vk5pas

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Billiatt Wilderness Protection Area VKFF-1685

Posted: 07 Apr 2019 08:45 PM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2019/04/08/billia...rea-vkff-1685/


On the weekend just gone (Saturday 6th April 2019), the Riverland Radio
Club held their annual gathering at the historic Overland Corner Hotel in
the Riverland region of South Australia.Â* Marija and I have attended the
past 5 years, since its inception, as it is a terrific weekend to catch up
with amateurs from across Australia.

I am on my last few days of holidays, but Marija took half of Friday 5th
April off, and we headed off to Renmark.Â* For this trip, we travelled up
through Tailem Bend, Karoonda, Sandalwood, Alawoona, Loxton, Berri, and
into Renmark.Â* Its a drive of around 3 hours.
Above:- Map showing our route to Renmark in the Riverland.Â* Map courtesy of
google maps

Our first quick stop on the trip was the town of Karoonda, about 145 km
east of Adelaide.Â* Karoonda takes its name from theÂ*AboriginalÂ*word for
winter camp.Â* Karoonda was founded onÂ*wheatÂ*growing early in the 20th
century, and was proclaimed as a town on the 11th December 1913.



Each year in April, the 2 day Karoonda Farm Fair is held in the town.Â* The
event showcases local, state and interstate farming and general interest
products, services and events.Â* The Farm Fair attarcks about 7,000 10,000
pople.Â* Marija and I have promised ourselves that next year we are going to
attend to have a look.








We continued northeast on the Karoonda Highway, travelling through the
little towns of Borrika, Sandalwood, Halidon, Mindarie, and Wanbi.Â* Not
much exists in many of these places anymore, I suspect due to the closure
of the railway line.Â* It never ceases to amaze Marija and I on our travels,
that many towns are a shadow of their former selves due to the closure of
nearby rail lines.

We stopped briefly to have a look at the Goyders Line monument.Â* Goyders
Line is a line which runs roughly east-west across South Australia and, in
effect, joins places with an average rainfall of 250 mm.Â* North of Goyders
Line, annual rainfall is usually too low to support cropping, with the land
being only suitable for grazing.





Another sad example of the demise of many towns in the region is the old
Simpsons Hotel at Wanbi.Â* The hotel was constructed in 1931 for Mrs Ellen
Barnes, the licensee and lessee at the time, of the Karoonda Hotel.Â* It was
built at a cost of 3,000 pounds and was opened in 1932.Â* The hotel was the
only licenced hotel in the former District Council of East Murray, with its
nearest competitors being at Loxton and Karoonda.Â* Upon its opening, it
featured a swimming pool at the rear.



Our next brief stop was at the town of Alawoona, about 211 km east of
Adelaide.Â* Alawoona was established as one of the original sidings during
the construction of theÂ*Barmera railway lineÂ*in 1906.Â* The town which was
surveyed in 1914, takes its name from the aboriginal word meaning place of
hot winds.






Our one and only intended park activation for the day was the Billiatt
Wilderness Protection Area VKFF-1685, which is located about 20 km south of
the town of Alawoona, and about 30 km north of the town of Lameroo.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Billiatt Wilderness Protection
Area, east of Adelaide.Â* Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

Marija and I headed south on Billiatt Road out of Alawoona.Â* It was an
overcast but very hot day, with the temperate just shy of 35 degrees C.Â* Â*
There was a very strong wind blowing, and as a result, a dust storm had
been created.



We soon reached the park which is well signposted.Â* A word of warning, this
is quite a remote area, with very little phone coverage.Â* It is very easy
to become bogged if you venture off-road and are not prepared.



Billiatt Wilderness Protection Area is about 59, 125 hectaresÂ*in size and
was established on the 24th day of July 2008.Â* It is not to be confused
with the much smaller Billiatt Conservation Park which is about 801
hectares in size which is located at the northwestern corner of the
Wilderness Protection Area.
The Billiatt Wilderness Protection Area conserves some of the largest
remnant stands of pristine mallee heath and shrubland habitat in South
Australia.Â*Â*The park was devastated by a significant bushfire in 2004, but
it appears to have recovered quite well.

Some attempts were made to farm the land in the Billiatt area between the
1870s and 1930s.Â* However, the land ultimately proved unsuitable for
conventional farming methods.






Wilderness is defined as land which has not been seriously affected by
moderan technology or exotic plants, animals and organisms.Â* In 2005, the
South Australian Wilderness Advisory Committee assessed the wilderness
quality of the former Billiatt Conservation Park.Â* The high National
Wilderness Inventory values identified during the assessment prompted the
Committee to recommend the reserve receive protection under the Wilderness
Protection Act 1992.Â* Billiatt Wilderness Protection Area was subsequently
proclaimed by the Governor in 2008.

The park is named in honour of John William Billiatt, who was an explorer,
adventurer, and tutor.Â* He was born in Lincolnshire, UK, in 1842, and
arrived in Adelaide in 1861.
Above:- John William Billiatt.Â* Image courtesy of the State Library of
South Australia.

As it was a hot day, we chose a nice shady spot underneath a gum tree.Â* We
had very little phone coverage, and the only way to get a signal out was to
climb to the top of one of the sand dunes in the park.Â* Marija managed to
get enough coverage to place a spot up for me on parksnpeaks, and I started
calling CQ on 7.144 on the 40m band.
Above:- Map of the Billiatt Wilderness Protection Area, showing our
operating spot.Â* Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

Sadly, band conditions were awful.Â* It took a few minutes before I had my
first caller in the log, Keith VK7FKLW.Â* But much to my pleasure, my next
caller was Andrei ZL1TM in New Zealand.Â* After around 15 minutes I had just
8 stations in the log, which is very unusual for the parks program which
has become incredibly popular.



So I swapped the mic with Marija who called CQ.Â* Marijas first contact was
with Alan VK2MG, followed by Andrew VK7DW, and then Ian VK1DI.Â* Marija did
better than me, even with lower power.Â* Within 10 minutes Marija had
qualified the park with 10 contacts for VKFF.Â* Her 10th QSO being a contact
with John VK2JON.





I then jumped back into the operators chair and called CQ once again.Â* Ray
VK4NH came back to my call, and with his 2 other callsigns, I now had 10
contacts in the log.Â* I worked a further 3 stations before callers totally
dried up.

I then moved to 14.310 on the 20m band, where my sole caller was Lauro
IK4GRO in Italy with a good 5/7 signal.Â* To complete the activation I moved
to 3.610 on the 80m band where I logged a total of 5 stations from VK3 and
VK5.

With both of us having qualified the park for VKFF, it was time to pack up
and head off to Renmark.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK2MG
VK7DW
VK1DI
VK4NH
VK4DXA
ZL4TY/VK4
VK2PKT
VK7FKLW
VK1MCW
VK2JON


I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK7FKLW
ZL1TM
VK2BHO
VK2MG
VK1DI
VK3UH
VK2JON
VK7DW
VK4NH
VK4DXA
ZL4TY/VK4
VK2PKT
VK2LX
VK3PF


I worked the following station on 20m SSB:-

IK4GRO


I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

VK3PF
VK5HS
VK5PE
VK2VH/3
VK4AAC/3


We continued on our journey north on the Karoonda Highway and soon reached
the town of Loxton.Â* We headed north out of Loxton on the Bookpurnong Road
and into the town of Berri, crossing the mighty Murray River.Â* The photos
below are of the Murray River at Berri.





We were now in Riverland country, with orchards of oranges and miles of
vineyards.Â* The region enjoys a warmÂ*Mediterranean climateÂ*and has vast
acres of fertile soil and a readily available water source in theÂ*Murray
River.





After booking into our motel, the Citrus Valley Motel, we headed out for
dinner at the Renmark Club.Â* It was a beautiful warm evening so we sat in
the outdoor area, admiring the view of the Murray River.





After dinner, we took a stroll along the Renmark riverfront to have a look
at the Possum Parade.Â* Each evening at dusk fruit and vegetables are placed
on the trees on the riverfront, attracting the local possum population, and
as a result a number of tourists, including us.






We also had a quick look at the Murray River Queen, a paddle ship built in
1974 as a luxury passenger cruise boat.Â* Murray River Queen retired from
regular service in 1993, and spent ten years initially as a floating hotel
at Goolwa, then stored nearÂ*Mannum. In 2003, she was moved toÂ*Waikerie,
South Australia, running dinner cruises and occasional longer trips until
2012.Â* In August 2017, the Murray River Queen was moved from Waikerie 200
km upstream toÂ*Renmark.






We then headed back to the motel room, where I watched a bit of the footy
on TV before having an early night.





References.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 2011, Reserves of the
Billiatt District.

Heritage of the Murray Mallee, 1998, Bruce Harry & Associates.

Wikipedia, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoonda,_South_Australia,
viewed 8th April 2019

Wikipedia, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goyder%27s_Line, viewed
8th April 2019

Wikipedia, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alawoona, viewed 8th April
2019

Wikipedia, 2019,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billiatt_Wilderness_Protection_Area, viewed
8th April 2019


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A weekend away in the Riverland

Posted: 07 Apr 2019 04:57 PM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2019/04/07/a-week...the-riverland/


Marija VK5FMAZ and I, are now home after our trip to the Riverland region
of South Australia, to attend the Riverland Radio Clubs annual gathering at
the historic Overland Corner Hotel.


Â*


On the way up to Renmark on Friday afternoon, Marija and I activated the
Billiatt Wilderness Protection Area VKFF-1685. Band conditions were very
tough, but we both qualified the park for VKFF and made a total of 30
contacts.


Â*


Bright and early on Saturday morning, we were out at Overland Corner,
enjoying breakfast, and then the remainder of the days festivities and a
meal and a few ales in the pubs garden. Steve VK5SFA delivered a
presentation on magnetic loop antennas, whilst Grant VK5GR spoke about
Islands on the Air (IOTA).


Â*


It was a great day as always, and for a small club, the Riverland Radio
Club certainly put on a great show, which we can highly recommend.


Â*


Late on Saturday afternoon, Marija and I activated the Loch Luna Game
Reserve VKFF-1723 and made a total of 65 contacts.


Â*


On Saturday evening, a group of us headed out for dinner at the Mallee Fowl
Restaurant, enjoying a great meal and plenty of laughs.


Â*


On Sunday morning, Ivan VK5HS, Peter VK5PE, Marija, and I headed downstream
in Ivans boat and activated the Bulyong Island section of the Murray River
National Park 5NP-016 & VKFF-0372 (this section only accessible by boat).
We all qualified the park.


Â*


After lunch, Marija and I headed for home, stopping off at the Moorook Game
Reserve VKFF-1729, where I made a total of 47 QSOs.


Â*


I will add more info and photos here in the coming week.



Click to view slideshow.