After leaving Tilley Swamp, Marija and I headed for our next intended park activation, the Mount Scott Conservation Park 5CP-150 & VKFF-0918.  The park is located about 317 km south east of Adelaide, and about 25 km east of the town of Kingston.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Mount Scott Conservation Park.  Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

On the way, we detoured off the Princes Highway, onto the Old Coorong Road and drove through the Coorong National Park.  We stopped off at The Granites, which is located at Long Bay.  The Granites consist of some large rocks on this beautiful section of beach, just south of The Coorong.

We then drove into the town of Kingston, stopping off at the Big Lobster for a quick photo.  It’s a bit sad to see that the shop adjacent to the Big Lobster is empty.  It was previously a visitor complex which included a restaurant.  The Big Lobster was opened on 15 December 1979 after six months of construction.  The structure is 17 metres high, 15.2 metres long, and 13.7 metres wide.

We then stopped at the foreshore and enjoyed some lunch.  As you can see from the photo below, Marija acquired some friends, who were keen on their share of our lunch.

We then stopped off briefly to have a look at the Cape Jaffa lighthouse, which was originally built on the Margaret Brook Reef, 8 km out to sea from Cape Jaffa, and 20 km south west of Kingston.  The lighthouse was constructed to protect ships in the area, with work commencing in late 1868, and completing in January 1872.

Kingston contains many historic buildings and there is a heritage trail which highlights many of these.  We took the time to admire some of those buildings.

We then stopped off at the Fish Sales shop on the foresehore and purchased some fresh South Australian prawns.

It was then off to the Mount Scott Conservation Park, which is 1,267 hectares in size and located in the locality of Blackford.  The park takes its name from the nearby small hill of Mount Scott.  The park was proclaimed on the 9th day of November 1972, and is located on part of the South East relict beach dunes.  The park protects a variety of vegetation, including large River Red Gums, South Australian Blue Gum, Pink Gum, Swamp Paper-bark, and Mallee Honey-myrtle.

Birds SA have recorded mored than 136 native species of bird in the park including Malleefowl, Galah, Eastern Rosella, New Holland Honeyeater, Grey Shrikethrush, White-browed Babbler, Silvereye, Painted Buttonquail, Cockatiel, Blue-winged Parrot, and Crested Bellbird.

We took the Princes Highway out of Kingston, and turned on to Rowney Road West.  We then turned right onto Mount Scott Road.  The park is signposted at this location.

We soon reached the park which was well signposted.  But at the same time we saw the park sign, we saw another sign advising that the park was closed for pest eradication.  Fortunately it was for 2018.  The authorities had not bothered to take down the sign.

We drove a short distance down a dirt track to a camping area and set up.

Above:- An aerial shot of the Mount Scott Conservation Park, showing our operating spot.  Image courtesy of Protected Planet.

Once again I kicked off the activation, calling CQ on 7.144.  Unfortunately, we had very little, if any phone coverage, so we were unable to throw up a spot on parksnpeaks.  We were lucky because Mike VK6MB/3 came back to my CQ call.  This was followed by Ken VK3UH, Dennis VK2HHA, and then John VK4TJ.  I had soon qualified the park for VKFF, with 10 contacts, and swapped the mic with Marija.

Marija then took charge of the station and her first contact was with Rob VK2QR.  Rob was gracious enough to provide Marija with his 4 other callsigns, so Marija was already halfway there in qualifying the park for VKFF.  Within 6 minutes, Marija had 10 contacts in the log.  Contact number 10 was with Paul VK3HN.

We then swapped the mic once again.  I logged a further 4 stations on 40m, before callers tapered off.  It was time to head to 20m.  I called CQ on 14.310 and this was answered by Ray VK4NH, followed by John VK4TJ, and then Andrei ZL1TM in New Zealand.  I then moved down the band to 14.183 and booked in to the ANZA DX Net, where I logged a total of 4 stations, from VK4, New Zealand, and the South Cook Islands.

I now had 26 stations in the log and headed to 3.610 on the 80m band.  I logged 5 stations here, from VK3 and VK5.  Conditions on 80m were exceptional, but despite that, I only worked the 5 stations.  This included Hans VK5YX in the southern suburbs of Adelaide who was super strong and gave me a 15/9 signal report.  Hans was really surprised at the performance of the 80m band for this time of the day.  I also logged Mike VK5FMWW who gave me a 15/9 signal report.

I then moved back to 40m and both Marija and I logged Angela VK7FAMP and Tony VK7LTD who were in the Freycinet National Park VKFF-0188.   I soon had 44 contacts in the log, with contact number 44 being Gary VK2FABE.  Marija and I also spoke with Jonathan VK7JON and Helen VK7FOLK who were in the St Helens Conservation Park VKFF-1153.  But the biggest surprise of the afternoon was to be called on 40m by Lauro IK4GRO.  Lauro was 5/7 and gave me a 5/3 signal report.  Not bad for 40 watts and a little piece of wire.

I ended up making a total of 48 QSOS.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2QR
2. VK2SWL
3. VK2TTY
4. VK3TTY/2
5. VK3QJ/2
6. VK6MB/3
7. VK2HHA
8. VK2KYO
9. VK3UH
10. VK3HN
11. VK7FAMP/p (Freycinet National Park VKFF-0188)
12. VK7LTD/p (Freycinet National Park VKFF-0188)
13. VK7FOLK/p (St Helens Conservation Park VKFF-1153)
14. VK7JON/p (St Helens Conservation Park VKFF-1153)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK6MB/3
2. VK3UH
3. VK2HHA
4. VK4TJ
5. VK4/AC8WN
6. VK4/VE6XT
7. VK3HN
8. VK2QR
9. VK2SWL
10. VK2TTY
11. VK3TTY/2
12. VK2LEE
13. VK3HQZ
14. VK2YW
15. VK7DW
16. VK7FAMP/p (Freycinet National Park VKFF-0188)
17. VK7LTD/p (Freycinet National Park VKFF-0188)
18. VK3QJ
19. VK3PF
20. VK4NH
21. VK4DXA
22. ZL4TY/VK4
23. ZL1TM
24. VK4RF
25. VK4HA
26. VK2HRX
27. VK2IO/m
28. VK2FABE
29. IK4GRO
30. VK7HCK
31. VK7FOLK/p (St Helens Conservation Park VKFF-1153)
32. VK7JON/p (St Helens Conservation Park VKFF-1153)

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4NH
2. VK4DXA
3. ZL4TY/VK4
4. VK4TJ
5. VK4/AC8WN
6. VK4/VE6XT
7. ZL1TM
8. VK4LMB
9. ZL2GLG
10. E51JD
11. VK4PDX

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK3FPSR
3. VK5HY
4. VK5YX
5. VK5FMWW

After packing up, Marija and I stopped briefly to have a look at the old Bullocky Bridge, which was a 90 feet long bridge built in the 1850’s, spanning the Reedy Creek.  It served as the main outlet for heavily laden bullock wagons between the Tatiara district and Port Caroline (Kingston), between 1856 and 1910.  The remaining logs are approximately 160 years old.

We then drove back along the Princes Highway and I worked Franc F5PAU in France.  Franc was 5/9 and gave me a 5/6 into western Europe.  Marija and I then stopped briefly to have a look at a monument, erected in honour of the crew of an Avro Anson aircraft which crashed in 1942 at Reedy Creek, killing the five airmen.

We then reached Beachport and booked in to our accommodation, the Beachport Motor Inn, which we can highly recommend.

We then headed out for tea to Bompas and had a terrific Chinese meal.  It was then back to the motel to watch a bit of telly and then retire for the night.

References.

Birds SA, 2019, <https://birdssa.asn.au/location/mount-scott-conservation-park/>, viewed 28th March 2019

Wikipedia, 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Lobster>, viewed 28th March 2019

Wikipedia, 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Scott_Conservation_Park>, viewed 28th March 2019

On the weekend of Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March 2019, the special activation weekend was held for the 6th anniversary of the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award.

Marija and I had planned to stay 3 nights at Beachport in the South East of South Australia.  Our plans were to activate 2 parks on Friday on the way down to Beachport, a further 4 parks over the weekend, and then 2 parks on the way home on Monday.

Above:- Our route from Mount Barker to Beachport.  Map courtesy of Plotaroute.

Our first activation on the trip was the Tilley Swamp Conservation Park 5CP-232 & VKFF-0938,  is located about 199 km south east of Adelaide, and about 40 km south of Salt Creek.  The park is located about 5 km inland from the Coorong coast in the Upper South East of South Australia.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Tilley Swamp Conservation Park in the upper south east of South Australia.  Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

We left home at about 7.45 a.m. and travelled east on the South Eastern Freeway to Tailem Bend, and then turned off onto the Princes Highway.  Our first stop for the day was for a coffee and some breakfast in the town of Meningie, on the banks of Lake Albert.

Above:- Sailing on Lake Albert

We got a coffee and a toasted sandwich at the local bakery and then headed down to the foreshore.  There is a monument here for the Birdman of the Coorong, John Francis Peggotty.  He was a local bushranger who often rode on the back of an ostrich, one of the many set free when the market for fashionable ostrich feathers ceased.  There is also a monument re the crash of an Avro Anson aircraft into Lake Albert in 1942.

As Meningie is set on Lake Albert, there are plenty of waterbirds to be found at Meningie.

We then continued out of Meningie on the Princes Highway and soon reached the waters of the Coorong.

Above:- The Coorong, near Meningie.

The Tilley Swamp Conservation Park is about 1,525 hectares in size and was proclaimed and gazetted in 1993, primarily to ‘conserve remnant vegetation associations’.  It is one of a few reserves in the district containing threatened plant species.  The park also provides habitat for several other threatened species including the Metallic Sun-orchid, Common Wombat, and Rufous Bristlebird.   A large portion of Tilley Swamp Conservation Park contains a seasonally inundated wetland system which forms part of the Tilley Swamp Watercourse.

The park takes its name from the locality, Tilley Swamp, which was named after William Tilley, an early pastoral leaseholder.  On 1st July 1851 Tilley took up pastoral lease no. 199 known as Miserable Creek, calling it Tilley’s Swamp.  Tilley constructed Tilley’s Accomodation House which was one of the stages on the Overland Road to the Victorian gold fields.  The aborigines knew the district as kopanopintar-kopan.  Kopan -‘one’ and pintar -‘stone axe’.

A number of native animals and birds call the park home.  Bird species include the vulnerable Rufous Bristlebird, Yellow Thornbill, Beautiful Firetail, Southern Emu-wren, and Elegant Parrot.  Native animals include the Common Wombat, Red-necked Wallaby, and Western Grey kangaroo.

The park was devastated by a bushfire in February 2013, and during our visit, it was clear that the park was still recovering.

We continued through Policemans Point and Salt Creek, and then turned left into Petherick Road.  We soon reached the conservation park which was well signposted.

I activated this park back in June 2014, but this was prior to Tilley Swamp being included in the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.  That activation was for the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award, only.

https://vk5pas.org/2014/06/11/tilley-swamp-conservation-park/

We entered the park through a closed, but unlocked set of gates, and set up just off a 4WD track.  For this activation, we ran the Yaesu FT-897 and the 20/40/80m linked dipole.  Power output was 10 watts PEP for Marija, and 40 watts for me.

Above:- Aerial shot of the park showing our operating spot.  Image courtesy of Protected Planet.

I kicked off the activation, calling CQ on 7.144, while Marija placed a spot for me on both parksnpeaks and on Facebook.  Unfortunately, the static crashes on the 40m band were peaking strength 9, making it quite difficult at time.  First in the log was Ron VK3AHR at Wodonga, followed by Dennis VK2HHA, Peter VK3PF, and then Tony VK3XV mobile in VK5.

It was quite slow going on the band, and it took me 8 minutes to get contact number 10 in the log.  That being a QSO with Ken VK3UH.  I logged a further 2 contacts, before swapping the mic with Marija.

Marija’s first contact was with Ken VK2KYO, followed by Ron VK3AHR, and then Ken VK3UH.  It took Marija 12 minutes to get 10 contacts in the log, qualifying the park for VKFF.  Once Marija had 11 contacts in the log, we once again swapped the mic.

Marija and I lowered the squid pole, and inserted the links for the 80m band, and I started calling CQ on 3.610.  Adrian VK5FANA was the first station logged on 80m, followed by Joe VK5WU, and then Ivan VK5HS who was mobile.  Despite the band conditions being quite good, I only logged the 3 stations on 80m.

It was then back to 40m, where I logged a further 13 stations from VK2, VK3, VK4, and VK7.  This included Angela VK7FAMP/p and Tony VK7LTD/p who were both portable in the Wye River State Reserve VKFF-1841.  Marija also logged Angela and Tony.

I then decided to try my luck on the 20m band.  I called CQ on 14.310 and logged 6 stations, all from Queensland.  I now had 34 contacts in the log, and needed just 10 more to qualify the park for the global WWFF program.

I then called CQ for about 5 minutes on 21.244 on 15m, but did not have a single taker.  So I moved back to 40m and called CQ on 7.144.  Unfortunately, there were very few takers, and I logged just 2 more stations, Geoff VK3SQ, and Peter VK3KAI.  Five more minutes of CQ calls failed to yield any callers.

I had fallen short by 8 QSOS, of qualifying the park for WWFF.  This is a park I will have to go back to.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2KYO
2. VK3AHR
3. VK3UH
4. VK2QR
5. VK3PF
6. VK2JDL
7. VK4TJ
8. VK4/AC8WN
9. VK4/VE6XT
10. VK2HHA
11. VK2FAAA/m
12. VK7FAMP/p (Wye River State Reserve VKFF-1841)
13. VK7LTD/p (Wye River State Reserve VKFF-1841)

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3AHR
2. VK2HHA
3. VK3PF
4. VK3XV/5
5. VK2QR
6. VK2IO
7. VK4TJ
8. VK4/AC8WN
9. VK4/VE6XT
10. VK3UH
11. VK2KYO
12. VK4HNS
13. VK4CPS
14. VK7FAMP/p (Wye River State Reserve VKFF-1841)
15. VK7LTD/p (Wye River State Reserve VKFF-1841)
16. VK6MB/3
17. VK2KNV/m
18. VK4FDJL
19. VK4NH
20. VK4DXA
21. ZL4TY/VK4
22. VK3ANL
23. VK2EMA
24. VK7KT/m
25. VK2LEE
26. VK3SQ
27. VK3KAI

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5FANA
2. VK5WU
3. VK5HS/m

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4NH
2. VK4DXA
3. ZL4TY/VK4
4. VK4TJ
5. VK4/AC8WN
6. VK4/VE6XT

References.

National Parks & Wildlife, 2000, ‘Tilley Swamp Conservation Park Management Plan’.

Wikipedia, 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilley_Swamp,_South_Australia>, viewed 28th March 2019

Each year the VKFF program runs an annual photographic competition.  The competition is sponsored by Jaycar.  The winner receives a $50.00 voucher, kindly donated by Kaycar, and a certificate.  Second and Third place getters, receive a certificate.

This year, votes were cast via Survey Monkey.

This year I received first place, for my photograph of a Superb Fair Wren, which I took in the Brisbane Ranges National Park.

THANKYOU to everyone who voted.

More information can be found on the WWFF Australia website at…….

https://www.wwffaustralia.com/20182.html

I have been very preoccupied at work this year, working some pretty odd hours and long shifts, so my tally of VKFF parks had slowed down quite a bit.

However, a few days ago I qualified for the next step in the VKFF Hunter Honour Roll.  I have now worked 1,200 different VKFF references.

Thankyou to all of the activators.

This year, I have had very little time to get out into the fresh air and operate portable.  Sadly, that dreaded place called work has demanded a huge chunk of my time.  But yesterday, with Marija away on a ‘girls weekend’, I packed the 4WD and headed to the Coorong National Park 5NP-005 & VKFF-0115, to take part in the 2019 John Moyle Memorial Field Day.

My intended destination was Parnka Point, which is located about 172 km (by road) southeast of the city of Adelaide, and about 139 km (by road) southeast from my home.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Coorong National Park.  Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

The Coorong National Park is a 130 km stretch of saltwater lagoons protected from the South Ocean by the sweeping sand dunes of Younghusband Peninsula.  The park takes its name from the Ngarrindjeri aboriginal word ‘Kurangk’ meaning ‘long narrow neck’.

This is the home of the iconic novel ‘Storm Boy’, which was made into a movie in 1976.  More recently a 2019  version of the movie was released.

The National Park was established in November 1967 as a sanctuary for the many species of birds, animals, and fish that call the park home.  The park has been recognised by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area.

The video below should give you an idea of the beauty of this area.

The John Moyle Memorial Field Day (JMMFD) is held annually in March in memory of the late John Moyle, VK2JU.   The aim of the JMMFD is…..

“The aim is to encourage and provide familiarisation with portable and field operation, and provide training for emergency situations. The rules are therefore specifically designed and focussed to encourage field operations.”

Above:- the late John Moyle, VK2JU.  Courtesy of the WIA

For more detailed information on John Moyle, please see my previous post at…..

https://vk5pas.org/2018/03/28/john-moyle-memorial-field-day-2018/

I set up at Parnka Point, which was a significant meeting site for the five aboriginal tribes that formed the Ngarrindjeri clan.  Parnka is a Ngarrindjeri word meaning ‘sandy beach’.  As you look out across the lagoon, you can see wooden poles in the seater.  These are the remains of a ferry built last century to access the Younghusband Peninsula.

Parnka Point is the narrowest part of The Coorong as the water is less than 100 metres wide.  Parnka Point is where the northern and southern lagoons of The Coorong meet each other.  The water at this point is often referred to as Hells Gate.

It was a beautiful sunny day, with the temperature around 28 deg C.  Other than some campers, and some fishermen, Parnka Point was fairly quiet.  The waters and sky were alive with birdlife, as it always is, during my visits.  I had encountered a 6-foot long Brown snake on the road, on the way into the park.  Fortunately, that was the only snake I saw during the afternoon.

I ran the Yaesu FT-897 for this activation, with the power output being 40 watts.  My antenna was a 20/40/80m linked dipole, sitting up on the top of a 7-metre telescopic squid pole.  As it was a nice sunny day, I had the solar panels out to top up the battery, a 44 amp hour power pack.  The ‘shack’ was a little shelter shed which overlooked the lagoon.

I was situated on a small peninsula with water either side of me, and the Southern Ocean to my west.

Above:- Aerial shot showing my operating spot.  Image courtesy of google maps

I ran VK Contest Logger on my laptop.  Much easier than paper.

I was set up and ready to go by just after 2.30 p.m. local time (0400 UTC).  First in the log was John VK1JP/2 on 40m SSB.

I made the following Park to Park contacts during the activation:-

1. Gerard VK2IO/p – Popran National Park VKFF-0417
2. Tony VK3XV/5 – Lake Newland Conservation Park VKFF-1046
3. Peter VK3ZPF/p – Grantville Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2101
4. Alan VK2MG/p – Brisbane Water National Park VKFF-0056
5. Alan VK5AR – Deep Creek Conservation Park VKFF-0780 (40m)
6. VK6AHR – Helena National Park VKFF-0645 (40m)
7. Hans VK6XN – Matilda Bay Reserve VKFF-2825 (20m)
8. VK6AHR – Helena National Park VKFF-0645 (40m)
9. Hans VK6XN – Matilda Bay Reserve VKFF-2825 (40m)
10. Mike VK6MB/3 – Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park VKFF-0747
11. Nick VK6NDX/p – Morangerel Nature Reserve VKFF-2832
12. Alan VK5AR/p – Deep Creek Conservation Park VKFF-0780  (80m)

Some of the highlights of the activation were:-

• Perrin VK3XPT using a military manpack.
• VK3FOXR – QRP running just 2.5 watts
• Ken ZL1KEN – maritime mobile
• Joseph F6CTT on 40m
• Jemma VK3SCM – a young scout who sounded like she had been an op for 10 years
• Gary ZL4U with a massive signal on 40m

Above:- Perrin VK3XPT’s military radio.  Image courtesy of VK3XPT

My 6 hour period concluded at around 8.30 p.m. (1000 UTC).  The sun had just set.  My final contact was with VK3ER on 80m.

In my 6 hour block I ended up making a total of 187 QSOs on 20, 40 & 80m SSB, with a claimed score of 374 points.  This was down a bit on previous years.  This year I found long periods of calling CQ field day, with no takers.  As this is a ‘contest’ self-spotting is not allowed.  So the usual spots on parksnpeaks did not occur.  There is absolutely no doubt that parksnpeaks increases the number of QSOs in our log.

One of the big problems this year was the static crashes.  They were strength 9 plus at times, and made it extremely difficult picking out the weaker stations that were calling me.  I’m sorry to those who called, who I wasn’t able to pull through.  And I’m sure there were many stations on the east coast who were simply unable to hear my signal.

The graph below shows my activity during the Field Day.

The map below shows my QSOs during the Field Day.  I worked one French station on 40m SSB, and one Italian station on 20m SSB.  Sadly, I didn’t really find a DX opening on 20m, but that may have been as a result of my timing in using that band.

The map below shows my contacts around Australia, and into New Zealand.

The graph below shows my QSOs during the Field Day.  The majority of contacts, a total of 57, came from Victoria (VK3), followed by New South Wales (VK2) with 47.

The majority of my contacts were made on the 40m band (124 QSOs), followed by 80m (38 QSOs), and then 20m (25 QSOs).

THANKYOU to everyone who called, and I wish everyone who took part in the Field Day, good luck.

References.

Parks SA, 2019, <https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/Limestone_Coast/coorong-national-park>, viewed 17th March 2019

Wikipedia, 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coorong_National_Park>, viewed 17th March 2019

I also received a letter and QSL card from Reach Beyond Australia.

I tuned in to Reach Beyond Australia on the 19th January 2019 on 11865 khz.

In the last few days I received an envelope from radio station WWCR in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

I had tuned in to WWCR on 20th January 2019.

The QSL card included a friendly message from the Program Director.  Also included in the envelope was a WWCR sticker and a broadcast schedule.

Last night (Friday 8th February 2019), Marija VK5FMAZ and I attended at the clubrooms of the North East Radio Club, and delivered a presentation entitled ‘Having fun in the field’.

We spoke about the WWFF program, the VK5 Parks Award, equipment used, and some operating tips for both activators and hunters.

We also had an amount of gear on display, including awards, transceivers, antennas, portable power supplies, and other sundry equipment.

Many thanks to Tony VK5FBIC who organised our attendance, and many thanks to the members of NERC who attended.

The photos below are courtesy of Stuart VK5STU.

Today, via email, I received an electronic QSL card from Radio New Zealand, for my reception of RNZ on 19th January 2019.

Yesterday I qualified for my latest WWFF award certificate, issued for having worked 41 parks located along the Murray River.

Thanks to all of the activators.