My second activation for Friday 27th December, was the Scott Conservation Park. This is located just a short distance from my first activation at the Cox Scrub Conservation Park. In fact it is about 4 km south, after travelling along the Bull Creek Road, and then along Deep Creek Road.
Scott Conservation Park (not to be confused with Scott Creek CP or Mount Scott CP) is located about 75 km south of Adelaide, and is 210 hectares in size. The park is relatively flat and consists of Blue and Pink gum woodlands.
I could not find a lot of information on the internet on the park. It looks like it is one of those little secrets on the Fleurieu Peninsula, which might not be a bad thing. There are a number of walks in the park including the Watercourse Hike, and Orchid Hike, and they are both rated as easy.
There is a wide range of vegetation within the park and there were many of the native plants in flower during our visit. The park consists of forest, woodland, and heathland. The park contains a wide variety of animals including Western Grey kangaroos, Ringtail Possums, and Western Pygmy-possums. A huge amount of bird life is also found in the park including the endangered Chestnut-rumped Heathwren and Diamond Firetail.
Marija and I found a carpark (gate 1) on Gould Road, and set up the equipment there. It was a nice shaded area out of the very hot sun. There was also a convenient fire track/break, which allowed me to run out the legs of the 40m/20m linked dipole and a permapine post/railing to attach the squid pole to.
After switching on the FT-817nd to 40m, I heard Ian VK1DI/2 on SOTA peak VK2/ SE-049, calling CQ. So I gave Ian a call and he was my first contact in Scott CP. I then moved to 7.095 and called CQ and was soon Hunted by Brian VK5FMID, followed by keen Park Hunter Larry VK5LY and then Graham VK5KGP. A steady flow of callers followed from VK3 & VK5.
After things had slowed down on 40m, I changed bands to 20m. The 20m band was really quite, with very little activity. I did hear few Latin American stations but their signal strengths were well down. I tried calling CQ on 14.330 on 20m, but there were no takers. So it was time to pack up the gear again and head off to Victor Harbor.
I worked the following stations:-
Ian VK1DI/2; Brian VK5FMID; Larry VK5LY; Graham VK5KGP; Bernard VK3AMB; Col VK5HCF; Tom VK5FTRG; Norm VK5GI; Ian VK5CZ; Allen VK3HRA; Tom VK5EE; Nick VK3ANL; Don VK5NFB; Nev VK5WG; and Steve VK3MEG
On Friday morning, 27th December, 2013, my wife Marija and I headed down to Victor Harbor, on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula, where we planned to stay 2 nights. And I even had ‘permission’ to activate some parks, so I didn’t need to be asked twice.
We left home in the Adelaide Hills early in the morning, and our first stop on the way down to Victor Harbor was the Cox Scrub Conservation Park, which is situated about 40 km south from my home, about 70 km south of Adelaide and about 8 km south of the little town of Ashbourne (which has a great pub by the way, called The Greenman Inn). The park is accessed off the Bull Creek Road, which was formerly known as the Adelaide to Goolwa Road.
The Fleurieu Peninsula was named by French explorer Nicholas Baudin, after the eminent French explorer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu. Way back in 1802, Matthew Flinders, the English navigator, and Nicholas Baudin mapped the southern coast of Australia. Flinders surveyed the area from the west, while Nicholas Baudin surveyed from the east. Flinders and Baudin met at a point near the mouth of the Murray River. Flinders named the bay where they met as Encounter Bay.
Cox Creek Conservation Park is a large park, and comprises 544 hectares of open shrubby vegetation with a drought hardy under storey. It is one of the larger parks on the Fleurieu Peninsula. It was acquired in 1969 and was dedicated as a South Australian Conservation Park on the 5th day of March, 1970. Prior to being declared a conservation park, the majority of the land was owned by Mr. V. Cox, who was apiarist at Ashbourne. He preserved the park in its natural state for the over wintering of his honey bees. The land was purchased from Mr Cox in 1969 on condition that he be allowed to keep bees in the park for as long as he required. This right was withdrawn following his death. In 1977 and then again in 1982, further smaller additions to the park were made.
The park also includes a short section of the Finnis River. In the south eastern corner of the park there is a steep sided valley which contains a spring fed creek. and there is also a winter swamp area near the main carpark off Bull Creek Road, and this was full of water when Marija and I visited.
The famous Heysen trail runs very close to the western boundary of the park. Coles Crossing campsite on the western side of the park, offers trekers along the Heysen trail, a place to rest their weary bones.
The February 1983 Ash Wednesday fires ravaged the park. All but a small 5 hectare section in the south western corner of the park, was totally burnt out during the devastating bush fires which claimed 28 lives in South Australia (47 in Victoria) and destroyed about 2,300 homes in SA & Victoria.
There are a variety of birds located in the park (of the feathered variety), including Rainbow lorikeets, Eastern Spinebill, Golden Whistler,Black-shouldered kite, and yellow-tailed black cockatoos. In fact over 80 species of birds have been recorded in the park.
Also located within the park are at least 15 species of mammals, 11 species of reptiles, and 6 species of frogs. Mammals include the echidna, and the endangered and vulnerable Southern-brown bandicoot. While reptiles located within the park include Rosenberg’s Goanna.
Over 350 plant species have been recorded in Cox Scrub, with dominant species being Eucalyptus Pink Gum, Cup Gum, and Brown Stringy Bark. In the north western corner of the park, there are a large number of Sugar Gums, and these were planted when then park was privately owned, to provide additional nectar for bees.
The park was burnt significantly during a recent scrub fire in May, 2013. The fire which started off as controlled burn off, destroyed over 350 hectares of the park. And there were clear signs of the fire, with the vegetation trying to slowly recover. It is really quite amazing how the bush can recover from such an event. I wonder how much wildlife was lost though as a result of the fire ?
Courtesy of:- http://www.fire-brigade.asn.au
I set up the gear in the carpark utilising the fence line to secure the 7m squid pole. I made myself comfortable on the deck chair with the table, and put out a call on 7.095 to be greeted by a hungry pack of Park Hunters. First cab off the rank was Graham VK5KGP with a very strong signal. This was followed by Larry VK5LY who was mobile, and then David VK5DGR who was running just 2 watts and a magnetic loop antenna, under the carport of his home in Adelaide. This was followed by a steady flow of callers from VK3 & VK5.
Whilst in the park I managed a few SOTA contacts on 20m SSB, including Andrew VK1NAM who was portable on Mount Stromlo VK1/ AC-043 (5/2 both ways), and only my 2nd ever Queensland SOTA contact with Dave VK4OZY who was portable on Mount Mary Smokes VK4/ SE-041 (5/7 sent & 5/6 received). The contacts with Andrew & Dave were a real added bonus.
Whilst operating I was also approached by a young guy who was in the carpark in his Toyota Coaster travelling around SA with his girlfriend. He was extremely interested in amateur radio and told me that he was an avid short wave listener. I gave him my contact details and who knows, maybe when he gets back home to the Northern Territory, he might get his amateur licence. he was certainly keen when I told him that CW was no longer compulsory.
After about 90 minutes in the park, it was time to pack up and head off to Scott Conservation Park. I had 20 QSO’s in the log (18 on 40m SSB and 2 on 20m SSB).
I worked the following stations:-
Graham VK5KGP; Larry VK5LY/m; David VK5DGR (qrp); Brian VK5FMID; Ray VK3HSR; Bill VK5MBD; Col VK5HCF (qrp); Tom VK5EE (qrp); Tom VK5FTRG; Nick VK3ANL; Paul VK5FUZZ; Bernard VK3AMB; Allen VK3HRA; Bruce VK3IG; Ron VK3AFW; Nev VK5WG; Brian VK3MCD/2; Rohan VK5FVBR; Andrew VK1NAM/p (SOTA); and Dave VK4OZY/p (SOTA.
References.
Friends of Cox Scrub Conservation Park 2012, Friends of Cox Scrub Conservation Park, Ashbourne, South Australia, viewed 30th December 2013, <http://www.communitywebs.org/FriendsCoxScrub>
South Australian Tourism Commission 2013, South australian Tourism Commission, Adelaide, South Australia, viewed 30th December 2013, <http://http://www.southaustralia.com>
On Friday evening, 20th December, 2013, I headed up to Mount Lofty summit, which is only 20 km west of home. Well, I actually had the luxury of a chaufferred ride up there by my wife Marija, who dropped me off and then headed back home. Marija didn’t fancy sitting on a log in the bush, holding hands, and listening to me talking on the radio, so she dropped me off and we organised for her to come back over and pick me up later. Now thats a dedicated wife. I think she may have had plans of leaving me on the summit !
Mount Lofty summit is also located within the Cleland Conservation Park, so it qualifies for the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award as well as SOTA. I have activated Mount Lofty & Cleland Conservation Park, 3 times before, but my motivation for the activation was that the 7.130 DX Net was holding a special Christmas edition of the net. So I decided to do something a bit ‘novel’ for the net and head up to the summit.
After Marija dropped me off, I set up in my favourite spot on the eastern side of the summit, along a walking track in the bush. This is a quieter location, away from the obelisk, the cafe, and the tourists. There is a convenient Telstra sign there which is great to secure the squid pole to. The weather conditions were not the best. The temperature had dropped from a very hot 40 deg C down to about 25 deg C and the wind had really whipped up and was very strong. Every time I heard a crack or a creak, I was looking up to make sure it wasn’t a gum tree limb about to come crushing down. And out to the east of me there was plenty of shower activity.
I set up the linked dipole to 20m first, and my first contact was with John VK2YW who had beautiful strong signal coming in from Wagga Wagga. This was followed by Tom VK3EO who also had a very strong 5/9 signal from Swan Hill. Normally the VK3 fellas don’t come in all that well on 20m, but Tom certainly had a magnificent signal. Andrew VK1NAM then called in from the ACT with his normal good solid signal. And thanks to Andrew as well for spotting me on SOTAWatch. And my fourth contact was with another VK3….Marshall VK3MRG, who had a beautiful strong signal.
I was hoping that some of the Western Australia SOTA Chasers may call in, and sure enough Mike VK6MB came up. It was good to get Mike in the log, because I can only imagine how hard it must be all the way over there in Western Australia to get 20m SOTA / QRP contacts. So that’s why I have been trying to make a concerted effort to get onto 20m more often during any SOTA or Parks activation. I have mentioned it before, but I think us Aussies take distance/s for granted down here in this big country of Oz. It is about 4,000 km from Sydney to Perth (east to west), and a little over 3,000 km from Adelaide to Darwin (south to north). They are big distances. The map below will give you a good idea of the size of Australia compared to Europe. And we regularly call VK3 – VK6 contacts…a local QSO !
I was also hoping that a bit of DX might call in, and to my surprise (with the help of Andrew’s spot on SOTAWatch), Michael DJ5AV called in with a booming 5/9 signal. I received a 5/5 signal report back Michael, who has recently been chasing a lot of the Australian SOTA activators. My second DX contact was with Colin G4UXH. This was much more of a challenge. I could hear Colin very well (5/6) but he was struggling with me (3/2).
I then looked down the band to 14.156, hoping to speak to a few of my friends in the UK, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand, who gather there every day for a chat. I spoke to John EA7BA (5/9 sent & 5/4 received). I could clearly hear Terry G0VWP, but sadly he was unable to hear me. This was a real shame, because Terry is a SOTA enthusiast. I could also hear Billy, GI3NVW, but unfortunately I wasn’t quite making the grade with him. He could hear me, but that was about it.
After working 11 stations on 20m I was running out of time, so I switched over to the 40m band and initially called CQ on 7.090 and worked Nev VK5WG, Allen VK3HRA, and Tony VK3CAT. All had very nice signals.
I then QSY’d to the 7.130 DX Net. Sadly the Over the Horizon radar was extremely strong and this made conditions very difficult indeed for me to work any of the DX that was on the net with my flea power of 5 watts. I tried calling Brian ZL2ASH who was a good signal, but sadly he couldn’t hear me through the radar. I normally make the grade quite easily with Brian when I am portable/QRP, but not this night. William FO5JV was coming in very strong, and despite the fact that I had worked him previously whilst portable/QRP, I decided not to call, simply because of the radar.
I did take a little bit of video which I have placed on You Tube, which shows the radar in action…..
After working 6 stations on the net (in VK2, VK3, & VK7), I announced that I would QSY down to 7.110 and work anyone who might like Mount Lofty & Cleland Conservation Park. The weather had deteriorated dramatically, and Marija had arrived and was waiting for me in the car, so it was a case of getting any interested ops in the log and moving on. The weather had dropped from 40 deg C earlier in the day, down to about 13 deg C on the summit, with drizzly rain and strong gusty winds. I did manage to work a few more stations in VK2, VK3, VK4, & VK5, (including Andrew VK2FAJG, operating QRP with 4 watts) before packing up and heading back home to the warmth of home.
By the end of the activation, I had a a total of 26 stations on 20m SSB and 40m SSB in the log.
The following stations were worked:-
John VK2YW; Tom VK3EO; Andrew VK1NAM; Marshall VK3MRG; Ed VK2AFY; Mike VK6MB; Michael DJ5AV; Gerard VK2IO; Colin G4UXH; Glenn VK3YY; John EA7BA; Nev VK5WG; Allen VK3HRA; Tony VK3CAT; Andy VK4TH; Ron VK3IO; Richard VK3IDX; Dennis VK2HHA; Paul VK7CC; Roy VK7ROY; Colin VK4FAAS; Urey VK3ATA; Luke VK3HJ; Iva VK4HG; Rod VK5FTTC; and Andrew VK2FAJG (QRP 4 watts).
Despite the weather, and the fact that it was no extra points for me for either SOTA or the VK5 Parks Award, this was a good fun evening.
Off to my 2nd activation of Saturday 16th November. And this was to be Peebinga Conservation Park, which is located about 240 km east of Adelaide, and just 10 km west from the Victorian border. It is located about 37 km north of the town of Peebinga.
Peebinga Conservation Park which is about 3.400 hectares in size, was reserved to conserve the habitat of the rare Western Whipbird. Vegetation in the park varies as some of it has been cleared and remains grassland. The rest is characterised by low stabilised dunes with open scrub cover featuring Ridge-fruited and Slender-leaved Mallee with Warty Cypress over Broom Bush. The higher areas have Square-fruited, Red and White Mallees. A total of 150 native flora species have been recorded in the park, including 14 of conservation significance.
The ecological value of the park was formally recognised back in 1940, when Peebinga Flora and Fauna Reserve was dedicated. It was renamed following proclamation was a conservation park in 1977.
The park is recognised by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. This is due to the fact that it supports a relatively large population of Malleefowl. The park previously had a population of Eastern Mallee subspecies of the Western Whipbird, which sadly, is now locally extinct. The declining species of Black shouldered Kite, and Tawny crowned Honeyeater are also found within the park.
Numerous native animals also call the park home, including Western Grey Kangaroos and Echidnas. A total of 97 native fauna species have been recorded in the park.
A total of 23 reptile species have been recorded within Peebinga CP, including the regionally rare Rough-nosed Blind Snake and the State rare Bardick, which is a small venomous snake morphologically similar to a death adder that attains a maximum length of 70 cm.
Marija and I accessed the eastern side of the park via Conservation Road. The road is dirt and is in good condition. Everything was going well, until I came around a sharp corner which bordered the park, and the hard gravelk surface suddenly turned to very soft sand. After some cursing and some swearing, I managed to get the Ford Falcon out of a rather precarious situation. We decided to park the car and activate the park at this location.
Fortunately there was some shade offered by small gum trees. It was great to sit under these and escape the sun. The temperature was rapidly increasing and there was no breeze to speak of.
Conditions here on 40m SSB were really hard going. The band was certainly not in great shape, and my antenna was also playing up. The VSWR was showing as really high. However I did manage some interesting contacts including a handful of VK3 Park QSO’s. My first contact was with Larry who was portable in Hatte Kulkyne National Park. Larry kindly offered to meet me over the Victorian border, and provide me with a 40m dipole.
My last 2 contacts of the day were with Bernard VK3AMB who was portable in the Organ Pipes National Park, and Nick VK3ANL who was portable in the Mornington Peninsula National Park.
So after just 30 minutes in the park, it was time to pack up and head off across the border into Victoria to meet up with Larry and his wife Di. I had a total of 9 contacts in the log on 40m SSB.
I worked the following stations:-
Larry VK5LY/p; Kevin VK3EC; Peter VK3PF; John VK5BJE; Ivan VK5HS; Andrew VK2UH; Tim VK5AV; Bernard VK3AMB/p; and Nick VL3ANL/p.
The Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award (KRMNPA) weekend was held between Friday 15th – Sunday 17th November, 2013. So my wife Marija and I booked in to the Pinnaroo cabins, near the South Australian and Victorian border, with the intention to activate 2 South Australian Conservation Parks and 2 Victorian National Parks over the weekend.
The first activation was the Karte Conservation Park, which is situated about 30 km north west of Pinnaroo, which in turn is about 250 km north east of Adelaide. We activated the park on Saturday morning (16th November) and accessed the park by travelling out of Pinnarroo along the Parilla Wells Road and then onto the Karte Road. We located the campground on the eastern side of the park, and set up the equipment there. The short dirt road leading into the park is well sign posted and is easily accessible to 2wd vehicles. The dirt track leading to the campground is about 250 metres in length from the roadway.
How do you pronounce Karte ? Well, during the activation, I was corrected by Larry VK5LY, because I was pronouncing the park as (Kart). Larry informed me that it was (Kart-ay). Very French and toffy ! But I have since found that Karte (pronounced Kartee) is an aboriginal word meaning thick, low scrub. So it is not quite the exotic French influence that we thought.
Karte Conservation Park which protects 3,565 hectares of mallee vegetation, was first proclaimed in 1969 as Karte National Park. It was later renamed as Karte Conservation Park following proclamation as a conservation park in 1977. The park comprises of thick low scrub covering steep sand dunes which rise up to 40 metres. Although I must say that they give the impression that they are much higher. Sadly, not quite high enough to be a SOTA peak, although they do have definite prominence over the surrounding terrain. Other than thick and dense Mallee scrub, the park also contains Mallee Cyprus pines, wattles, and broombush.
The park contains a large amount of wildlife. In fact if you look carefully at the sandy soil, you can see quite a few signs of their presence. Marija and I spotted quite a few kangaroo paw prints. Native animals that inhabit the park include western grey kangaroos, echidnas, and flat tailed dunnarts. What is a dunnart ? Dunnarts are strange looking narrow footed marsupials which are the size of a mouse.
Karte Conservation Park is also home to a large variety of bird life. Over 40 species of birds can be found here, including Ringneck Parrots (of which we say many), Malleefowl, Whipbirds, Galahs, Thornbills, Weebills and Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos.
During the early twentieth century much of the surrounding land was cleared except for those areas that were unsuitable for agriculture. This includes the area that is now known as Karte CP. The sand dunes were deemed to be unsuitable for agriculture.
At the campground we found a strategically placed timber table and benches, which was just perfect to call the shack, and attach the squid pole to. The morning was already warm, with no breeze. And there was no shade at the table, so we quickly set up to avoid the heat.
I switched the radio on and tuned to 7.100 and placed a number of CQ calls, but sadly there were no takers. So I tuned down the band and found John VK2AWJ/3 who was portable in the Terrick Terrick National Park, talking with Joe VK3YSP who was portable in the Churchill National Park. So I called up to say hello to John and Joe, and also Joe’s wife Julie, VK3FOWL, who is newly licenced.
I heard John VK5BJE call in to say hello to John, Joe, & Julie, but his signal was extremely low (no better than 5/3). In fact he was not really moving the meter on the 817nd. This was strange, because John normal rockets in wherever I am.
I managed a few more park contacts prior to heading off to the next park. That included Larry VK5LY/3 who was portable in Hattah Kulkyne National Park, and Tony VK3VTH who was portable in Mount Eccles National Park.
And to my listening pleasure, prior to dismantling the gear, I was subsequently called by John VK5BJE, who was now obviously peddling faster, because his signal had come up to a good 5/8. The 40m band was certainly moving around a lot !
And to top of a fun activation I was called by Nick VK3ANL who was portable on SOTA peak, Arthurs Seat, VK3/ VC-031, and I then worked Ben VK3FTRV who was on top of SOTA peak, Redmans Bluff, VK3/ VW-002, within the Grampians National Park.
At the end of the activation, Marija and I went for a walk along the 1.5 km Karte Youth Hike, within the park. It commences and finishes at the campgrounds and winds its way through the scrub and up to the top of one of the higher sand dunes. The walk takes about 45 minutes return, and was constructed in 1988 by students at the Pinaroo Area School as part of the Bicentennial Project. There are Interpretive signs along the walking trail which provide an insight into the importance of the areas remaining vegetation. The signs explain how certain plants, ranging from small ground cover species to large trees, have an important part to play in the mallee. There are very good views from the top across the park and the seemingly endless farmland which stretches off to the horizon.
In fact, over 83 native flora species have been recorded within the park, including 4 which are of conservation significance. The Inland Green-comb Spirder-orchid, which is nationally endangered, is also found within the park.
So after about an hour on air, I had managed an unlucky 13 contacts on 40m SSB.
The following stations were worked:-
John VK2AWJ/3; Joe VK3YSP/p; Julie VK3FOWL/p; Peter VK3PF; Owen VK7OR; Larry VK5LY/p; John VK5BJE; Ian VK5CZ; Mal VK3AZZ; Tony VK3VTH/p; Bill VK5MBD; Nick VK3ANL/p; and Ben VK3FTRV/p.
I had already activated Mount Lofty summit VK5/ SE-005 which is within the Cleland Conservation Park. In fact Mt Lofty was my 2nd ever SOTA activation way back in March 2013, when I first started SOTA. And I activated it for a second time in May 2013. So there were no SOTA points up for grabs by me. But the temperature on Wednesday (6th November) had reached 35 degrees C, and it was going to be a magnificent evening. Additionally, the 7.130 DX Net was on, and my main inspiration was that the Barefoot Table Net was having a special QRP night that evening. So off to Mt Lofty I headed.
I had contacted John VK5BJE earlier in the day whilst he was activating the Port Gawler Conservation Park, and asked John if he would like to come along and do a joint activation. John sounded really keen and I arranged to call him later in the day, which is exactly what I did on the way to the summit. When I called I found that John was enjoying a nice cold beer at the Stirling Hotel, waiting for his lovely wife Jenny. But he did agree that he would meet me up at the summit at about 7.00 p.m.
So I continued on my way to Mount Lofty, with some thoughts…..’should I do the summit, or join John for a nice cold beer‘. The summit activation won……..just ! Upon reaching the summit I set up on the eastern side of the main car park, amongst the scrub. I had operated from this exact spot during my 2nd Mt Lofty activation in May, 2013. It is a bit more of a secluded position, away from all the tourists and lovers enjoying the view of Adelaide near the obelisk. It is an excellent take off point out to the east, through the trees. I found a Telstra cable sign which was ideal to attach the 7m squid pole to with some octopus straps.
After turning on the little Yaesu FT-817nd, the noise floor was very low. There were quite a few strong static crashes however. My first contact of the evening was with Al VK1RX (5/9 both ways). This was a real thrill for me, because band conditions on 40m have been really poor into the eastern states. Particularly the further afield states, like NSW & the ACT. And things only got better from there, because my second contact was with Andrew VK1NAM, who also had a good strong 5/8 signal coming in from Canberra. I received a 5/7 signal report from Andrew. Things were looking up !
My third contact was with my old mate Larry VK5LY who was at the home of Ivan VK5HS, both enjoying a nice cold beer after a hard days work. I was very envious. And my fourth contact was with regular Parks Hunter and SOTA Chaser, Brian VK5FMID, from Mount Gambier.
This was followed by a steady flow of Chasers from VK1, VK2, VK3, and VK5. The band conditions were really great. Conditions even allowed me to make contact with Tom VK5EE in Mount Gambier, who was QRP with 5 watts, and a terrific QSO with Ben VK3FTRV, who was running QRP with just 2.5 watts. My 3rd QRP to QRP contact was with Bill VK2YKW who was QRP 5 watts, using his Wouxon X1M and an inverted vee dipole. I had intended to try 20m for the further afield VK’s, but 40m was performing so well, I decided to stay there.
After 30 minutes of operating, I decided to stretch the legs and go for a walk up to the main lookout area near the obelisk. The obelisk, known as Flinders Column, was constructed in 1885. Its primary function was that of a Trigonmetrical Survey Station. There are spectacular views of the Adelaide metropolitan area, and out to the east through the Picadilly valley, from the lookout.
I headed back to the operating spot and had a tune across the band. Soon after, at about 7.00 p.m. I received a call from John VK5BJE, asking me “where are you ?” I gave John some directions, and he soon joined me at the operating spot. John made himself comfortable and took over the reigns of the mic, whilst I enjoyed sitting back relaxing watching John in action. It wasn’t long before John had his own steady flow of Chasers & Hunters. This was John’s third SOTA activation. It appears he had been bitten by the dreaded SOTA bug. It is worse than Dengue fever !
After working Bernard VK3AMB, John QSY’d down 5 kc, as we were experiencing QRM from T33A, the DXpedition on Banaba Island, DXCC-320, and IOTA OC-018. He had come up and was operating on the same frequency and sadly he was not hearing us.
At 8.00 p.m. John and I QSY’d to 7.130 on 40m, to book in to the 7.130 DX Net, hoping that we might be able to get some exotic DX in the log. I started off on the mic and was very fortunate to be able to work William FO5JV in French Polynesia. William had a very strong 5/9 + signal, and I received a 5/1 from William. I also spoke to Brian ZL2ASH in Wellington New Zealand, who also had a very strong 5/9 + signal. I received 5/7 from Brian. Band conditions on 40m were holding up really well, despite the static crashes becoming increasingly strong.
John then took up the operating spot, and whilst John was operating on the Net, I headed up to the main look out area to enjoy the night time view. Surprisingly, there were not many cars in the carpark. But what was lacking with motor vehicles, was replaced by kangaroos. There were at least half a dozen Western Grey kangaroos roaming around in the carpark. They appeared to be quite tame, and you could get relatively close to them. The photo below isn’t great….it was taken on my i-phone.
Despite there not benign many cars in the carpark, there were quite a few people at the lookout, enjoying the superb view of the Adelaide lights. After taking some photos, I headed back to the operating spot and rejoined John who was still patiently waiting for his turn to call on the 7130 DX Net. Sadly by the time it was John’s call, the band conditions had changed, and William FO5JV, was suffering extremely bad QRM from Malaysian stations operating on the frequency. However John did speak with Brian ZL2ASH (5/7 received by John from Brian).
John and I then booked out of the 7130 DX Net, and headed up the band to the Barefoot Table Net on 7.170. Ian VK3VIN had advised via e-mail earlier in the day that the net for that evening would be a special QRP net. We could hear all the participants coming in extremely well, and made contact with a number of VK3 and VK7 stations. We did experience quite a bit of QRM from North America. It appeared that one of the exotic DX stations from one of the DXpeditions was operating split. And the receive frequency included 7.170.
John remained on the summit with me, for a while and then decided he should head home. It was starting to get late, and we had experienced a really fun night. In fact he had only reached the TV transmitter towers just down the road, when he received a telephone call from his wife Jenny.
I stayed for another 45 minutes and worked a few more stations in VK2, VK3, & VK5. The band still seemed to be performing very well. By the time I was ready to pack up I had a total of 40 QSO’s on 40m SSB in the log, including 2 ‘DX’ contacts into French Polynesia, and New Zealand.
Whilst John and I were operating during the evening, we could hear lots of sounds coming from the bush. And whilst walking back to the car, along the track through the bush, I found out what was causing a lot of the noise. There were a large number of Western Grey kangaroos. I headed up to the lookout again, for one final glimpse of the Adelaide lights, and then back to the car.
I worked the following stations:-
Al VK1RX; Andrew VK1NAM; Larry VK5LY; Brian VK5FMID; Tom VK5EE; Ivan VK5HS; Andy VK5LA; Adam VK2YK; Mike VK3XL; Matt VK2DAG; Peter VK3FPSR; Ben VK3FTRV; Ian VK1DI; Tony VK3CAT; Ed VK2JI; Mark VK1MDC; Shaun VK5FAKV; Peter VK3TKK; Ian VK5CZ; Bernard VK3AMB; Bill VK2YKW; Peter VK3YE-ped mobile; Don VK7DON; Paul VK5FUZZ; Brian ZL2ASH; Brent VK2MEV; William FO5JV; Ian VK3VIN; Peter VK3FPSR; Tony VK7AU; Glen VK3GMC; Joe VK3YSP; Jim VK5KOB; Bob VK2ZWZ; Dallas VK3EB; Dennis VK2HHA; Gary VK5PCM; Ian VK5KKT; John VK5TD; and Tony VK5TT.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable activation, despite the fact that I did not get any SOTA points or VK5 Parks points. The weather was spectacular, band conditions were very good, and it was great to see John having a lot of fun.
I have placed a video on You Tube of the activation…..
Yesterday morning (Wednesday 6th November, 2013) I had the man from Murrays Pest & Weed Control come to spray the house, so I had to disappear from home for a while. What a great excuse ! So I decided to head out and activate the Black Hill Conservation Park. The temperature was expected to reach 35 degrees C, and it was already a beautiful warm morning outside.
I drove out from Mount Barker and passed Cleland Conservation Park and into the fruit orchard area of Piccadilly and Ashton. This is a beautiful part of the Adelaide Hills where apples, pears, cherries, lemons and many other fruit is grown. I then turned on to Montacute Road which disects the Black Hill Conservation Park and the adjacent Montacute Conservation Park. There are spectacular views of the surrounding valleys and the park from the top of Montacute Road.
The Black Hill Conservation Park covers an area of about 684 hectares and is situated about 10 km north east of Adelaide. It features the low shears which give Black Hill its name. As you view the park from the plains of Adelaide, the hills appear to be black in colour, and this is due to the sheoaks. I was raised as a child at Felixstow in the north eastern suburbs and Black Hill was clearly visible from our home. The foliage of the sheoaks gradually matures to a dark rusty, almost black colour, as summer progresses.
The park has spectacular scenery of rugged ridges and a wide variety of native animals including kangaroos, koalas, and echidnas. The park also has an array of bird life, including the threatened, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. I saw quite a few Eastern Rosellas and Rainbow lorikeets whilst I was in the park.
The park also contains a wide variety of flora that offers a stunning display of native flowers in spring. The vegetation represents both savannah type woodland with herbaceous understoreys and sclerophyllous open forest. The park contains large South Australian Blue Gums and Red Gums, as well as vulnerable and precious under storey species including a large number of delicate and colourful orchid species and the Mount Lofty Daisy.
I accessed the park via Maryvale Road at Athelstone, after travelling down Montacute Road. There is a DEWNR regional office here and a carpark for the public. This where I parked and walked down towards Fifth Creek where I set up.
I used a huge fallen gum tree to secure the 7 m squid pole to, with the use of some octopus straps. The fallen tree also made a great bench, and there were quite a few conveniently placed large gum trees which provided some shade from the already very hot sun. This was also alongside a small creek which had quite a bit of running water. But because of the heat, I was ever vigilant of snakes, particularly Red bellied black snakes, which love the water and feed on frogs. Although they are a dangerous snake, no deaths have been recorded from bites by Red Bellies. The venom causes blood-clotting disorder and muscle and nerve damage, enough to knock you off your feet, but rarely deadly. Nethertheless I did not want to encounter one.
In recent weeks, I had been having problems with the VSWR on the dipole, but this time when I ran it through the antenna analyser, everything was fine. So the mystery increases. As I was setting up I had sent out an SMS message to some of the regular Hunters to advise them that I was in the park. I put a call out on 7.100 and there was ‘Ol faithful Hunter’ John VK5BJE with a great signal, and this was followed by another regular Parks Hunter, Brian VK5FMID. Another south east ham, Tom VK5EE then called in.
Conditions seemed to be quite good, but there was just no activity on the 40m band at all. I called and called and finally Ernie VK3DET with a terrific 5/9 signal came back. This was followed by Chubba VK5FCLK who wanted to know all about the VK5 Parks Award. He was very keen.
After my QSO with Chubba, I put out a number of CQ calls but sadly there were no takers. I tuned across the 40m band and there were no stations at all. So, I decided to QSY to 20m and I put out a number of CQ calls there, but there were no takers. The temperature had increased to over 30 degrees C, and the flies were relentless, so it was time to pack up and head home to the comfort of the air conditioning.
Just a handful of Hunters from this park on 40m SSB. The following stations were worked:-
John VK5BJE; Brian VK5FMID; Tom VK5EE; Ernie VK3DET; and Chubba VK5FCLK.
My last activation of the weekend was the Wills Creek Conservation Park, which is situated near the little town of Price on the upper Yorke Peninsula, about 133 km from Adelaide. After the activation at the very hot and windy Ramsay Way Conservation Park, Marija and I headed towards the coast, and in to the seaside town of Port Vincent, where we enjoyed an ice cream from the Ice Cream Parlour. We then travelled north on the Yorke Highway towards Price. As we did, we could see South Hummocks SOTA peak in the distance, which I had climbed earlier in the year. Behind that you could see the SOTA peaks, Bumbunga Hill, and Illawarra Hill.
Price township, which was proclaimed on the 3rd August 1882, is near the northern boundary of the Hundred of Cunningham. The principal local industries here are grain farming and salt production. In the case of the latter, sea salt is harvested from coastal salt pans. There is not much in the way of facilities here, and the population is only about 250 people. Major landmarks are the Wheatsheaf Hotel, established in 1886, and a caravan park.
Price, although not right on the coast, has a causeway running to the Wills Creek CP, which of course contains Wills Creek itself, a mangrove fringed tidal creek, which is connected with the sea, Gulf St Vincent. At the end of the causeway there is a public boat ramp. Once outside the creek, fishing is plentiful. Wills Creek is a very sheltered anchorage for boats and in earlier times it was from here that bagged salt and grain was loaded onto ketches for export. These products are now transported in bulk form by road.
Wills Creek Conservation Park consists of 2,130 hectares of mangrove, and was proclaimed in 2006. Prior to this, the area was Crown land. The park is situated at Mangrove Point on the north-western shores of Gulf St Vincent and is a significant coastal wetland/estuary area supporting mangroves and intertidal habitats. The park extends south from the township of Port Clinton to the town of Price.
Wills Creek Conservation Park consists of mangrove and samphire habitats along the coastal fringe. Wills and Shag Creeks are known fish nursery areas and as an important habitat for seabirds. To the north, the mangrove woodland is somewhat atypical, being backed by eroding limestone cliffs topped with mallee and dryland tea-tree vegetation. Wills Creek Conservation Park is subject to active mining leases.
Wills Creek Conservation Park incorporates a nationally listed wetland and estuary of interest, including an extensive area of Grey Mangrove woodland and adjoining shrubland habitat dominated by Scrubby Samphire and Beaded Samphire. The limestone escarpment north of the township of Price supports low woodland of Red Mallee, Dryland Tea-tree and Spear Grass. Only six native plants have been recorded thus far, none of which have a conservation rating. However, there have been observations of Bead Samphire in the park and this species is considered to be of high conservation significance.
The park is a haven for a variety of birdlife including White faced herons, Cormorants, Pied Oystercatchers, Thornbills, and Gulls.
We travelled passed the old Wheatsheaf pub, and down along the dirt causeway, through the mangroves. At the end of the dirt road, there is a large parking area which adjoins Wills Creek. We were surprised at the number of people that were here, either launching boats or going swimming in Wills Creek. By this stage of the afternoon the weather had become really hot and the wind was still quite strong and gusty. Fortunately there was a tin shelter at the eastern end of the carpark which had tables and benches in it. So it was an ideal place to set up the gear and escape from the hot afternoon sun. The bush flies however did not want to co-operate. They were still out in force, and Marija and I needed to wear our face netting ! We used an adjacent concrete table to the shelter, to strap the squid pole to.
On the way to the park I had received a message from Col VK5HCF that he was in Telford Scrub Conservation Park, down in the south east of S.A.. So after we had set up, I tuned to 40m and heard Tim VK5AV calling CQ from Telford Scrub CP with a nice signal. I believe this was Tim’s first ever activation. He has become an active Parks Hunter, but it was great to see him actually out & about in a park himself. During this QSO, a big gust of wind caught the squid pole, and pulled it over, almost bringing the radio with it, as you will see from the video below. After re erecting the antenna, Col VK5HCF also called in from Telford Scrub, and it was nice to bag another Park to Park QSO.
The band conditions seemed to have improved a bit, and of course, this time of the day the 40m band generally comes alive again anyway. So as a result I worked a steady flow of callers from VK2, VK3, & VK5. Ron VK5MRE from the Riverland called in using his old ‘boat anchor’ transceiver with a strong 5/9 signal. Regular Park Hunters Colin VK3UBY and his wife Sandra VK3LSC also called in with their usual very strong 5/9 plus signal/s. Sandy suggested there should be an Award for the ladies/wives ‘for sticking it out’. I think she probably has a very good valid point, considering that Marija tolerated my 8 park activations under trying circumstances.
On a few occasions I heard Peter VK3YE calling me, who was pedestrian mobile & QRP. Sadly we could not get through to each other. I spoke with Peter a few days later and he told me that he had a weak copy on me, and that there was very bad QSB. This was a good reflection of what the 40m band was like over the weekend.
Larry VK5LY also called in. He had just arrived home at Renmark with his wife Di, after activating a number of parks in the mid north of S.A. Congratulations Larry, and well done Di, for putting up with the park activations.
I also had a contact with Bernard VK2IB who was using a new Yaesu FT-817, and he was giving it its first run on air. Bernard was operating from his bush block at Talmalmo, on the Murray River, east of Albury, and was using a linked dipole about 6 m from the ground in an inverted fee configuration. Bernard and I exchanged 5/3 signal reports.
I was getting close to packing up and calling CQ for last callers, when much to my surprise, Phil VK3BHR called in. He was portable on SOTA peak, un-named summit, VK3/ VC-032. It was great to be able to make contact with Phil, who initially was struggling to get his 4 contacts.
My last contact of the weekend was with Garry VK3FREQ who was mobile in the Flinders Ranges National Park (5/3 both ways).
I had a few people approach Marija and I whilst I was operating. One gentleman was familiar with amateur radio, whilst another one saw my squid pole and asked if I was having an success in catching anything. Maybe I should have brought the fishing rod and thrown a line into the Wills Creek whilst I was operating.
As mentioned, this was a much more productive park as far as contacts. I ended up with 24 QSO’s on 40m SSB into VK2, VK3, & VK5.
The following stations were worked:-
Tim VK5AV/p (Park to Park); Col VK5HCF/p (Park to Park); Brian VK5FMID/qrp; Ron VK5MRE; Colin VK3UBY; Sandra VK3LSC; Peter VK3PF; Andrew VK3BQ/m; Ray VK3YAR; David VK5NQP; Dave VK2JDS; Larry VK5LY; Noel VK3FI; Dennis VK5FDEN; Andy VK5AKH; Shaun VK5FAKV/m; Bernard VK2IB/p; Ted VK5KBM; Tony VK3CAT; David VK5KC; Phil VK3BHR/p (SOTA); Trevor VK5ATQ; Paul VK5MAP; and VK3FREQ/p.
This was the end of a thoroughly enjoyable, but challenging weekend. I had activated all 8 planned parks, and had a total of 90 QSO’s. Band conditions were very flakey. Weather conditions were hot and windy. The flies were amazing…hundreds of them. And then there was the antenna problems. But I had filled plenty of pages in the notebook, and the scenery on the Yorke Peninsula was quite amazing. Thanks certainly go to my very tolerant wife, Marija for accompanying me on the trip.
I have placed some video on You Tube of my activation at the Wills Creek CP…..
From Barker Rocks CP, Marija and I headed back inland from the west cost of the Yorke Peninsula, to our third activation of the day, the Ramsay Way Conservation Park.
We travelled back to Minlaton and then west along the Port Vincent Road towards the eastern coast of the Yorke Peninsula. We then travelled west along the Old Coast Road, until we saw the park on our right hand side. On this northern side, the park was set some distance off the road and to gain access, you needed to travel over private property. So we continued east, and then turned right onto Power Line Road.
Just the name of the road should have set off alarm bells. It was not until I travelled down the road for a few hundred metres that I saw large powerlines following the eastern boundary of the park. Immediate though was….NOISE !
There was an access gate into the eastern side of the park, but this was locked. So we found what little shade there was and parked the car. It was starting to get really hot and the wind was still quite strong. I used the eastern boundary fence to secure the 7m squid pole, with some octopus straps, and ran the 40m/20m linked dipole, along the fence line. I rested the Yaesu FT-817nd on a permapine post.
All of the maps I have seen refer to this park as the Ramsay CP. However the park sign refers to it as the Ramsay Way Conservation Park.
Ramsay Way Conservation Park is 147.2 hectares in size and was proclaimed in 2008. It is a small park in the Minlaton-Curramulka Threatened Habitat Area. Over 80 native plant species have been recorded in the park. Its dominant vegetation is sheoak and mallee, with very low woodlands and a grassy understorey. It occurs in a high priority bioregion and conserves some species of conservation significance, including the nationally and state endangered Jumping-jack Wattle, which has not been recorded thus far in any other National Parks and Wildlife Act reserves on Yorke Peninsula.
A large proportion of Ramsay Way Conservation Park supports Mallee Box, Drooping Sheoak woodland with intact grassy understorey in generally good condition. Temperate grassy woodland such as this is a rarity in South Australia because this vegetation has been largely cleared for agriculture.
Upon turning the radio on my fears were realised. The noise floor was really high…..a constant S7 Obviously due to the power lines. I could have ventured further into the park away from the power lines, but I didn’t fancy doing this, as it was a hot day and I am sure there would have been plenty of snakes around.
My first contact in the park was with Greg VK5ZGY who was portable in the Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park (5/7 both ways). I was then called, much to my surprise, by Andrew VK2UH who had a good 5/8 signal coming in from NSW. This was my first VK2 contact during the weekend. I then managed another Park to Park contact with John VK5BJE who was portable in the historic Fort Glanville Conservation Park.
Before packing up I had three more Park to Park QSO’s. One with Col VK5HCF who was with Greg, in the Tantanoola Caves CP; then Ian VK5CZ who was portable in the Spring Gully Conservation Park near Clare; and finally with Larry VK5LY who was portable in the Brookfield Conservation Park.
I operated on 40m SSB for about 45 minutes in the park, and ended up with 11 QSO’s into VK2, VK3, & VK5. It was time to head into Port Vincent for some refreshments.
The following stations were worked:-
Greg VK5ZGY/p (Park to Park); Andrew VK2UH; John VK5BJE/p (Park to Park); Tim VK5AV; Col VK5HCF (Park to Park); Colin VK3UBY; Sandra VK3LSC; Trevor VK5ATQ; Ian Vk5CZ (Park to Park); Tom VK5FTRC, and Larry VK5LY/p (Park to Park).
I have posted a video on You Tube of this activation…..
After the activation at Minlacowie Conservation Park, Marija and I headed off towards our 2nd park of the day, the Barker Rocks Conservation Park, which is situated on the coast, on the western side of Yorke Peninsula. It is just south of Port Rickaby.
We travelled back along the dirt to the Minlaton-Yorketown Road and headed north into the little town of Minlaton. We stopped at the Visitor Centre at Minlaton and found the 2 ladies there to be very friendly & helpful. We couldn’t go passed the local bakery and a susage roll and orange juice. We then headed out towards the coast on the Rickaby Road, and then turned left into Barker Rocks Road which took us down to the coast and the park.
There is a large carpark and camp ground area at the end of the road, and a path leading down to the beach. Well, in fact there is no beach. It is all rock. That’s how the park got its name. So I secured the squid pole between some rocks and stretched out the 40m/20m linked dipole. There were quite a few fisherman on the foreshore. I must have been the only guy using a squid pole for a different reason !
Sadly the VSWR on the dipole was high again, and despite all my best efforts I could not resolve the issue. So I planned on just getting as many contacts as possible and heading off to the next park.
I called CQ on 7.110 and was greeted by Tim VK5AV who had an excellent 5/9 signal. This was followed by John VK5BJE who was portable in the Marino Rocks Conservation Park. So I was happy. I had 2 contacts. But despite a number of CQ calls, I had no more takers. So I tuned across the band and found Col VK5HCF who was portable in the Gower Conservation Park in the south east of S.A.
I spent about 30 minutes in the park and managed to scrape up 6 QSO’s on 40m SSB, including 2 Park to park contacts. It was good to hear from Tom again, VK5FTRG, who has just acquired his Foundation licence.
The following stations were worked:-
Tim VK5AV; John VK5BJE/p (Park to Park); Col VK5HCF/p (Park to Park); Eddie VK5EDM; Tom VK5FTRG; and John VK5DJ.
I have posted a video on You Tube of the activation…..
VK5PAS 