My fourth, and last South Australian park activation on Sunday 14th November, 2014, was the Desert Camp Conservation Park, which is located about 65 km north west of Naracoorte, on the northern side of the Kingston-Keith Road, and about 267 km south east of Adelaide.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

The park is about 49 hectares in size as was gazetted as Desert Camp National Park in 1967.  About 14 months after the park was declared as a National Park, new works on the Keith-Kingston Road severed the park.  On proclamation of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1972, the park became the Desert Camp Conservation Park.

A word of warning before activating this park.  Desert Camp is a Conservation Reserve and a Conservation Park.  Make sure you are in the Conservation Park area and not the Reserve.

I started off on 40m on 7.095 and my first caller was the ever reliable Brian VK5FMID in nearby Mount Gambier.  This was followed by another South East park stalwart, Tom VK5FTRG, and then Peter VK3RV who had a very strong 5/9 plus signal.

I worked a few mobile stations from this park which was really pleasing.  The first contact was with Andrew VK1NAM who although a little weak, was perfectly readable from those noise free environment of the park.  My next mobile contact was with Peter VK3TKK with a nice 5/7 signal, and then Joe VK3YSP and Julie VK3FOWL who were a good strong 5/8.  And I also spoke with Allen VK3HRA who was mobile and had a nice strong 5/8 signal.

A few QRP callers also called in.  They included Damien VK5FDEC running 5 watts from his Yaesu FT-817.  Damien seems to have been bitten by the QRP bug.  And then Ron VK5ALR who was portable in Victoria and was running just 5 watts also.

After working a total of 20 stations I headed off to 20m where I put out numerous CQ calls but I had absolutely no takers.  I tuned around the 20m band but all I could hear were some weak signals coming in from Europe.  It was a little too early for long path into Europe.

So I decided to pack up and head off to Portland in south western Victoria.  I still had a few hours on the road before reaching my destination and I was starting to get a bit hungry and wanted to avoid the kangaroos on the road.

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So after 30 minutes in the park, I had a total of 20 contacts in the log from VK3 and VK5.

The following stations were worked:-

1. Brian VK5FMID
2. Tom VK5FTRG
3. Peter Vk3RV
4. Tom VK5EE
5. Andrew VK1NAM/m
6. Charles VK5FBAC
7. Peter VK3TKK/m
8. Nev VK5WG
9. Joe VK3YSP/m
10. Jenny VK3WQ
11. Arno VK5ZAR
12. Allen VK3HRA/m
13. Julie VK3FOWL/m
14. Tony VK3CAT
15. Mick VK3FAFK
16. David VK5NQP
17. Owen VK5HOS
18. Damien VK5FDEC/qrp
19. Hans VK5YX
20. Ron VK5ALR/p/qrp

References.

National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1992, ‘Small Parks of the Upper South East Management Plans’

My third Conservation park activation on the way to Victoria on Friday 14th November, 2014, was the Mount Monster Conservation Park (CP).  I had not originally intended to activate this park.  However I had access concerns re the Lower Glenelg Conservation Park, so I decided to cancel that activation and fit in Mount Monster instead.  This was to be a new unique park for me.  Mount Monster CP is located about 14 km south of the town of Keith, and about 238 km south east of Adelaide.

 Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

Mount Monster CP is about 93 hectares in size and was dedicated as a Conservation Park in September 1976 as a gift from three surrounding land owners, including the Buddle and Ellis families in memory of pioneers Malcolm and Mercy Crooks of ‘Maroona’.  The park is dominated by steep rocky outcrops separated by narrow, deep gullies, producing a wide range of gradients and a number of sheer cliff faces.  These rocky outcrops are dominated by an unusual granite, found in only one other location in South Australia.  The park includes the Mount Monster summit, known as Joyce’s Plateau, named in honour of Joyce Buddle.  Although only having a low profile, the summit dominates the countryside for many kilometres.

I have not been able to find out why the park was named Mount Monster?  If anybody knows, I would be very keen to find out.  But what I did learn, was that the nearby town of Keith was originally known as Mount Monster.  It was not until 1889 when the town was officially proclaimed, that it was named Keith.

Prior to European settlement the area around Keith was part of the lands occupied by the Ngarranjeri aboriginal people.  Within the park is the old Gold Escort Route.  This is the famous route which brought gold into South Australia from the Victorian goldfields during the 1850’s.  In fact, between March 1852 and December 1853, a total of 528 509 ounces of gold were brought into South Australia from the Victorian gold fields.

About 176 different plant species have been identified in the park, 30 of those are orchids.  Some of these, including the Cradle of Incense, and the Monarto Mint Bush, are considered endangered nationally.  Numerous mammals can be located in the park including kangaroos and echidnas.  The park is also home to a large variety of birdlife, including red rumped parrots (I saw numerous) and honeyeaters (again I saw numerous feeding on the flowering natives).

The agricultural land surrounding Mount Monster is recognised as one of the major Lucerne seed producing areas in Australia.  During the summer period, the fields are stocked with beehives for the pollination of the crops.

For more information on the park, have a look at the post by John VK5BJE on his blog…..

http://vk5bje.com/2013/09/10/

I entered the park off the Mount Monster Road, which runs off the Riddoch Highway, about 13 km south of the town of Keith.  There is a dirt road (in good condition) which passes through the park (it is a one way road), that after about 1 km leads to a nice camping and parking area.  This is where I set up.

map courtesy of mapcarta.com

My first contact was with Larry VK5LY in The Riverland with a nice 5/9 plus signal.  This was followed by Brian VK5FMID in Mount Gambier, and then Norm VK5GI operating QRP 5 watts with his home brew transceiver.  Despite using low power, Norm was still an excellent 5/9 signal all the way from Willunga.

Conditions on 40m seemed quite good, with a few contacts recorded with stations mobile in Victoria.  They being with John VK3IC/m and Tony VK3CAT/m (both 5/9).  I also had one more QRP contact and that was with Ian VK3FD, who although a little weak (5/1) was still very readable in the park with the non existent man made noise floor.

I was fortunate to work two Victorian National Parks whilst in Mount Monster.  The first contact was with Peter VK3TKK who was operating portable in the Organ Pipes National Park, and then John VK2AWJ/3 was was operating portable in the Lower Goulburn National Park.

After working a total of 23 stations on 40m ssb, I lowered the squid pole and removed the links in the dipole, for 20m.  I tuned to my nominated operating frequency of 14.310 and put out some CQ calls.  However my only taker on 20m was Eric VK2ES.  And there was a lot of QSB on Eric’s signal.  I tuned across the 20m band and only heard one other station, a VK2 operating sub on 14.230 (the STV frequency).

At the end of this activation, I was packing the gear away in the car and heard Rod VK2TWR working a ‘pile up’ from the top of a summit in New South Wales.  I called a number of times but just could not break the pile up.  So I decided to go for a walk to the top of the Mount Monster summit instead of persevering.  I’m glad I did.  There is a great walking trail to the top, which is not at all taxing.  And you are rewarded with great views of the surrounding countryside.  Sadly, it is not a qualifying summit for the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program, as Mount Monster only rises 93 metres above sea level.  However, there are excellent 360 degree views to be had.  A microwave repeater tower can be seen on the northern horizon, and Sugar Loaf Hill, from which Murray River water is reticulated to the nearby Keith township.

I had a total of 24 contacts whilst in Mount Monster, into VK2, VK3, VK5, and VK7.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

1. Larry VK5LY
2. Brian VK5FMID
3. Norm VK5GI
4. John VK5BJE
5. John VK5FTCT
6. Les VK5KLV
7. Nev VK5WG
8. Arno VK5ZAR
9. Ron VK3JP
10. Tom VK5EE
11. VK3IC/m
12. Tony VK3CAT/m
13. VK3FAFK
14. Tom VK5FTRG
15. Mal VK3AZZ
16. Tim VK5AV
17. Ian VK3FD
18. Joe VK3YSP
19. Don VK5NFB
20. Peter VK3TKK/p (Organ Pipes NP)
21. Winston VK7WH/p
22. Basil VK5BK
23. John VK2AWJ/3 (Lower Goulburn NP)

The following station was worked on 20m SSB:-

1. Eric VK2ES

Below is a quick video of the activation…..

References.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources, `997, ‘Aberdour and Mount Monster Conservation Parks, Desert Camp Conservation Reserve and Poocher Swamp Game Reserve Management Plans’.

Friends of Scott Creek Conservation Park, 2014, <www.users.on.net.au> viewed 24th November 2014.

Friends of the Upper South East Parks Volunteers Working for Conservation, ‘The Gwen Ellis Walking Trail, Mount Monster Conservation Park’.

Sydney Morning Herald, 2014, <http://www.smh.com.au/news/South-Australia/Keith/2005/02/17/1108500204330.html&gt;, viewed 29th November 2014

My second South Australian Conservation Park for Friday 14th November, 2014 was the Kelvin Powrie Conservation Park, which is located about 217 km south east of Adelaide and about 8 km north west of the town of Keith.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

The park consists of an area of about 17.66 hectares and was gazetted in 1971.  It is a narrow strip of scrub located between the busy Dukes Highway (main Highway between Adelaide-Melbourne), and the Adelaide-Melbourne rail line. The park was named after James Kelvin Powrie (1926-1968), who was an agricultural scientist.  Powrie undertook research into what minerals were required to improve the soil quality of the infertile sands of the region.  This entire region was once classified by farmers as ‘unproductive scrub’.  Powrie was one of those who helped transform the district into valueable grazing and farming land.  Not doubting this individual’s achievements, but surprising that a piece of scrub was named in honour of someone who played a hand in clearing the land.  I have not been able to find a photograph on the internet of Powrie. I’m sure that many people that travel along the busy Dukes Highway, don’t even know that this park is here.  There are no signs indicating its presence.  Not until you get into the park itself.  That might not be such a bad thing I guess.  There is a carpark at the south eastern end of the park, and this is where I set up.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

Before you reach the park (if you are travelling east) you will reach the Ngarkat Rest Area on the Dukes Highway.  It is worthwhile stopping off here for a look.  There are some interpretive signs which tell you about the surrounding countryside and the ‘desert conquest’.

I already had the radio turned on to 40m and I quickly checked the VSWR and found it was a little high.  In fact 1.7:1.  A bit too high for my liking.  Normally the antenna is 1.1:1 or thereabouts.  I lowered the squid pole and checked the links, and then the coax, and everything appeared to be in order.  In hindsight, I believe it might have been due to the fact that my car was parked very close by and affected the VSWR, which has happened before.

I tuned to 7.095 and I asked if the frequency was in use and I was immediately greeted by Larry VK5LY and John VK5BJE, advising me that the frequency was clear.  Both had very strong 5/9 signals.  John has activated this park before and he gave me some information about the lookout on top of the sand dune and advised it was well worth the short walk for the views.

John’s post of his activation can be found at…..

http://vk5bje.com/2013/09/10/homeward-bound/

Greg VK5GY from Meadows in the Adelaide Hills, then called me, running QRP 5 watts from his home brew transceiver.  Other QRP callers followed, including Damien VK5FDEC running 5 watts, Norm VK5GI running 5 watts from his home brew transceiver, and Brenton VK3CBV also running 5 watts from a home brew transceiver.  I also worked a few mobiles.  Winston VK7WH called in with a nice 5/8 signal, and later Ian VK5SRV mobile at Fullarton in Adelaide with a 5/8 signal.

As I was operating in the park, the Overland train whizzed through on its way to Melbourne.  And the serenity of the park was often disturbed by the ever present traffic, including the trucks, on the Dukes Highway, to and from Adelaide and Melbourne.  Still, this is a great little park, and well worth the visit. I operated on 40m ssb for about 40 minutes and had 27 contacts in the log.  I then went up to 14.310 on 20m ssb and put out a number of calls, but had no takers.  I did not hear a solitary signal when I tuned across the 20m band.  It was dead quiet.

After concluding operations I went for a walk to lookout as suggested by John.  It is only a short walk to get there but gives you a very good overview of the park and its surroundings.  As I walked to and from the lookout, I noted that the park was absolutely alive with bird life: honeyeaters, lorikeets, wrens, & magpies, to mention a few.

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The following stations were worked:-

1. Larry VK5LY
2. John VK5BJE
3. Greg VK5GJ/qrp
4. Peter VK3TKK
5. Les VK5KLV
6. Tom VK5EE
7. Peter VK3YSP
8. Nev VK5WG
9. Bernard VK3AV
10. Damien VK5FDEC/qrp
11. Brian VK5FMID
12. Peter VK5NAQ
13. Arno VK5ZAR
14. Andrew VK2UH
15. Peter VK3RV
16. Gordon VK5KAA
17. Norm VK5GI/qrp
18. Jenny VK3WQ
19. John VK5DJ
20. Tom VK5FTRG
21. John VK5FTCT
22. Stan VK3BNJ
23. Darren VK5DT
24. Winston VK7WH/m
25. Benton VK3CBV/qrp
26. Mark VK7MK
27. Ian VK5SRV/m

Below is a short video of the activation…..

References.

National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1992, Small Parks of the Upper South East Management Plans. Reuter; D, 2007, Trace Element disorders in South Australian Agriculture.

The weekend (including the Friday) from Friday 14th November – Sunday16th November, 2014, was the 2014 Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award (KRMNPA) activation weekend, and the 2014 Summits on the Air Spring activation weekend.  So it was off to Victoria on Friday morning for me.  On the way to Portland in western Victoria, I had planned to activate four South Australian Conservation Parks: Poonthie Ruwe, Kelvin Powrie, Desert Camp, and then Lower Glenelg.  However, I had a change of plans and activated Poonthie Ruwe, then Kelvin Powrie, then Mount Monster (a new one for me), and finally Desert Camp (another new one).

My first activation was the Poonthie Ruwe Conservation Park (CP), which is located about 100 km south east of Adelaide, and about 5 km south east of Tailem Bend on the Murray River.  Poonthie Ruwe means ‘Hopping Mouse Country’ in the local Ngarrindjeri aboriginal language.  Sadly, there is no Hopping Mouse population in the park anymore, courtesy of European settlement.

Map courtesy of mapcarta

map courtesy of mapcarta

I had activated the Poonthie Ruwe CP in June, 2013.  For more information on that activation, and the history of the park, please have a look at my previous post…..

https://vk5pas.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/poonthie-ruwe-conservation-park/

There is also an excellent publication, the ‘Mowantjie Willauwar and Poonthie Ruwe Conservation Parks Management Plan’, which can be found on the internet.

As I mentioned in my June, 2013 post, please make sure you know where you are going, if you intend to activate this park.  It is not easy to find and there are no apparent signs indicating its presence.

Poonthie Ruwe is a small park consisting of about 241 hectares, full of rabbits and hardly visited by humans I would suspect.  The Department for Environment and Heritage Management Plan for the park reports that reputedly the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat had at one time established burrows in Poonthie Ruwe Conservation Park, prior to the initial rabbit invasion.

Map courtesy of Dept Environment and Heritage

The ground is nice and sandy in the park, so I drove the Haverford squid pole holder into the ground, and secured the squid pole to it, with the use of an octopus strap.  I strung out the legs of the 40m/20m linked dipole and secured the links for the 40 m band.  I was running about 25 minutes behind schedule, by the time I had turned the radio on.  This was mostly due to my GPS taking me to a spot where the park was not.  It was 7.55 a.m. South Australian local time and a beautiful mild morning.  There were some other VK’s operating on 7.092 so I couldn’t operate on my promised frequency of 7.095.  So I moved just slightly up to 7.096 and put out a CQ call and was called back immediately by Charles VK5FBAC at Strathalbyn with a good strong 5/9 signal.  This was followed by David VK5NQP, John VK5BJE, and Amanda VK3FQSO.

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The band appeared to be in quite good shape, and I continued to get a good steady flow of callers from VK3, VK5, & VK7, with good signals in and good signals being reported back.  I was pleased to get Mick VK3FAFK, in the log.  Mick only obtained his Foundation call the week before, and had a lovely signal coming in from Stawell in western Victoria.  I would go on to work Mick many times over the next 4 days whilst I was either in a park or on a summit.  Welcome to the world of amateur radio Mick.

My second to last contact at Poonthie Ruwe was with John VK2AWJ who was operating portable in the Barmah National Park, north east of Echuca.  John was my first VK3 National Park contact for the 4 day period I was away.

After working a total of 26 stations on 40m ssb, I QSYd to 14.310 and put out numerous CQ calls with no takers.  So I tuned across the 20m band and could only hear one other station, that being a VK4 in QSO with a VK2 who I couldn’t even hear.  The VK4’s signal was well down, and sadly his signal was the only one I could hear on the entire 20m band.  So I slipped back up to 14.310 with the intention to call CQ again.  To my surprise when I got there, the frequency was occupied by a USA station, KZ8O, calling CQ.  I called him back, but sadly received no response.

So, as 20m band conditions did not seem to be good, and I was behind schedule, I packed up the gear, and continued on my journey east, and towards my next park, the Kelvin Powrie Conservation Park.  In about 45 minutes of operating in Poonthie Ruwe, I had a total of 26 contacts in the log.

As I left the park,I heard John VK2AWJ/3 calling CQ from the Barmah National Park, so I called John who was a good 5/9 into my mobile (5/9 received in return).

The following stations were worked:-

1. Charles VK5FBAC
2. David VK5NQP
3. John VK5BJE
4. Amanda VK3FQSO
5. Winston VK7WH
6. Peter VK5NAQ
7. Les VK5KLV
8. Greg VK5LG
9. Peter VK3TKK
10. Mick VK3FAFK
11. Dennis VK5LDM
12. Tim VK5AV
13. Ton VK3VBI/m
14. Tom VK5EE/qrp
15. Allen VK5FD
16. Ken VK3MKM
17. Larry VK5LY
18. Bob VK3XP
19. Mark VK7MK
20. Peter VK3RV
21. John VK5MG
22. Jenny VK3WQ
23. Col VK5HCF
24. Brian VK5FMID
25. John VK2AWJ/m
26. Nev VK5WG

References.

Department for Environment and Heritage, 2008, ‘Mowantjie Willauwar and Poonthie Ruwe Conservation Parks Management Plan’,

After the Scott Creek Conservation park, I travelled to the Mark Oliphant Conservation Park, which is located about 14 km south east of Adelaide in the Heathfield/Ironbank area of the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

I last activated this park in July 2013.  For information on my prior activation and information on the park, please see my precious post at…..

https://vk5pas.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/mark-oliphant-conservation-park/

This park was originally known as the Loftia Recreation Park.  It was renamed in honour of former state Governor Sir Mark Oliphant’s contribution to conservation, and to reflect the conservation status of the land.  It contains a small remnant parcel of high quality forest that is characteristic of the native vegetation of the higher rainfall areas of the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’.  The park is about 178 hectares in size.

I have fond memories of this park.  A number of years ago I worked at Stirling for many years, and we often would hold our annual Christmas show here in the park.  A section of the park was leased as a recreation area.  There was a beautiful oval, BBQ facilities, tennis courts, and a kiosk.  However, this no longer appears to be the case.

photo courtesy of wikipedia

For my last activation I set up off one of the walking tracks off Evans Drive.  This time I set up off Scott Creek Road in the old Recreation area.  Sadly, this area appears to have gone to rack and ruins.  The former oval is no more and the area was quite run down.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com 

My first taker on 40m was Greg VK5GJ, again operating QRP 5 watts with his home brew transceiver.  This was followed by Peter VK3YE who was operating portable from Chelsea Beach with a 1/4 wave vertical antenna.  I again had a number of QRP callers including Les VK5KLV/p at Blanche Harbour with 5 watts, Nick VK3ANL/p running 5 watts, Peter VK3TKK also running 5 watts, Reuben VK7FREU/p running 5 watts, Peter VK3PF running just 1 watt, and Amanda VK3FQSO on just 1/2 watt (5/7-9 QSB).  The strongest caller of the day was Peter VK5NAQ from the Mid North of South Australia with a 30/9 signal.

There was quite a bit of QRM on the frequency with some very strong signals coming in from Europe.  It was noticeable that the noise level on 40m was much lower than normal.  It was extremely quiet.  That combined with the non existant man made noise floor from the park, made conditions on 40m: EXCELLENT.

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After operating on 40m ssb for about an hour and ssecuring 26 contacts in the log, I ventured over to 20m and put out a number of CQ calls.  However, my only taker was Adam VK2YK.  I tuned across the 20m band but there were not too many strong European signals.  And those that I did hear calling, were calling CQ contest for the JIDX contest.  So I decided to pack up and head home for my roast lamb.  I had a total of 27 contacts in the log from VK2, VK3, VK5, & VK7.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

1. Greg VK5GJ/qrp
2. Peter VK3YE/p/qrp
3. Peter VK5KPR
4. Andrew VK3ARR
5. Brian VK5FMID
6. Rod VK5VRB
7. Les VK5KLV/p/qrp
8. Nick VK3ANL/p/qrp
9. Peter VK3TKK/qrp
10. Nev VK5WG
11. Allen VK3HRA
12. Reuben VK7FREU/p
13. Justin VK7TW/p
14. Tony VK3AJW
15. Peter VK3PF/qrp
16. Grant VK2LX
17. Amanda VK3FQSO
18. Chuck VK2SS/p
19. Ian VK3VIN
20. Shaun VK5FAKV
21. Matt VK3FORD
22. Phil VK3BHR
23. Paul VK7CC
24. Andrew VK2UH
25. Peter VK5NAQ
26. Adam VK2YK

The following station was worked on 20m SSB:-

1. Adam VK2YK

References

National Parks South Australia, 2014, <http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide_Hills/Mark_Oliphant_Conservation_Park&gt;, viewed 12th November 2014

Last Sunday (9th November, 2014) I headed out to the Scott Creek Conservation Park (CP), which is situated about 30 km south of Adelaide.

map courtesy of mapcarta.com

I last activated this park in September, 2013.  For full details on that activation and lots of information on the park, please have a look at my previous post.  The park has a very interesting history, and my previous post is well worth a read….

https://vk5pas.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/scott-creek-conservation-park/

The last time I activated the park, I operated from the old Almanda silver mining area.  This time, I headed to the high part of the park, off Mount Bold Road.  This is a beautiful drive through this area, with the thick scrub of Mount Bold Reservoir on one side of the road, and the Scot Creek CP on the other side.  I parked the car at one of the entry gates, and walked about 30 metres down Cup Gum Track and set up my fold up table and deck chair under the shade of some large gum trees.

map courtesy of mapcarta.com

I set up the linked dipole for 40m and tuned to my promised frequency of 7.095.  However, this was in use, so I slipped down to 7.090 and started calling CQ.  I was almost immediately greeted by Amanda VK3FQSO with a beautiful 5/9 signal.  This was followed by Peter VK3PF who was runnign QRP, with just 1 watt.  Peter was a good 5/5 signal and was easily readible with the non existent man made noise floor within the park.

A number of other stations called me using QRP during this activation.  They included Les VK5KLV who was portable at Blanche Harbour near Port Augusta.  Les was running his Yaesu FT-817, 5 watts and a linked dipole, and had a very nice 5/9 signal.  Regular QRP park hunter, Greg also called in, using just 5 watts from his home brew transceiver, with a good 5/8 signal.  Andrew VK3ARR running QRP 5 watts also called me, with a good 5/8 signal.  And then Nick VK3ANL, also running QRP 5 watts, from the backyard of his house, doing some antenna experimentations.

I was also fortunate to get one park to park contact during this activation, with Gordon VK5GY, who was operating from the Bullock Hill Conservation Park on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

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After working 20 stations on 40m in VK2, VK3, and VK5, I qsy’d to 20m and put out some CQ calls on 14.310 mhz on 20m.  My first caller was Manuel CU3BL in the Azores Islands.  Manuel was an excellent 5/9 signal and I received a 5/7 from him with my 40 watts.  My only other caller on 20m was Dave VK6SG operating from a Mens shed in Western Australia.

So, after just a little over an hour in the park I had a total of 22 contacts in the log.  It was time to head off to the Mark Oliphant Conservation Park, just a short distance away.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

1. Amanda VK3FQSO
2. Peter VK3PF/qrp
3. Nev VK5WG
4. Les VK5KLV/p/qrp
5. Gordon VK5GY/p (Bullock Hill CP)
6. Greg VK5LG
7. Phil VK3BHR
8. Greg VK5GJ/qrp
9. Peter VK5KPR
10. Andrew VK3ARR/qrp
11. Brian VK5FMID
12. Tom VK5FTRG
13. Stuart VK5STU
14. Nick VK3ANL/qrp
15. Chris VK2SR
16. Kevin VK3VEK
17. Steve VK3VM
18. Peter VK3TKK
19. Peter VK2NEO
20. Ivan VK5HS

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

1. Manuel CU3BL
2. Dave VK6SG

My third and final park activation for Saturday was the Spring Mount Conservation Park, which is located about 71 km south of Adelaide, and about 20 km north west of the seaside town of Victor Harbor.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

I last activated this park in December, 2013, whilst my wife Marija and I were staying at nearby Victor Harbor.  For more detailed information on the park, please refer to my December 2013 post at…..

https://vk5pas.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/spring-mount-conservation-park/

As soon as I approached the park, I encountered my first kangaroo, a Western Grey.  He/she allowed me to get quite close, before they scampered off into the thick bush.  I operated from the same spot as last year, which was on the eastern side of the park, off Mount Alma Road.  There is a nice cleared break between the park boundary fence line and the start of the thick scrub.  So there is plenty of room to string out a dipole.  I used a permapine post forming part of the fenceline to secure my squid pole with some octopus straps, and ran out the legs of the dipole, also securing them to the fence., so they were about 1.5 metres off the ground.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

Again for this activation I only operated on 40m SSB.  I figured that the 20m band was going to be just too busy with the CQ WW DX Contest, to event attempt to operate from that band.  And again, I used the Yaesu FT-450, 40 watts and the 20m/40m linked dipole (inverted vee)

I had nominated that I was going to operate on 7.095, however when I tuned to that frequency, I found that there were some very strong Europeans already there.  So I tuned down to 7.090, and although there were some European signals there as well, they were a little weaker.  I only put out one CQ call on 7.090 and was immediately greeted by Scott VK7NWT from North West Tasmania with a very strong 5/9 plus signal.  This was followed by Peter VK3PF running QRP 5 watts, and then park stalwart Brian VK5FMID in Mount Gambier.  I was pleasantly surprised when I was called by Wolfgang VK2LKW who was operating portable from the Burrowa Pine Mountain National Park in Victoria.  Wolfgang had a beautiful 5/9 plus signal (20/9) with his G5RV inverted vee antenna.  This park qualifies for both the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award and the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.

Conditions on 40m SSB were excellent.  There were some static crashes on the band, but they were not severe, and the man made noise floor within the park was non existent.  Here’s where the static crashes were coming from (a severe storm approaching South Australia, from Western Australia)…..

  Image courtesy of weatherzone.com.au

I had a steady flow of callers from VK2, VK3, VK5, VK6, and VK7.  And some of those stations had extremely strong signals, with many between 20/9 to 40/9.  Many were using QRP, including Peter VK3PF on 5 watts, Damien VK5FDEC using 5 watts, Wolf VK5WF again on his home brew QRP transceiver, and Ian VK5IS in the Mid North of South Australia, using just 5 watts.

It was nice to get a few VK7’s in the log this time.  As mentioned my first contact was with Scott VK7NWT.  But I also had a good chat to John VK7JB who had a lovely signal coming in from Sandy Bay near Hobart.  t was also pleasing to get a contact with Bruce VK2FBJM.  I was Bruce’s first ever contact to VK5.  And my last contact of the night was with Daniel VK6LCK at Cottesloe in Western Australia.  Daniel was my only VK6 for this activation.

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Whilst I was operating, a couple of Western Grey kangaroos emerged from the scrub and were feeding on the grass in the break between the fenceline and the scrub.  At one point, they got within 50 metres of me and didn’t seem at all preturbed by the noise from the radio. That was until a passing car on Mount Alma Road, and off they went into the scrub.  But they soon re-emerged.

It was starting to get very chilly, and getting dark, and I had a long drive home.  I had also left my jacket at home!  So I decided to ‘pull stumps’ and head off home for some dinner and a nice bottle of red.  A shame really, because band conditions were very good, and there were still some people calling when I went QRT.  After an hour and 10 minutes in the park, I had a total of 29 contacts in the log from VK2, VK3, VK5, VK6, and VK7.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

Scott VK7NWT; Peter VK3PF; Brian VK5FMID; Nev VK5WG; Damien VK5FDEC; Ian VK5CZ; Bruce VK3NDM; Wolfgang VK2LKW/p (Burrowa Pine Mountain NP); John VK2FALL; Les VK5KLV/p; Ivan VK5HS; Nigel VK5NIG; Wolf VK5WF; Garry VK3FREQ; Connor VK2FCAC; John VK5FMJC; Grant VK3GMV; Bruce VK2FBJM; John VK7JB; Frank VK3GFS; Tim VK5AV; Amanda VK3FQSO; Peter VK5NAQ; Ian VK5IS; Colin VK3ZZS/p; Graham VK5KGP; Peter VK5JP; Ron VK3JP; and Daniel VK6LCK.

After my activation at the Stipiturus Conservation Park, I headed off to the Yulti Conservation Park, which is located about 60 km south of Adelaide and about 3 km south east of Myponga.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

Again, I had activated this park in October, 2013, so this new activation was awarded another one point for the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award.  Yulti Conservation Park is also referred to as Yulte Conservation Park.  As I mentioned in my 2013 post, the DEWNR website records the spelling as Yulte, and yet the sign in the park shows the spelling to be Yulti.  The road leading to the park is spelt as Yulte.  Since my last activation, I’ve located some information which suggests that the park derives its name from the Kaurna aboriginal word ‘yulti’ meaning stringybark.

For more detailed information on this park, please see my 2013 post…..

https://vk5pas.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/yulti-conservation-park/

I set up int he same spot as last year, which was at the end of the dirt track on Yulte Road.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

Again I used the Yaesu FT-450, 40 watts, and my 40m/20m linked dipole, supported on the 7 metre squid pole.  I started off on 7.095 mhz on 40m, and first station in the log was Dave VK3VCE at Bamawm near Echuca in northern Victoria.  This was followed by regular park hunter, Nev VK5WG at Crytal Brook, and then Les VK5KLV who was portable near Port Augusta.

As per the last activation, the conditions on 40m SSB seemed very good, with some very strong signals coming in from VK3 and VK5.  It was again pleasing to get some calls from QRP operators including Ian VK5CZ running 5 watts from the Clare Valley, Peter VK3PF running about 1 watt from his software defined radio, Wolf VK5WF running 5 watts from his home brew transceiver, and Greg VK2FGJW also running just 5 watts.

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I did ‘t bother trying 20m for this activation, as the band would have been just too busy with the CQ WW DX contest.  So sadly I didn’t get any VK4’s or VK6’s in the log for this activation.  However, I did attain a total of 22 contacts into VK2, VK3, and VK5 after operating in the park for about 45 minutes.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

Dave VK3VCE; Nev VK5WG; Les VK5KLV/p; Amanda VK3FQSO; Bruce VK5BMC; John VK5FTCT; Terry VK5ATN; Bill VK5WCC; Brian VK3MCD; Peter VK3TKK; Tim VK5AV; John VK5NJ; Col VK5HCF; Brenton VK3CM; Peter VK3ZPF; Brian VK5FMID; Ian VK5CZ; Peter VK3PF; Wolf VK5WF; Greg VK2FGJW; Peter VK5NAQ; and Connor VK2FCAC.

References

Tiechelmann, C.G. and Schurmann, C.W. 1840, ‘Outlines of A Grammar, Vocabulary, and Phraseology of the Aboiriginal language‘.

On Saturday 25th October, 2014, I ventured down to the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide, where I activated three Conservation Parks.  The first being the Stipiturus Conservation Park, which is located about 58 km south of Adelaide, and about 6 km south west of the little town of Mount Compass.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

I had activated this park in October, 2013.  But as this was a new calendar year, I could pick up another point towards the VK5 National and Conservation Parks award.  Please have a read of my previous post for some interesting facts about the park…..

https://vk5pas.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/stipiturus-conservation-park/

The park is home to one of the largest known swamp-based population of the nationally endangered Mount Lofty Ranges Southern Emu-wren (Stipiturus malachurus intermedius), after which the park was named.  Below you can see a photograph of this beautiful little bird.  I did see a few whilst in the park, along with many Superb Blue wrens, and a variety of other birdlife including rosellas and wattlebirds.

Image courtesy of wikipedia.com

I accessed the park by travelling west along Lanacoona Road from Mount Compass, and then south along Saffrons Road.  As you travel south along Saffrons Road you will reach a sharp left hand bend.  Once you’ve passed the bend, continue east along Saffrons Road, and you will see the park on your left after a few hundred metres.  It is well sign posted.  There is a locked gate on the south western corner of the park.  To access the park you need to climb over the gate or the fence.  Careful of the barbed wire.  I can understand DEWNR’s reasoning for locking the gate to keep the ‘trouble makers’ out.  However, what it also does is keep the good people out as well.  I’ve encountered this quite a bit with a number of Conservation Parks as I’ve travelled around South Australia….having locked gates.  My own personal experience is that the ‘bad element’ will get into places if they really want to, no matter what the security measures are.  I am sure that there are a lot of less nimble people that don’t bother going in these parks once they see they have to scramble over fences.  You need ‘good’ people around these parks, to prevent the ‘bad’ people.  Just my opinion.

Map courtesy of mapcarta.com

After setting up the deck chair and fold up table just off the small dirt track which traverses the park, I erected the 7 metre squid pole and attached the 40m/20m linked dipole.  I ran out one leg of the dipole, and then the other, and noticed that one of the leads to the crocodile clip had broken off.  Fortunately I had another dipole in the car, so I retrieved that and erected it on top of the squid pole.  For this activation I ran the Yaesu FT-450 and 40 watts output, with the radio powered by my 44 amp hour power pack.

I tuned to 7.095 and asked if the frequency was in use, and was immediately greeted by Larry VK5LY from The Riverland with a very strong 5/9 plus signal.  This was followed by Brian VK5FMID in Mount Gambier, and then Robin VK5TN, also in Mount Gambier.  Fortunately the band appeared to be in far better shape than last Sunday when I was in the Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park, right in the middle of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).

A good steady flow of callers gave me a shout from VK3 and VK5.  This included a few amateurs running QRP, including Les VK5KLV operating portable from Blanche Harbor, south of Port Augusta.  Les was running 5 watts from his little Yaesu FT-817 into a linked dipole.  Amanda VK3FQSO also called in, running QRP, 2.5 watts with a nice 5/9 signal.  This was followed by a call from Wolf VK5WF using his home brew transceiver and 5 watts, and then Ian VK5CZ also running just 5 watts.  I also worked a couple of mobile stations….Jesse VK3FJPM mobile, followed by Peter VK3FPSR.  Both had good 5/5 signals and were easily readable from the park due to the low noise floor.

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At one point I had a VK2 come up on frequency and start calling another station without asking if the frequency was in use.  Thanks to the various stations, including Dave VK3VCE, who repeatedly reminded him that the frequency was in use.  Eventually he got the message and moved on.

After operating on 40m SSB for about 55 minutes, I lowered the squid pole and removed the links in the dipole, and tuned to 14.328 and put out a number of CQ calls.  The band was very busy with the CQ WW DX Contest, and it took some time to find a clear frequency.  Unfortunately my nominated frequency of 14.310 was busy.  I only managed one contact on 20m SSB and that was with VK6SMK.

After an hour in the park I had a total of 27 contacts in the log.  I was already running behind time, so I quickly packed up my gear and headed off to the next park, the Yulti Conservation Park.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

Larry VK5LY; Brian VK5FMID; Robin VK5TN; Greg VK5LG; Nev VK5WG; Les VK5KLV/p; Nigel VK5NIG; Art VK3OZI/p; David VK5HYZ; Bill VK3WCC; Terry VK5ATN; Amanda VK3FQSO; Wolf VK5WF; Ian VK5CZ; Col VK5HCF; Tony VK5KAT; Marshall VK3MRG/p; Jesse VK3FJPM/m; Dave VK3VCE; Tim VK5AV; Ron VK3JP; David VK5NQP; John VK5FTCT; Peter VK3FPSR/m; Basil, VK5BK; and Doug VK3FJAE.

The following station was worked on 20m SSB:-

Steven, VK6SMK.