the price of 70,000 pounds.  Millhouse conveyed this information to the State Government who replied stating:

“The present Government is unable to contemplate the purchase of the area at this stage”.

In June 1966, Millhouse again raise the matter in Parliament, and in the following month, the de Rose family were approached by land developers and subsequently sold the land.  Millhouse continued to apply pressure, and was supported by a campaign by the Geological Monuments Subcommittee of the S.A. Division of the Geological Society of Australia.  Between 1969 and 1972, the applied pressure appears to have paid off, with the State Government purchasing in pieces the land from the two development companies.  In 1973 the Sturt Gorge was proclaimed as a Recreation Park.

Above:- Robin Millhouse.  Image courtesy of http://www.adelaidenow.com.au

The park is internationally recognised as an area of conservation and geological significance.  Sturt Gorge conserves the nationally threatened greybox grassy woodland vegetation which was once abundant across southern Australia.  It is the second largest remnant area of grey box open woodland managed by the Department of Environment Water & Natural Resources.  Along the Sturt River there are numerous River Red Gums.  North of the river there are areas of drooping sheaoak woodland over twiggy daisy-bush and sticky hop-bush.  At the western end of the park the habitat is mostly exotic with some native grasses.

The park is also home to a rock formation, known as sturt tillite, that is believed to have been formed from glacial material dropped from ice floating in the ocean that covered South Australia 800 million years ago.

Above:- Aerial view of the park, in close proximity to Adelaide.  Image courtesy of Google maps

The Sturt River, also known as Warri Parri, carves its way through the park.  The river rises in Upper Sturt and flows through Corromandel Valley, the Sturt Gorge Recereation Park, the southern suburbs of Marion and Morphettville, before meeting the Patawalonga River in Glenelg North, the end of its 27 km course.  It was named after the famous explorer, Captain Charles Sturt.

Above:- Captain Charles Sturt.  Image courtesy of wikipedia.

The Sturt River Flood Control Dam can be located in the park.  It is well worth a look, as there are some great views of the gorge from the 40 metre high dam wall.  But beware, the walk back up to the car park area is quite steep.

Over 115 species of bird have been recorded in the park including Crimson  Rosella, Superb Fairywren, New Holland Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, Whiteplumed honeyeater, White-browed Babbler, Grey Shrikethrush, Peregrine Falcon, and Sacred Kingfisher.

The park is also home to a large amount of native wildlife including kangaroos and koalas.

For more information on the park, have a look at the Friends of Sturt Gorge website at…..

http://www.fosg.org.au/park.html

Marija and I operated from inside gate 20 at the end of Craigburn Road.  We ran the Yaesu FT-857d (set at 10 watts PEP for Marija, and 40 watts for me), and the 80/40/20m linked dipole supported on the 7 m squid pole, inverted vee.

Above:- Map of the Sturt Gorge Recreation Park showing our operating spot.  Map courtesy of National Parks South Australia.

This was to be a unique park for both Marija and I for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.  Marija started off the activation and was content in obtaining 10 QSOs, qualifying the park for the VKFF program.  We headed to our nominated operating frequency of 7.144 and found Gerard VK2JNG/p who was activating the Rocky Glen National Park VKFF-1179.  We both logged Gerard, Park to Park, and then headed down to 7.135 where Marija called CQ.  Marija’s second contact was another Park to Park, this time with Peter VK3PF/p in the Glenmaggie Regional Park VKFF-1877.

Marija had soon racked up 10 contacts, thus qualifying the park for VKFF.  Contact number 10 being with Adam VK2YK.  Shortly after we also worked Neil VK4HNS/p who was activating theSpringwood Conservation Park VKFF-1653.  Marija logged a total of 13 stations from VK2, VK3, VK4,, and VK7, before we swapped the mic.

I then called CQ on 7.135, with my first taker being Lee VK2LEE, followed by Ron VK3MRH, and then Dennis VK2HHA.  Contact number 10, with Steve VK7CW, soon followed.  Despite it being a Sunday, there was not the normal flurry of callers.  Band conditions also seemed to be down a little, with quite a bit of QSB on the signals.  But despite this, I logged my 44th contact, a little over an hour into the activation.  Contact number 44 was with Murray VK3MJT.

Whilst I was on air, Marija had a number of chats with interested onlookers, explaining what we were doing and all about the hobby of amateur radio.  Park activating is always a great way of promoting the hobby.

I logged a total of 46 stations on 40m from VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7, before we lowered the squid pole, and inserted the 80m links.  I called CQ on 80m with John VK5BJE coming back with a very solid 5/9 + signal.  But sadly John was my only caller on 80m.

The weather was becoming quite threatening, and it was a chilly 13 deg C, so I quickly tried my luck on 14.310 on the 20m band.  Anthony VK6MAC was my first caller there with a good strong 5/8 signal from Western Australia, followed by Fred VK4FE in far north Queensland, and then Hans VK6XN.  Sadly I had to go QRT very quickly with Hans as the heavens opened up.  It was mad dash to pack up the gear and head back to the vehicle.

It was time to head home.  We had both successfully qualified the park for VKFF and I had also achieved 44 QSOs, qualifying the park for the WWFF global program.  And a brand new park to add to our activator list.  Thanks to everyone who called.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2JNG/p (Rocky Glen National Park VKFF-1179)
2. VK3PF/p (Glenmaggie Regional Park VKFF-1877)
3. VK3IRM
4. VK2PKT
5. VK7NWT
6. VK3FSPG
7. VK3MPR
8. VK3MRH
9. VK2HH
10. VK2YK
11. VK2VW
12. VK4HNS/p (Springwood Conservation Park VKFF-1653)
13. VK3KMH

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2JNG/p (Rocky Glen National Park VKFF-1179)
2. VK3PF/p (Glenmaggie Regional Park VKFF-1877)
3. VK2LEE
4. VK3MRH
5. VK2HHA
6. VK2YK
7. VK3FSPG
8. VK3MPR
9. VK3SS
10. VK7CW
11. VK3ANL
12. VK3ANP
13. VK4RZ
14. VK3SQ
15. VK7JON
16. VK3VIN
17. VK4RF
18. VK4HA
19. VK2GZ
20. VK2GKA/m
21. VK2FOUZ
22. VK3IRM
23. VK2STO
24. VK3FEVT
25. VK6MAC
26. VK2JAZ
27. VK3CWF
28. VK3ZPF
29. VK5ZZ
30. VK5TR
31. VK3FRAB
32. VK4SMA
33. VK3UH
34. VK4TJ
35. VK4HNS/p (Springwood Conservation Park VKFF-1653)
36. VK3KMH
37. VK4FFAB
38. VK5YL
39. VK2VRC
40. VK2JNG/m
41. VK2HPN
42. VK3HKK
43. VK2NP
44. VK3MJT
45. VK6XN
46. VK5BJE

I worked the following station on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5BJE

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK6MAC
2. VK4FE
3. VK6XN

References.

Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/sturt-gorge-recreation-park/&gt;, viewed 23rd July 2017

Friends of Sturt Gorge, 2017, <http://www.fosg.org.au/index.html&gt;, viewed 23rd July 2017

National Parks South Australia, 2017, <https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide/sturt-gorge-recreation-park&gt;, viewed 23rd July 2017

Wikipedia, 2017, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturt_Gorge_Recreation_Park&gt;, viewed 23rd July 2017

Wikipedia, 2017, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturt_River&gt;, viewed 23rd July 2017

Yesterday (Saturday 22nd July 2017) I activated the Blackwood Forest Recreation Park VKFF-1686 which is located about 13 km south of Adelaide, in the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’.  The park is located at Hawthorndene in the Coromandel Valley.

This was to be a unique park for me as an activator for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program, and the very first time the park had been activated.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Blackwood Forest Recreation Park.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The Blackwood Forest Recreation Park was first acquired by the South Australian State Government in 1908 for use as an experimental orchard.  It continued to be used for horticultural research until the 1960s.  From the mid 1980’s there was sustained public concern over a period of more than 15 years, seeking to have the 21 hectares of land retained as open space.  This resulted in the Blackwood Forest Recreation Park being proclaimed a Recreation Park under the National Parks and Wildlife Act in November 2001.

There is limited natural vegetation in the park.  Some native vegetation can be found on the eastern boundary of the park, while some old River Red Gums and Acacia species can be found along Minno Creek on the western boundary of the park.  About 8 hectares of the park is Monterey Pine, with the remainder of the park being open grassland.  A few of the original trees from the orchard remain today, including walnuts, pecans, loquats, mulberries, quinces, greenguage plums.  A row of 27 named varieties of olives can be located along the Turners Avenue boundary of the park. These olives are officially listed by The National Trust of South Australia as being locally historically important.

There are a number of walking tracks in the park, and as it was a beautiful sunny day there were a lot of bushwalkers, people out with their dogs, and mountain bikers in the park.  There are also a number of interpretive signs.

In 1908, the land which is now the park, was purchased by George Quinn, Chief Horticultural Instructor with the then newly formed Department of Agriculture for £88 , for the purpose of establishing an experimental orchard to trial and experiment with a wide range of fruit trees.

Above:- George Quinn demonstrating pruning techniques in 1918.  Courtesy of http://www.pir.sa.gov.au

Over 4,000 varieties of fruit trees were counted in a census in 1927.  The orchard was considered to be the largest collection of fruit varieties in one plantation anywhere in the world.   However, in the late 1930s, problems with soil erosion and fertility led to the orchard being mainly replanted with varieties more suited to the local climate.  Orcharding in the area declined in the 1960s and resources were progressively transferred to a new facility at Lenswood.   In 1968 the Blackwood orchard ceased.

The former manager’s house dating back to c. 1909 can still be found in the western section of the park.

In 1985 and 1993, South Australian State government plans to rezone and sell off the land, resulted in community protest meetings and petitions demanding that the land be retained in perpetuity as public open space.  In 1993 the Save the Blackwood Forest Committee was formed and maintained consistent pressure on a succession of ministers over the following years.  There were a number of protest rallies and marches, public meetings, community tree plantings and tent embassies on the land.  In 2001, after a long and difficult struggle, the Blackwood Forest Reserve was declared permanent open space as part of the Greater Mount Lofty Parklands.

There is an active Friends of Blackwood Forest Recreation Park.  Their website can be located at…..

http://www.communitywebs.org/friendsofblackwoodforest/history.php

Above:- Aerial shot showing the park, with Adelaide in the background.  Image courtesy of Google maps

Over 40 species of birds have been recorded in the park including Maned Duck, Adelaide Rosella, Eastern Rosella, Rainbow Lorikeet, New Holland Honeyeater, Spotted Pardalote, Eastern Spinebill, and Laughing Kookaburra.

Various native wildlife can be located in the park including koalas, Echidnas, Common Brushtail Possum, and Common Ringtail possum.  During my activation I had a koala in the gum tree above me, enjoying the afternoon sun.

Above:- Koala having an afternoon sleep in the gum tree above my operating spot.

My initial operating spot in the park was alongside of the pines, at the northern end of Myrtle Road.  Sadly after setting up and switching on the transceiver I found that there was S9 plus noise.  It was impossible to operate from this position, so I pack up and headed off to find a quieter location.

Above:- S9 plus noise at my first spot in the park.  Unworkable!!!!

I then travelled along Turners Avenue and parked in the carpark near the junction with Main Road.  I set up about 50 metres inside the park boundary in a nice cleared area.  As it was a warm sunny day, I set up the fold up table and deck chair under the shade of some nearby trees.

Above:- Aerial shot of the park, showing my operating spot in the western section of the park.  Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

Prior to calling CQ I tuned across the 40m band and found Gerard VK2JNG/p on 7.135.  Gerard was in the Cooleburba State Conservation Area VKFF-1307.  It was a nice way to start the activation with a Park to Park contact.  I then found Mark VK4SMA/p on 7.144, in the Denmark Hill Conservation Park.  Mark was quite low down, as I was to he, but as we both had zero man made noise, we were able to work each other comfortably.

I then headed to 7.130 and called CQ.  But not before sending my wife Marija VK5FMAZ a text message to let her know I was on 7.130.  Marija was at home patiently waiting for me to come up, before heading off to do the shopping.  I was pleased to be able to hear Marija back at Mount Barker on the other side of the hills, as close in propagation on 40m has been challenging to say the least, over the past few months.  Scott VK7NWT then called in with a nice 5/9 signal, followed by Peter Vk3PF, Don VK3MCK, and then Dennis VK2HHA.

Contact number 10, qualifying the park for me for the VKFF program, was Garry VK3VLA at Geelong.  I continued to work a steady flow of callers, with contact number 44 being reached whilst 1 hour & 15 minutes into the activation.  Lee VK2LEE was my 44th contact, qualifying the park for me for the global WWFF program.

With 44 contacts in the log I headed over to 3.610 on the 80m band, where I logged Geoff VK3SQ in Beechworth, Mike VK5FMWW in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, and finally John VK5BJE in the Adelaide Hills.  It was quite noisy on the 80m band from the park, with a noise floor of around strength 7.

I then tried my luck on 20m, but 5 minutes of CQ calls went unanswered, so I headed back to the 40m band.  My first contact on returning there, was another Park to Park, with Mark VK4SMA who was now in the Ipswich Pteropus Conservation Park VKFF-1562.  I then returned to 7.130 and called CQ and logged 5 stations, all from Victoria, before going QRT.

I had a total of 53 QSOs in the log and a new park activated for the World Wide Flora Fauna program.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2JNG/p (Cooleburba State Conservation Area VKFF-1307)
2. VK4SMA/p (Denmark Hill Conservation Park VKFF-1529)
3. VK5FMAZ
4. VK7NWT
5. VK3PF
6. VK3MCK
7. VK2HHA
8. VK3PAT
9. VK2XXM
10. VK3VLA
11. VK6XN
12. VK3AUR
13. VK5MR/m
14. VK4RF
15. VK4HA
16. VK2YW/m
17. VK3UH
18. VK3BBB
19. VK3SQ
20. VK7CW
21. VK6POP
22. VK5FANA
23. VK3CM
24. VK4TJ
25. VK2YK
26. VK3ARH
27. VK3KLB
28. VK3MKM
29. VK5BJE
30. VK3FOGY/m
31. VK3NLK/m
32. VK3TKK
33. VK2NP
34. VK3HBG
35. VK3EV
36. VK7VZ
37. VK7AN
38. VK6MAC
39. VK3NU
40. VK3WWE
41. VK2VW
42. VK3ELH
43. VK3ZPF
44. VK2LEE
45. VK4SMA/p (Ipswich Pteropus Conservation Park VKFF-1562)
46. VK3RV
47. VK3WQ
48. VK3CWF
49. VK3ZMD
50. VK3ANL

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK5FMWW
3. VK5BJE

References.

Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/blackwood-forest-recreation-park/&gt;, viewed 23rd July 2017

Department for Environment and Heritage, 2005, Management Plan Blackwood Forest Recreation Park.

Friends of Blackwood Forest Recreation Park, 2017, <http://www.communitywebs.org/friendsofblackwoodforest/&gt;, viewed 23rd July 2017

National Parks South Australia, 2017, <https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide_Hills/blackwood-forest-recreation-park&gt;, viewed 22nd July 2017

After activating the Finniss Conservation Park I headed to the Totness Recreation Park VKFF-1754, just 2.5 km from home.  I intended to take part in the 2017 Trans Taman Low Band Contest.  The aim of the contest is to encourage Low Band activity Trans-Tasman, that is between VK and ZL.

Map showing the location of the Totness Recreation Park.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer

I was all set up and ready to go by the commencement time of 0800 UTC, which is 5.30 p.m. South Australian local time.  I ran my normal portable station for the contest: Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts, and the 80/40/20m linked dipole, inverted vee, on the 7m heavy duty telescopic squid pole.

The contest is divided into three 2 hour periods.  I remained out in the field until just after the commencement of the third period which was at 1200 UTC (9.30 p.m. local time).  The cold weather got the better of me (got down to 4 deg C) and I packed up and headed home with a total of 171 contacts in the log.  My claimed score was 2,347 points.

I made a total of 48 QSOs on the 40m band.  New Zealand stations worked on 40m were:- ZL1YE, ZL3VZ, ZL1PC, ZL2ATH/p, ZL2BH, and ZL1JV.

I made a total of 123 QSOs on the 80m band.  New Zealand stations worked on 40m were:- ZL3VZ, ZL1PC, ZL2BH, ZL1JV, and ZL1XS.

I enjoyed myself in the Trans Tasman, but there were long periods of calling CQ contest with no takers.

I started a couple of days off yesterday (Saturday 15th July 2017) after a few afternoon shifts at work, and with a few days of wet weather coming, I decided to head out to activate the Finniss Conservation Park 5CP-068 & VKFF-1030.  The park is located about 70 km (by road) from Adelaide, and about 43 km south of my home.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Finniss Conservation Park.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The Finniss Conservation Park is 123 hectares in size and was first proclaimed on 29th January 1976.  An additional 56 hectares was added between 1985 and 2005.  The park is undulating with Woodland consisting of Pink Gum and Golden Wattle, and Low woodland consisting of Cup Gum and Pink Gum over Tate’s Grass-tree.

Above:- Aerial shot of the park with my home QTH in the background.  Image courtesy of Google Maps.

The park is located just 7 km (by road) to the north east of the settlement of Nangkita,  Interestingly it is located about 20 km to the north west of the settlement of Finniss which was originally known as Queen’s Own Town, after the Queen’s Own Regiment of Foot.  The name of the town was changed in 1940 to Finniss, in in honour of an early surveyor and the first Premier of South Australia, Colonel Boyle Travers Finniss.

Above:- Colonel Boyle Travers Finniss.  Courtesy of wikipedia.

Over 62 species of native bird have been recored in the park including Laughing Kookaburra, Galah, Adelaide Rosella, Superb Fairywren, New Holland Honeyeater, Grey Fantail, Eastern Spinebill, and Australian Golden Whistler.

The park is located in close proximity to a number of other conservation parks, including Cox Scrub, Mount Magnificent, Kyeema, and Bullock Hill.

Above:- Map showing the location of the park, in close proximity to numerous other conservation parks.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

I have activated the park once before, back in 2013, but this was prior to the park being added to the WWFF Directory.  My previous activation of the park was for the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award.  For more information on my previous visit to the park, please check out my previous post at…..

https://vk5pas.org/2013/07/26/finniss-conservation-park/

Last time I activated the park I parked on Mount Magnificent Road and walked in to the park along the Heysen Trail from the northern side.  But this time I decided to have a look at accessing the park from the southern side.  I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to get in that way, but thought it was worth investigating.

I travelled along Bull Creek Road out of Ashbourne, passing the Cox Scrub Conservation Park.  I turned right onto the Nangkita Road and through the little settlement of Nangkita.  In the local aboriginal language Nagkita means ‘place of little frogs’.

Typical countryside in the Nangkita district

I then turned right onto Stones Ford Road.  I soon reached the intersection with Ridge Road.  I veered to the left and continued along Stones Ford Road.

This is beautiful country with rolling green hills at this time of the year.  I continued on, passing over the creek crossing on Stones Ford Road.

Much to my surprise, the road took me all the way to the park boundary.

Above:- The southern boundary of the park.

I parked the vehicle and then commenced to set up my station, about 10-15m inside the park boundary.  I ran the Yaesu FT-857d set at 40 watts, and the 80/40/20m linked dipole for this activation.  There was no sun on this occasion, so the solar panels remained in the vehicle.

My operating spot was right alongside the Heysen Trail, a walking trail which is about 1,200 km long.

Above:- My operating spot.  The Heysen Trail is marked in red.  Map courtesy of heysentrail.asn.au

Prior to calling CQ I logged Gerard VK2JNG who was activating the Marrangaroo National Park VKFF-0598.  There was a significant amount of QSB (fading) on Gerard’s signal, but as we both had low/non existant man made noise at our locations, we were able to comfortably log each other.

I then headed down to 7.139 and asked if the frequency was in use, with Peter VK3PF responding that it was all clear.  After working Peter I logged Nik VK3NLK/p who was in the Tocumwal Regional Park VKFF-0978.  It was nice to have another Park to Park contact in the log.

Conditions were quite poor on the 40m band with lots of QSB, probably due to the Coronal Mass Ejection from the sun the day previous.  It took me 16 minutes to get contact number 10 in the log, qualifying the park for VKFF.  Unfortunately there was no close in propagation, with my wife Marija VK5FMAZ sending me an SMS, advising that she had no copy back in Mount Barker.

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With just 16 contacts in the log after 30 minutes, I decided to try my luck on the 80m band hoping that I would be able to log the VK5’s on that band.  But 5 minutes of CQ calls went unanswered, and another SMS from Marija advising there was no copy on 80m.  This was not looking good.  But I perservered on 80m and out of the blue I heard ‘VK5FMAZ’.  It was Marija with a good 5/8 signal.  The band had changed.  Next up was Les VK5KLV up at Port Augusta in the north of the State.  But sadly, they were my only 2 callers on 80m.

So it was back to 40m where the number of callers had picked up.  I soon had 34 stations in the log which is always a good sign for me.  I run a paper log out in the field, which has 34 lines on each page.  So once I am on page 2 I always know I am on the downward slide to the 44 QSOs required for the WWFF global award.

Nik VK3NLK called in again, this time in the Barmah National Park VKFF-0739.  I now had 39 contacts in the log and saw a spot on parksnpeaks for John VK1/VA7JBE.  So I headed down to 7.090 and logged John was on Black Mountain VK1/ AC-042 which is located in VKFF-0835.

I then headed back to 7.139 and called CQ again.  Contact number 44 was soon in the log, a QSO with Kerry VK4LKB.  I logged a further 16 stations, and with 60 contacts in the log, I headed over to 14.310 on the 20m band.  I self spotted on parksnpeaks and called CQ, and much to my surprise my first caller was Gerard F1BLL in France.  This was followed by Hans VK6XN who had a strong 5/8 signal.  But my excitement was shortlived, as I had no further callers.

I took the opportunity of stretching my legs and taking a few photographs.  When I returned to the radio, I head stations working John VK1/VA7JBE on the frequency.  Unfortunately  was unable to hear John.  I then moved down to 14.305 and called CQ which was answered by Guenter DL5WW in Germany.  I logged a further 15 stations including a little more DX from Europe.

With 78 contacts in the log, and a unique park for me as an activator achieved, I packed up and headed home.  Thanks to everyone who called and thanks to those who took the time ti spot me.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2JNG/p (Marrangaroo National Park VKFF-0598)
2. VK3PF
3. VK3NLK/p (Tocumwal Regional Park VKFF-0978)
4. VK2HHA
5. VK4TMZ
6. VK2YK
7. VK2VW
8. VK3ZPF
9. VK3SFG
10. VK1DI
11. VK3ANL
12. VK3NBL
13. VK3TKK/m
14. VK3SQ
15. VK3AO
16. VK7VZ
17. VK3MCX
18. VK3ANP
19. VK2PKT
20. VK3MCK
21. VK3BBB
22. VK2NEO/m
23. VK3DKE
24. VK2NP
25. VK3CWF
26. VK3DJ
27. VK4RF
28. VK4HA
29. VK2UH
30. VK3DPG
31. VK2KYO
32. VK7FOLK/m
33. VK3NLK/p (Barmah National Park VKFF-0739)
34. VK3FLJD
35. VK3HKK
36. VK4TJ
37. VK1/VA7JBE (SOTA VK1/ AC-042 & VKFF-0834)
38. VK3GGG
39. VK3PMG
40. VK4FRSB
41. VK4LKB
42. VK3WAC/m
43. VK3LAB
44. VK5NAL/m
45. VK3ARH
46. VK2BOZ/m
47. VK4PDX
48. VK3NGD/m
49. VK2KJJ
50. VK3ZMD
51. VK7FOLK/p
52. VK7JON/p
53. VK3TKK/p
54. VK3BWZ
55. VK3HKV
56. VK3FSPG
57. VK3MPR

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5FMAZ
2. VK5KLV

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. F1BLL
2. VK6XN
3. DL5WW
4. VK4VXX/m
5. VK7JON/p
6. VK6MAC
7. IK1GPG
8. DL2NOM
9. VK6VSB
10. VK6AHR
11. PI4DX
12. VK6SN
13. VK4NH
14. VK4PDX
15. VK4RF
16. VK4HA
17. VK4QQ
18. VK6ALI

References.

Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/finniss-conservation-park/&gt;, viewed 16th July 2017

Wikipedia, 2017, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finniss,_South_Australia&gt;, viewed 16th July 2017

Yesterday I received my latest certificate as a Hunter in the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.  It is issued for having made contact with 944 different WWFF reference areas.

Many thanks to all of the activators and thankyou to Pit YO3JW, the WWFF Awards Manager.

The results are in for the 2017 VK Shires Contest.  Marija VK5FMAZ and I took part in the Rover category, activating parks in the South East of South Australia.

CONGRATULATIONS to Tony VK3XV who came in at number one in this category with 173 QSOs and 182 Shires and a score of 31,486 points.

I managed to get position number 2 with a total of 167 QSOs and 180 Shires and a score of 30,060 points.

And well done to Marija who came in at number 3, with 70 QSOs and and a score of 5,180 points.

Overall in the categories combined, I came in at number 3, and Marija was number 9.

I spent most of this morning (Tuesday 11th July 2017) adding new references to the WWFF Directory for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.  By lunchtime I had endured enough time in front of the computer screen, and as it was such a beautiful sunny Winters day, I decided to head out to activate the Bullock Hill Conservation Park 5CP-265 & VKFF-0873.  The park is located near the town of Ashbourne on the Fleurieu Peninsula, about 60 km south of Adelaide.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Bullock Hill Conservation Park.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The Bullock Hill Conservation Park was proclaimed on the 20th January 2014, so it is a very young park.  It consists of 221 hectares of undulating countryside, mainly consisting of Pink Gum and Cup Gum, with a dense under storey of Acacias and mixed heath.  Along the eastern boundary of the park there is scattered South Australian Blue Gum over native grassland.

Above:- Aerial shot showing the park and my operating spot.  My home QTH is in the background about 30 km away.  Image courtesy of Google maps.

Western Grey kangaroos can be found in abundance in the park.  About 95 species of native bird have been located in the park including Common Bronzewing, Superb Fairywren, Brown-headed Honeyeater, Red Wattelbird, Brown Thornbill, Rainbow Bee-Eater, and Grey Shrikethrush.

Rainbow Bee-Eater.  Courtesy of birdlife.org

I travelled to the park via Strathalbyn and then along the Ashbourne Road.  As you leave Strathalbyn the countryside becomes quite hilly.  I stopped briefly to enjoy the sensational views back to Strathalbyn and out to Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert.

I have activated the park a number of times previously and I have always operated in the past from Wattle Flat Road and the eastern side of the park.  But I had always been interested on whether the western side of the park could be approached.  I travelled south on Signal Flat Road until I reached Haines Road where I turned left and travelled east.  It has been quite wet here in recent days and as a result the track was very wet and boggy in parts.  As it was today, I would probably not attempt passing Haines Road unless you were in a 4WD.

Google maps shows that Haines Road traverses the southern boundary of the park, and runs all the way from Signal Flat Road through to Wattle Flat Road.

In reality it doesn’t.  As you travel along Haines Road you will pass a large amount of scrub on your left, but this is not the park.  It is private property.  You will then come to the south western corner of the park where there is a park sign.  There is a small parking area here.  I continued along Haines Road and soon reached a locked gate.  There is no further access to the east.  There is quite a nice parking area here and a recently graded fire track which runs north-south through the park.

I walked about 10 metres down the track and set up my fold up table and deck chair.  Equipment used was my Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts, and 80/40/20m linked dipole, inverted vee, supported on a 7m telescopic squid pole.

Above:- Map showing my operating spot in the southern section of the park.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

There are some very nice views to be enjoyed here of Lake Alexandrina and down towards the Coorong.

On my way to the park I had spoken from the mobile with Gerard VK2JNG who was activating the Goodinan State Conservation Area VKFF-1320.  So prior to calling CQ, I spoke with Gerard on 7.144 and logged the Park to Park contact.  Gerard was an excellent 5/9 signal.  I then headed down to 7.139 and asked if the frequency was in use, with Peter VK3PF coming back to let me know the frequency was clear.  Peter was a strong 5/9 + signal.  Next up was Ray VK3NBL, followed by Gerard VK2IO, and then Jonathan VK7JON.

Although it was a weekday, I was very pleased to have a steady flow of callers from Vk2, VK3, VK4, VK5, and VK7.  There was a small amount of QSB on some signals, but generally the band was in good condition.  I noted that there were 2 other QSOs on the same frequency, one being a KP2, and the others European.

There was a small opening with close in propagation, with a number of VK5’s logged, including Ron VK5MRE in the Riverland, Adrian VK5FANA on the Yorke Peninsula, Les at Port Augusta in the north of the state, Adrian VK5AW in the Riverland, and Wolf VK5WF in Adelaide.

Contact number 34 was Russell VK5OB who was activating the Scott Creek Conservation Park 5CP-207 & VKFF-0788.  This was Russell’s first solo park activation.  Russell had been taken out into the field by John VK5BJE on the Sunday of the WIA AGM/Convention.  Clearly John’s enthusiasm had rubbed off on Russell.  I left the frequency with Russell and headed off to the 20m band.

As it was nearly 2.45 p.m. local time I decided to book into the ANZA DX Net on 14.183.  There was no man made noise on the band at all from Bullock Hill, so I was hearing most stations on the net quite well, including the DX.  I logged 3 stations: John VK7XX, Jack W1FDY in Virginia USA, and Dale VE7SV in Canada.  I then moved up the band to 14.310 where I called CQ.  Sadly only 2 stations were to be entered into the log: Bob VK6POP in Western Australia, and Jonathan VK7JON in Tasmania.

I headed back to the 40m band and found that it had become much busier.  Marco CT1EHI from Portugal was on 7.143 with a strong 5/8 signal, but had quite a pile up from the USA and Australia, so I didn’t bother trying to call.  I found 7.150 clear and self spotted on parksnpeaks.  First in the log was John VK5BJE who was very low down, but workable with the low noise floor.  Eight QSOs later I was very surprised to be called by Richard G0BLB who had a nice 5/7 signal.  Richard was struggling with my signal a bit, but we eventually made it.  I was very pleased to get Richard in the log from the UK with my 40 watts and little bit of wire.  I logged a further 18 stations on 40m including Ken ZL4KD, the ZLFF co-ordinator.

I had checked the DX cluster whilst on 40m and saw a spot for M0YMA who was activating a park, on my operating frequency of 7.150.  Unfortunately we could not hear each other.

To wrap up the activation I headed to 3.610 on the 80m band.  John VK5BJE was there patiently waiting for me.  And what a difference a band makes.  John had gone from 5/1 on 40m to 5/9 + on 80m.  Greg VK5GJ then called in and he was also 5/9.  Greg lowered his power down to 1 watt and was still a good 5/8 signal.

My wife Marija VK5FMAZ sent me a text message to let me know she was just 15 minutes away from arriving home from work, and was keen to get me in the log.  So I continued to call CQ and logged Adrian VK5FANA, Phil VK2HPN, Nick VK3ANL, and Cliff VK2NP.  Marija then gave me a call and made it into my log.  I logged 2 further stations, Des VK3PEF and finally Matt VK3FORD who was mobile.

It was now 5.00 p.m. local time and the sun had disappeared behind the trees and as a result the temperature had dropped dramatically down to 9 deg C.  So I packed up the gear and headed home with a total of 75 contacts in the log.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2JNG/p (Goodinan State Conservation Area VKFF-1320)
2. VK3PF
3. VK3NBL
4. VK2IO
5. VK7JON
6. VK4HNS/p
7. VK5MRE
8. VK3CFA
9. VK3ZMD
10. VK3OHM
11. VK5FANA
12. VK5KLV
13. VK5AW/p
14. VK5WF
15. VK3FCMC
16. VK3TKK/m
17. VK2VW
18. VK2SB
19. VK2NP
20. VK2HHA
21. VK3MCK
22. VK3GGG
23. VK3PMG
24. VK7GG/m
25. VK4TJ
26. VK2HPN
27. VK7DW
28. VK5LG
29. VK5MJ
30. VK3ANL
31. VK3SQ
32. VK5IS
33. VK2SVN
34. VK5OB/p (Scott Creek Conservation Park 5CP-207 & VKFF-0788)
35. VK5BJE
36. VK4MOO
37. VK2KJJ
38. VK3ZVX
39. VK4FW
40. VK4FE
41. VK4SMA
42. VK3HBG
43. G0BLB
44. VK4RG
45. VK2QA
46. VK3MCX
47. VK4QQ
48. VK3UH
49. VK3GB
50. VK3FAHS
51. VK7FPRN
52. VK7PRN
53. ZL4KD
54. VK5GJ
55. VK3VIN
56. VK4KUS
57. VK4MWB
58. VK3KRH
59. VK3VGB
60. VK2KYO
61. VK3FOGY

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK7XX
2. W1FDY
3. VE7SV
4. VK6POP
5. VK7JON

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5BJE
2. VK5GJ
3. VK5FANA
4. VK2HPN
5. VK3ANL
6. VK2NP
7. VK5FMAZ
8. VK3PEF
9. VK3FORD/m

References.

Birds SA, 2017, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/bullock-hill-conservation-park/&gt;, viewed 11th July 2017