My fourth park activation for Friday 6th June 2014, was the Tilley Swamp Conservation Park, which is located north of Kingston in the Upper South East of South Australia.  The park conserves an area of about 1,525 hectares and was proclaimed and gazetted in 1993.

Moves to establish Tilley Swamp commenced in the late 1980’s following an application of vegetation clearance through the Native Vegetation Management Branch by the owner.  The Native Vegetation Management Authority refused the application and subsequently the allotment was registered as a Heritage Agreement and eventually sold to National Parks and Wildlife South Australia.

The park forms an integral part of the significant Tilley Swamp watercourse which moves surface waters northerly through the park.  During summer, the park is an important refuge for thousands of water birds, and for at least 20 other species throughout the year.  This includes the vulnerable Rufous Bristlebird.

The park is also home to a number of native mammals including the rare (SA) Common Wombat and rare (SA) Red-necked Wallaby.

The park is considered to be one of the most significant scrub blocks in the area and contains a number of rare plants including the Metallic Sun-orchid.

Tilley Swamp was named after Thomas Tilley, who succeeded John MacIntyre as manager for the Leake Brothers at Glencoe in the South East.  Tilley later joined pioneer pastoralist George Ormerod in a pastoral partnership, which included a lease of the Avenue Range run and other properties.

I accessed the park via Petherick Road, which runs off the eastern side of the Princes Highway.  Petherick Road runs along the southern boundary of the park.  I found an unlocked access gate and drove my car in a very short distance.  There are no formal tracks.

My first impressions of this park were that it was probably one of the least attractive that I had ever visited.  The park was severely impacted by a bushfire in February 2013 and there was still lots of evidence that the park was recovering.  However, I only saw a very small portion of the park, and never got the opportunity of exploring it in detail, so I will reserve my judgement until another visit.

I set up underneath a small cluster of ‘dead’ trees and shrubs, which provided a bit of shade from the sun.  There was plenty of room here to run out the legs of the dipole which I held down with some dead tree branches.

My first contact was with Hauke VK1HW who was mobile in the Selwyn Snowfields in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales.  This was followed by Greg VK5GJ at Meadows in the Adelaide Hills, Arno VK5ZAR in Adelaide, and then Col VK5HCF at Mount Gambier in the South East.  All had beautiful 5/9 signals.

A steady flow of callers followed from VK2, VK3, and VK5.  Nigel VK5NIG was kind enough to give me a call whilst he was operating from the top of Mount Gawler VK5/ SE-013.  Although Nigel was running QRP 5 watts, his signal was a very good 5/9.  It is very refreshing to see a number of SOTA operators now chasing park activators, and vice versa of course.

Another good contact from this park was with Ken VK3FKNZ at Belmont, a southern suburb of Geelong.  Ken advised me that he had only been on air for one week.  Welcome aboard Ken.  Ken had a very nice 5/9 signal coming into Tilley Swamp with his IC-751A and wire antenna.

My last contact in the park was with Greg VK5GJ who called in for the second time, but this time using his ‘just completed’ home brew QRP rig.  Greg had a solid 5/9 signal with very nice audio.  Congratulations Greg on your home brew construction.

After operating for one hour at Tilley Swamp I had a total of 26 QSOs in the log.  It was time to move on to my final activation of the day, the Mount Scott Conservation Park.

The following stations were worked:

Haucke VK1HW/m; Greg VK5GJ; Arno VK5ZAR; Col VK5HCF; Nev VK5WG; Norm VK5GI; Tibor VK3MRO; Bob VK5FPAC; John VK2AWJ; Darren VK2NNN; John VK5BJE; Greg VK5ZGY; Gary VK5ZK/m; Amanda VK3FQSO; Rod VK2LAX; Rod VK5VRB; Nigel VK5NIG; Allen VK3HRA; Hans VK5YX; Jim VK2FADV; Don VK5NFB; Peter VK2NEO; Ken VK3FKNZ; Brian VK5FMID; Stan VK3BNJ; and Greg VK5GJ.

References.

Government of South Australia, Tilley Swamp Conservation Park Managemnt Plan, 2000.

Cockburn, R, ‘South Australia.  What’s in a Name?’, 2002

Pastoral Pioneers of South Australia, Vol II, 1927

It is just a short drive from Martin Washpool Conservation Park to the Messent Conservation Park, which was my third activation for Friday 6th June 2014.There is a sandy track that leads from Martin Washpool to Messent.  The track dissects two pieces of farming land.  Although the track is sandy, it can be passed in dry weather in a conventional vehicle.  I stuck to the high points of the track and had no issues.  I certainly wouldn’t try it in wet weather without a 4WD.

Messent conserves a large area of open scrub, open heath and tussock sedge land and includes a number of rare plant species.  The park contains brown stringy barks, white and ridge-fruited mallee, deret banksias, fringed myrtle and yaccas.  It is home to numerous native animals and birds including western grey kangaroos, wombats, echidnas, ashey-grey mice,  emus, mallee fowl, and a variety of waterbirds.

I still have not been able to find anything on the internet to tell me how this park was named.  However, I did find people of the name MESSENT in South Australia, so I presume the park was named in honour of one of them?

I last activated this park on the 5th September 2013.  Details on that activation and a video can be found at…..

https://vk5pas.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/messent-conservation-park/

I set up in exactly the same location as last year, in the south eastern corner of the park.  Although I wanted to explore more of this park, it was just too risky in a conventional vehicle.  There are 2 tracks going off to the north and to the east, but as per last year, they were very sandy and not suitable for anything but a 4WD.  So out came the little fold up table and deck chair, and after erecting the antenna I went to 7.095 on 40m.  Again for this activation, I ran the Yaesu FT450, 40 watts and the linked dipole.

I didn’t even get a chance to call CQ.  I asked if the frequency was in use and Brian VK5FMID came back to say it was all mine.  Brian had a beautiful strong 5/9 signal coming in from Mount Gambier.  This was followed by ever reliable John VK5BJE and then Norm VK5GI.  One of the regular New South Wales parks chasers, John VK2AWJ then called in with a strong 5/9 signal.

A steady flow of callers followed including Gary VK5ZK who was mobile at the Wellington ferry, on his way down to the South East Radio Group convention at Mount Gambier.

I had one QRP contact whilst in the park, and that was with Simon VK3SMC who was portable.  Simon was running QRP 2.5 watts and had a very nice 57 signal.

After 35 minutes of operating in the park I and a total of 21 QSOs in the log from VK2, VK3, and VK5.  Time to move off to the Tilley Swamp Conservation Park.

The following stations were worked:

Brian VK5FMID; John VK5BJE; Norm VK5GI; John VK2AWJ; John VK5DJ; Amanda VK3FQSO; Greg VK5GJ; Gary VK5ZK/m; Tony VK5FTVR; Nigel VK5NIG; John VK5ET; Greg VK5ZGY; Stan VK3BNJ; Ormond VK3HAT; Simon VK3SMC/p; Charles VK5FBAC; Col VK5HCF; Tibor VK3MRO/m; Larry VK5LY; Greg VK7FGGT; and Haucke VK1HW/m.

References.

Australian Government, Department of the Emvironment, http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=7958

Limestone Coast Tintinara Heart of the Parks brochure, 2010

After packing up at the Coorong National Park, I continued south east on the Princes Highway heading towards my next park, which was the Martin Washpool Conservation Park.

In September last year I had activated this park, which has a rather macabre history.  The park was named after Malachi Martin, who was a convicted murderer.  It was so named after the pool in which he washed the blood from himself after committing murder.  For more information on the park and my previous activation, have a look at …..

https://vk5pas.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/martin-washpool-conservation-park/

 Map courtesy of Mapcarta

I set up in exactly the same spot as last year which was at the end of Salt Creek Road.  Access to the park is via a closed but unlocked gate at this location.  And as per last year, this park was absolutely alive with honeyeaters and wattlebirds, as many of the native trees and shrubs were in flower.

I used the park sign to attach my squid pole to, with the assistance of some octopus straps.  There is a track heading off to the south along the eastern boundary of the park, but I have never ventured up there, as the track is very sandy and boggy.  It would certainly not be passable in a conventional vehicle.  From looking at maps, this track takes you right down to the water in the park, which is fed by the Tilley Swamp Drain.

My first contact was with Greg VK5ZGY, who I was looking forward to meeting at Mount Gambier.  Greg and his wife Gabbie are very keen park activators and hunters.  Next up was Nev VK5WG from Crystal Brook with his normal enormous signal, and then Greg VK5GJ who has become a regular park hunter.  This was followed by Nigel VK5NIG and John VK5BJE.  A steady flow of callers followed from VK2, VK3 and VK5.

Peter VK3PAH called in again, from his mobile, making this his 2nd park contact for the day.  Peter was using an Alinco DX70 and a whip and had a beautiful 5/8 signal.  I managed to get Col in the log again, using the special call of VI50CONV.  My only QRP contact was with Simon VK3SMC who was running his FT-817 and 5 watts into an end fed antenna at Bonnydoon near Lake Eildon.  Another mobile station that called in was Rod VK5KFB who was mobile on his way down to the SERG convention.

After 45 minutes in the park, it was time to pull stumps again and head off to the Messent Conservation Park, just a few km away.  I had a total of 20 contacts in the log.

The following stations were worked:

Greg VK5ZGY; Nev VK5WG; Greg VK5GJ; Nigel VK5NIG; John VK5BJE; Tony VK5FTVR; Dennis VK5HH; Peter VK3PAH/mobile; Amanda VK3FQSO; Col VI50CONV; Simon VK3SMC/p; Tom VK2KF; Norm VK5GI; Hans VK5YX; Larry VK5LY; Albert VK3KLB; John VK2AWJ; Rod VK5KFB/mobile; Brian VK5FMID; and Col VK5HCF.

Today (Sunday 18th May 2014) I ventured over to the Mount George Conservation Park near Bridgewater.  This is just a short 15 km drive from my home at Mount Barker, and about 25 km south east of Adelaide.

Mount George CP conserves about 85 hectares of native Mount Lofty Ranges vegetation and was proclaimed on the 7th November 1996.  The park was originally 67 hectares in size before the boundaries were extended in October 2003.  Mount George CP’s landscape ranges from everything including wetlands to open forests and rocky outcrops.  A section of the famous Heysen trail runs through the park.  The eastern section of the park encompasses the summit of Mount George which rises 520 metres above sea level, but sadly is not recorded as a SOTA summit.

The park is full of bird life including yellow tailed black cockatoos, wedge tailed eagles, superb blue wrens, red browned finches, white throated treecreepers and scarlet robins.  A number of native mammals can also be found in park including western grey kangaroos, echidnas, Southern Brown bandicoot, Yellow footed Antechinus, and koalas.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

I set up in the picnic area at the bottom of Mount George Road.  The picnic area is in close proximity to the very busy South Eastern Freeway.  You can hear the traffic from this part of the park, but it is generally masked by all of the thick vegetation.

Above: Mt George Rd leading into the park

As it was another beautiful day, there were quite a few people enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful surrounds of the park.  Despite the fact that there are signs everywhere that dogs are to remain on leashes in this particular area of the park, there were still a few dogs running loose.  This included a small poodle who decided to ignore its elderly owner, and piddled on my squid pole.  Maybe this was a good luck sign?

My first contact was with Mark VK3ASC who was portable on SOTA peak Mount Martin VK3/ VE-100 which is to the north east of Mount Beauty.  Mark had a beautiful 58 signal.  I then tuned up the 40m band to 7.105 and put out a CQ call to be answered by Peter VK3PF and then Arno VK5ZAR who was 40 db over S9.  A steady flow of callers followed from VK3, VK5 and VK6.  But unlike yesterday, VK2 was no represented.

Above: the picnic area at the end of Mt George Road

A good catch was Mike VK6MB on 40m ssb.  This was 2 days in a  row that I had worked Mike on 40m ssb with a good signal.  Normally it is a bit of a battle to work Mike whilst I am in a park or on a SOTA peak.  But conditions were excellent, and Mike’s signal was coming in extremely well.

I also managed a couple of Park to Park contacts.  The first was with Gary VK5FGRY who was operating portable in the Morialta Conservation Park.  Gary was a good strong 59 signal.  I then spoke with Bob VK5FO who was portable in the Morialta Conservation Park, and this QSO was courtesy of Peter VK3PF who had come up to advise me that Bob was out and about.  Bob was using his newly built home brew transceiver and was an excellent 59 signal.

After working 22 stations on 40m I ventured over to 20m hoping to work some DX.  But I was sadly disappointed.  My first contact was with Mike VK6MB and this was followed by Gary VK6NCS who was mobile in Perth, running 10 watts and a vertical antenna on the roof racks of his car.  Despite the QRM, Gary had a nice 55 signal.  My old mate Steve VK4KUS then came up to say hi and was kind enough to place me on the DX cluster.  I did hear two F4 stations from France calling but their signals were well down and clearly they were not able to hear me.  I went on to work Adam VK2YK and then Ted VK6NTE who nearly knocked the gear off the fold up table with a 40/9 signal.

I tuned across the 20m band but did not hear the customary strong European stations.  In fact the band was almost dead with just a few signals coming in from Europe and they were well down in signal strength.  I then QSYd back to 40m and worked a further 8 stations in VK2, VK3, VK4, and VK7.  It was starting to get dark and the sulphur crested cockatoos were becoming increasingly noisy as they were preparing to roost for the night.

After 2 hours in the park, it was time to pack up and head home.  It almost completely dark and the mozzies were out in force.  I also had a casserole waiting for me and a nice bottle of Paulette’s cab sav.  I had a total of 35 QSOs in the log which I was very happy with.

The following stations were worked on 40m ssb:-

Mark VK3ASC/p; Peter VK3PF; Arno VK5ZAR; Greg VK5ZGY/m; Amanda VK3FQSO; Bernard VK3AMB; Nev VK5WG; John VK5BJE; Shaun VK5FAKV; Rod VK5VRB; Bob VK5FPAC; Larry VK5LY; Brian VK5FMID; Trevor VK3FPY/5; Mike VK6MB; Craig VK3NCR; John VK5DJ; Peter VK3PF; Nick VK3ANL; Gary VK5FGRY/p; Graham VK5KGP; Bob VK5FO/p; Hans VK5YX; Dave VK2WLD; Roy VK7ROY; Colin VK4FAAS; Cedric VK7CL; Jess VK6JES; Alan VK4KO; and Colin VK3LO.

The following stations were worked on 20m ssb:-

Mike VK6MB; Gary VK6NCS/m; Steve VK4KUS; Adam VK2YK; and Ted VK6NTE.

References.

National Parks South Australia, http://www.environment.sa.gov.au

Department for Environment and Heritage, Mount George Conservation Park Management Plan.

After packing up at Monarto Conservation Park, I headed just down the road to the Ferries McDonald Conservation Park, about 70 km east of Adelaide.

Ferries McDonald CP is about 845 hectares in size and contains one of the few pieces of remnant males vegetation close to Adelaide.  The land is named in honour of Mr. Ferries and Mr. McDonald, who kindly donated the land for conservation last century. The park is home to over 60 species of birds including the endangered Mallee fowl, and 300 species of plants some of which are significant in their rarity.  It is also home to short beaked echidnas, western grey kangaroos and the marsupial mouse.     

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

We parked in the carpark located in the south eastern corner of the park, off Chaunceys Line Road.  I strapped the 7 m telescopic squid pole to a nearby post and strung out the legs of the dipole.  After making myself comfortable in the deck chair at the fold up table, I tuned to 7.090.  I asked if the frequency was in use and was immediately greeted by Larry VK5LY who had a very strong 59 plus signal.  This was followed by Nev VK5WG and Terry VK5ATN, both of whom also had very strong 59 plus signals.

The band was in excellent condition again with very strong signals coming in from all parts of Australia.  I even got to work Mike VK6MB who had a beautiful 59 signal coming in from Manimup.  Another interesting contact was with Andy VK3FRDN who was portable at the Cape Otway lighthouse near Apollo Bay.

Again, I had a few enjoyable contacts with QRP callers including Bob BK5FO who was running 11 watts, Darren VK2AUX running 10 watts, Bryan VK7KWB running 5 watts into a long wire antenna, and Scott VK7FTTT using just 5 watts.  All had terrific signals into the park.

My last contact of the day was with Blue ZL3TT, in Napier New Zealand.  Blue was a good strong 59 signal and I received a 57 signal report back from across ‘the pond’.  A few guys had told me that a New Zealand station had been calling, so it was very pleasing when I heard Blue come back to my CQ call.  It was now dark and the mozzies were out in force, so it was time to pack up and head home after a very enjoyable afternoon in the 2 parks.

After an hour in the park I had a total of 39 contacts in the log from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, VK7, and ZL.

The following stations were worked:- Larry VK5LY; Nev VK5WG; Terry VK5ATN; Amanda VK3FQSO; Bob VK5FO; Greg VK5ZGY/m; Matt VK1MA; Colin VK3UBY; Tony VK5TT; Mark VK1EM; Peter VK3FPSR; Bernard VK3AMB; Col VK5FCDL; Max VK3MCX; Darren VK2AUX; Peter VK3ZPF; Neil VK4HNS; Haucke VK1HW; John VK2YW; Mike VK6MB; Tom VK2GU; Ian VK3VIN; ohm VK2MOP; Craig VK3NCR/p; Andy VK3FRDN/p; Danny VK4SD/2; Steve VK5SFA; Peter VK3PF; Bryan VK7KWB; Al VK4FFKZ; Ian VK3FIAN; Darren VK2NNN; Len VK3FB; Scott VK7NWT; Scott VK7FTTT; Arno VK5ZAR; Peter VK5NAQ; Dave VK2BDR; and Blue ZL3TT.

References.

Strathalbyn Garden Club, wwww.strathgardenclub.com.au

Yesterday afternoon (Saturday 17th May 2014), I headed up to Monarto, about 34 km east of my home qth, and about 65 km east of Adelaide, with the intention of activating the Monarto Conservation Park, followed by the Ferries McDonald Conservation Park.  I had activated these parks last year, but as this was a new calendar year, 2 more Activator points for the VK5 Parks award were up for grabs.

The Monarto Conservation Park is a nice 25 minute drive from home up the South Eastern Freeway towards Murrray Bridge.  I took the Monarto exit and then travelled south on Ferries McDonald Road for about 3 km before reaching the park which is located on the western side of the road.  You need to keep a close eye out for the park sign and the carpark as it is easy to miss.  The car parking area which is on the northern side of the park, is quite large and as per last year, I used the car park fencing constructed of permapine logs, to secure my 7 m telescopic squid pole to.

Image courtesy of mapcarta.com

Monarto Conservation Park consists of typical open mallee, and is surrounded by cropping lands.  There is an easy 1 hour loop track around the park, which is well worth walking.  A large amount of wildlife can be found in the park including kangaroos and echidnas.  The park also supports a population of the rare Mallee fowl.  In fact there are signs in the area restricting your speed, so please be aware of the wildlife.  Only foot traffic is allowed in the park, and no camping or caravanning is allowed.

The afternoon was glorious weather wise.  The temperature was around 25-26 degrees c, and it was very overcast.  In fact almost stormy conditions, but pleasantly to the ear, no static crashes were present on the bands.  After setting up the gear, I put out a CQ call on 7.095 and was greeted by Peter VK3FPSR who had a very strong signal coming in from near Cobram in northern Victoria.  This was followed by Andrew VK2UH, and Phil VK3BHR, both of whom were also very strong.  It appeared that 40m was in very good condition.

Above:- My operating spot.  Links in the dipole highlighted.

My tenth contact in the park was with John VK4IAA/8, who was portable at Tobermorey on the Plenty Highway near the Northern Territory/Queensland border, and about 565 km north east of Alice Springs.  Pretty much in the middle of nowhere!  John had a nice 5/7 signal and I was very surprised that he was receiving me so well from ‘way up there’.

I had some nice QRP contacts whilst in the park, and this included a QSO with Amanda VK3FQSO who was running just 2 watts and who had a very nice strong 59 signal.  Philip VK2XPL was running 5 watts from his little FT817 and had a good 55 signal.  And Ian VK3VIN also had a nice 57 signal with his 8 watts.

Above: – view towards Monarto (silos visible)

I also made contact with Steve VK2ZSZ who was operating portable from the Namdgi National Park and running just 5 watts from his Elecraft KX3 and a random wire.  I managed a SOTA contact with Perrin VK3XPT who was portable on Mount Fatigue VK3/ VT-057.  Perrin was running QRP 5 watts and had a good solid 55 signal.

After an hour operating in the park, I had a total of 42 contacts in the log from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK7, & VK8.  The following stations were worked:-

Peter VK3FPSR; Andrew VK2UH; Phil VK3BHR; Col VK5HCF; Greg VK5ZGY/m; Bernard VK3AMB; Matt VK1MA; Alan VK5FADP; Bill VK5MBD; John VK4IAA/8; Bob VK5FPAC; John VK2YW; Darren VK2NNN; John VK2VEX; Colin VK4FAAS; Amanda VK3FQSO; Rod VK2TWR/m; Philip VK2XPL; Dave VK3VCE; Jim VK5JW; Steve VK2ZSZ/p; Steve VK7LA; Patrick VK5MPJ; Chris VK1GG/2; Andrew VK3ARR; Perrin VK3XPT/p; Adam VK2YK; Larry VK5LY; Tony VK5TT; Terry VK5ATN; Andrew VK1NAM; Mark VK1EM; Nev VK5WG; Nigel VK5NIG; Rob VK2MZ; Colin VK3UBY; Eric VK5ZAG; Max VK3MCX; Ivan VK5HS; Jamie VK2TIM; Peter VK3ZPF; and Ian VK3VIN.

Our last park for the day was the Cromer Conservation Park, which is located about 7 km north of Birdwood, and about 7 km west of Mount Pleasant, in the Adelaide Hills.

I was running a bit behind schedule for this activation, as Marija and I had stayed a bit longer at Porter Scrub chatting to some of the locals.  As I entered the park off Cromer Road, I saw a ladybird on the entry gate.  I had read previously that ladybirds are reputed to bring you good luck.  So this was a good start to the activation.

Cromer is a great park to activate from.  Although there are plenty of trees to shelter underneath from the sun, there are also lots of open space areas for you to string out your dipole.

I set up the equipment about 50 feet in from the roadway, and for this activation I ran the Yaesu FT-450 again and 40 watts into the 40m/20m linked dipole.

Prior to calling CQ, I had a quick look around the band to see if I could track down VK1MA and VK3PF who I had heard from the mobile on the way to the park.  I found Matt VK1MA on 7.105, who was portable on SOTA peak Baldy Range, VK2/ ST-008.  I then spoke with Larry VK5LY who was portable in the Cooltong Conservation Park.  Another park to park to add to the list.  And finally, I found Peter VK3PF who was activating French Island National Park for the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award (KRMNPA) and World Wide Flora and Fauna (WWFF).

I then propped on 7.090 and called CQ and was immediately called by Mark VK1EM.  This was followed by Tom VK5FTRG in the south east, and then David VK5NQP who was still portable in the Port Gawler Conservation Park.

After a few more VK1, VK3, & VK5 contacts, I was called by Peter VK3YE who was portable at Chelsea Beach, running one of his home brew QRP rigs and a wire antenna.  Peter had a very nice steady 5/6 signal.

Again, as was the case with the previous 2 parks, there were some very strong signals.  Pick of the bunch was Nigel VK5NIG (30/9), Darren VK5DT (40/9), and Kevin VK5KU (30/9).  A few more QRP stations called in, including Col VK5HCF (5 watts), Joe VK3YSP (10 watts), and Julie VK3FOWL.

My last 2 contacts on 40m were with mobile stations.  The first was with Peter VK2NEO who was mobile near Leeton.  And the second was with Steve VK3SRB who was mobile in New South Wales on the Riverina Highway.

I had intended to activate 20m in the first 2 parks, but simply ran out of time.  But when things slowed down on 40m, I lowered the antenna and took out the links in the dipole, and then raised the telescopic squid pole again.  After numerous CQ calls I managed 4 contacts on 20m with Shayn VK7HWW, Michael VK1XYZ, Damon VK4HBT who was portable near Bundaberg, and Dom VK2SX who was also portable.

I was active in the park for an hour, and managed 26 contacts on 40m SSB and 4 contacts on 20m SSB.  The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

Matt VK1MA/p (SOTA); Larry VK5LY/p; Peter VK3PF/p; Mark VK1EM; Tom VK5FTRG; David VK5NQP/p; Arno VK5ZAR; Phil VK3BHR; Col VK5HCF; Brian VK3MCD; Nigel VK5NIG; Andrew VK1NAM; Joe VK3YSP/p; Julie VK3FOWL/p; Peter VK3YE/p; Mark VK5QI/p; Tony VK3CAT; Darren VK5DT; John VK5DJ; John VK5NJ; Mark VK3ASC; Allen VK3HRA; Kevin VK5KU; John VK3HJD; Marshall VK3MRG; Peter VK2NEO/m; and Steve VK3SRB/m2.

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

Shayn VK7HWW; Michael VK1XYZ; Damon VK4HBT/p; and Dom VK2SX/p.

After activating Charleston Conservation Park, we headed north to the Porter Scrub Conservation Park.  I had also activated this park last year in July, but because this was a new calendar year, I could activate the park again for points for the VK5 Parks Award.  From Charleston we travelled along Lewis Road and Springhead Road, through the lush countryside of Charleston and Mount Torrens.  We then headed north along Onkaparinga Valley Road, and then Hirthe Road. before turning onto Maidment Road to travel west.  This is beautiful countryside.  Rolling hills, native scrub, and vineyards dominate the landscape.

Porter Scrub is located about 8 km north of the historic town of Lobethal, and about 8 km west of Mount Torrens.

Porter Scrub is one of my favourite parks.  It is a very pretty park, with tall Stringybark woodland, Candlebark Gum forest, Mountain Gum, Pink Gum and River Red Gum.  There is a thick under storey with many ferns to be found  There is a very well maintained track which travels through the park, and I highly recommend a walk through the park.

As we were driving along Maidment Road, Marija and I came across Greg VK5LG, driving in the opposite direction.   So after a quick chat, Greg turned his car around and followed us down to the intersection of Maidment Road, and Lihou Road.  There is a small parking area here and a gate, with access to the park.

We set up the station in the same spot as last year, on the edge of the walking track, about 30 feet inside the gate on Maidment Road.  There are not to many other options in the park, as there are no cleared areas and the vegetation is very thick.

Prior to putting out any CQ calls, Greg and I tuned across the 40m band and found Larry VK5LY who was portable in the Murray River National Park.  There were no missing Larry, as his signal was very strong (20/9).  I then propped on 7.105 and put out a CQ call and was called by Ivan VK5HS in the Riverland.  This was followed by Dave VK3VCE and then David VK5NQP who was still operating portable in the Port Gawler Conservation Park, north of Adelaide.  I then spoke with Frank VK2MI, Peter VK3PF mobile, and Peter VK3ZPF.  It was time to hand the reigns over to Greg.

Greg took over control of the microphone and his first contact was with Peter VK3ZPF, followed by Ian VK3FIAN, and then Arno VK5ZAR.  After 11 QSOs into VK3 and VK5, and a quick chat between the two of us, Greg decided to head home.  I was really pleased that Greg called in to the park to say hi, and look forward to catching up with him for another coffee soon (Greg works just across the road from me).

It was getting towards that time to pull the antenna down, but the goat had bleated on my SOTA Goat application on the iPhone, so I tuned to 7.090 and spoke with Mark VK1MBE who was portable on SOTA peak Mount Ainslee, VK1/ AC-040.  I then put out a few CQ calls on 7.105 and spoke with some of the dedicated park hunters including Brian VK5FMID, Tom VK5FTRG, John VK5DJ (40/9), Arno VK5ZAR (30/9), Greg VK5ZGY mobile, and Nigel VK5NIG (40/9).  Wow, some of those guys had very strong signals !

My last contact was a park to park QSO with David VK5NQP in Port Gawler CP.  After 45 minutes in the park, Greg and I had 30 QSO’s in the log into VK2, VK3, and VK5.  This compared to 7 QSOs in this park last year in July.

As we were packing up, a local couple approached us and were interested in what we were doing.

I worked the following stations before the UTC rollover:-

Larry VK5LY/p; Ivan VK5HS; Dave VK3VCE; David VK5NQP/p; and Frank VK2MI.

I spoke to the following stations after the UTC rollover:-

Peter VK3PF/m; Peter VK3ZPF; Mark VK1MBE/p (SOTA); Brian VK5FMID; Tom VK5FTRG; John VK5DJ; Arno VK5ZAR; Nigel VK5NIG; Greg VK5ZGY/m; Roy VK5NRG; Rod VK2LAX; Rod VK5VRB; Allan VK5FADP; and David VK5NQP/p.

The following stations were contacted by Greg:-

Peter VK3ZPF; Ian VK3FIAN; Arno VK5ZAR; Dave VK3VCE; Larry VK5LY; VK3FLYY; Ivan VK5HS; VK5ET; Amanda VK3FQSO; Brian VK5FMID; Graham VK5KGP.

On Saturday morning, bright and early, Marija and I headed off to the Charleston Conservation Park, which is near the little town of Charleston in the Adelaide Hills.  I had activated Charleston CP last year in July, and managed just 11 QSOs.  But this was a new calendar year, so it meant another activator point for me.

image courtesy of Googlemaps.

I spoke a bit about the little town of Charleston in last years post, so I won’t rehash that information.  But here is an excerpt from ‘South Australia.  What’s in a Name?‘ which was written in 1908 by Rodney Cockburn…..

‘Charleston and Mount Charles-in the Mount Lofty Ranges, have given rise to some confusion.  Charles Dunn, (brother of John Dunn, the miller) who devoted his life chiefly to blacksmithing and farming in the hills, has been mentioned as supplying the derivation of these names, but a much stronger claim may be established for Charles Newman, who was on the spot nearly five years before the advent of Dunn.  Newman, who was experienced in the management of sheep, left Somersetshire in July 1837, under engagement to the South Australian Company as a shepherd.  The voyage was made in the Katherine Stewart Forbes.  He was the first man to camp a flock of sheep at Mount Charles, near which he took up a section of land in 1843 and established a home.  He built up a valuable estate, represented Charleston Ward in the Omkaparinga District Council, of which he was a Chairman; was a trustee of the local Methodist Church; and died on 7 September 1900, in his eightieth year’.1

In January 2014, a fire swept through the park, and I was interested to see what damage had been caused.  We accessed the park via Bell Springs Road, and as we drove down the narrow dirt road, we came across a few Western Grey kangaroos enjoying their breakfast.  We parked the car in a little carpark near an access gate on the northern side of the park, at Park Road.  And it was almost immediately evident that this part of the park had fortunately, not been affected by the fire.

With the assistance of my trusty wife, we set up the fold up table and chair right alongside of the Conservation Park sign just inside the park boundary.  I drove the squid pole holder into the ground and secured the 7 metre squid pole with an octopus strap.  I had brought along my Yaesu FT-450 and the Yaesu FT-817, but decided to run the bigger radio on 40 watts output.

We were in for a beautiful sunny day, but it was still early in the morning.  I was set up in the park ready to go at 7.30 a.m. and it was really chilly.  The sun was just starting to come up in the east, but the trees in the park were shielding me from the warmth of the sun.  After turning on the radio, I found the 40m band to be very busy.  There were quite a few VKs and even more DX stations coming in from Europe.  Some of the Europeans were so strong I was tempted to give them a shout.  But I figured that my meagre power and small dipole probably would not make the distance.

I had specified 7.095 in my alert on parksnpeaks, but there were a couple of VKs on 7.093, so I went up to 7.098 and put out a CQ call, to be immediately called by Darren VK5DT who had a massive signal (40/9).  This was followed by Larry VK5LY who was portable in the Pike River Conservation Park in the Riverland.  Larry also had a beautiful 5/9 signal.  It seemed the band was in very good condition.

I also scored another park to park contact.  This time with David VK5NQP who was portable in the Port Gawler Conservation Park, north of Adelaide.  David’s signal was very strong (20/9).  Conditions on the band were very good and it was very pleasing to get a few QRP stations in the log during the activation.  They included Amanda VK3FQSO, Matt VK5MLB on 10 watts on his KX3, and Marshall VK3MRG running 5 watts.

Greg VK5LG, who lives at nearby Cudlee Creek called in to say hello.  We arranged for Greg to meet me at my next park activation location which was to be the Porter Scrub Conservation Park near Kenton Valley.

My last contact of the day was with Larry VK5LY who was mobile on his way from Pike River CP to the Murray River National Park.  After an hour in the park, it was time to move on.  I had a total of 26 QSOs on 40m SSB in the log.  This was 13 more contacts than last year and is a testament to the popularity of the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award.

The following stations were worked:-

Darren VK5DT; Larry VK5LY/p; Tim VK5AV; Col VK5HCF; Owen VK7OR; Ben VK5BB; Amanda VK3FQSO; David VK5KC; Brian VK5FMID; Tob VK5TS; David VK5NQP/p; Darren VK2NNN; Erwin VK3ERW/p; Len VK3FB; Peter VK3PF/m; Hreg VK3UT; Matt VK5MLB; Ian VK5CZ; Marshall VK3MRG; Alan VK3OA; John VK5TD; Greg VK5LG; John VK3HJD; Peter VK5NAQ; Arno VK5ZAR; and Larry VK5LY/m.

1.  Cockburn; S, 2002; ‘South Australia.  What’s in a Name?’