vk5pas

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Our trip to Morgan and a quick activation at Brookfield Conservation Park
VKFF-0822

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 05:06 PM PST
https://vk5pas.org/2017/12/03/our-tr...ark-vkff-0822/


The 2017 VKFF Activation took place on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th
November 2017.Â* Â*This annual event is very popular and is all about
promoting the World Wide Flora & Fauna (WWFF) programÂ*down here in
Australia.Â* Marija and I had planned to activate 4 parks in the Riverland
region around the Morgan area, and we had booked in to stay at Morgan for 2
nights.

Marija took the Friday (24th November 2017) off work, and I was on
holidays, so we headed up to Morgan on Friday morning.Â* There are a few
ways for us to get to Morgan from our home in the Adelaide Hills, but we
chose to take the Birdwood, Sedan, Blanchetown route.

After travelling through Mount Pleasant we started heading down the hills
towards the Angas Valley.Â* There are some nice views to be enjoyed as you
head down the Angas Valley Road.Â* The Angas Valley was once a small
settlement back in the late 1800s of Prussian settlers.





We then travelled north through the town of Cambrai along the Ridley Road
until we reached the small town of Sedan, about 110 km north east of
Adelaide.Â* Sedan is located about half way between the Barossa Valley and
Swan Reach on the River Murray.Â* The town was proclaimed in 1870 and was
named Sedan by one of the first settlers, J.W. Pfeiffer,Â*after a town in
France in honor of the great Prussian (German) victory in the
Franco-Prussian war of 1870.

There are a number of historic buildings located in the town, and we took
the time to have a bit of a drive around the town admiring these, and
taking a few photographs.

Here is a link to an excellent website which tells the story of the history
of Sedan..

http://www.sedan.sa.au/town-history/










We continued on to Annadale, located at the corner of Ridley Road and the
Sturt Highway.Â* There are some pepper trees here which was the site of the
Annadlae Hotel and Cafe, known as Halfway House which operated from
1876-1957.Â* There is also an installation here, which I suspect has
something to do with aircraft, which has a very nice dipole system.Â* I
admired the two towers and wished I had them in my backyard.





We then drove east on the Sturt Highway and soon reached theÂ* southern
boundary of theÂ*Brookfield Conservation Park, VKFF-0822 which borders the
Highway.Â* I have activated and qualified this park previously, but Marija
had not activated the park.Â* So we decided to call into the park for a
quick activation.

Brookfield is located about 130 km north east of Adelaide, and about 15 km
west of the town of Blanchetown.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Brookfield Conservation Park.Â* Map
courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The Brookfield Conservation Park is a large park, consisting of 5,515
hectares.Â* It is managed by Conservation Volunteers Australia.Â* Some areas
of the park are restricted to the public and permission to enter those
areas is required.Â* The public section of the park is open from 7.00 a.m.
until sunset, 7 days a week.
Above:- a map of the park showing the public and restricted areas.Â*
Courtesy of National Parks SA.

Various vegetation can be found in Brookfield Conservation Park.Â* On the
ridge in the northern section of the park, and extending north into the
adjacent area, ridge-fruited mallee, red mallee and narrow-leaved
malleeÂ*dominate over porcupine grassÂ*and sparse bitter saltbush.Â* The
northwestern corner of the park is dominated by yorrellÂ*open mallee over
sparse bitter saltbush and pearl bluebush.

In the southeastern section of the park the understorey consists of a large
expanse of regenerating pearl bluebush.Â* Central areas of the park are
covered by low woodland and tall shrubland typically dominated by sheep
bush and sugarwoodÂ*in varying densities.Â* Dryland tea-treeÂ*is often found
around claypans.Â* The understorey is characterised by Australian boxthorn,
bullock bush, caustic weed Â*and heron’s bill.








The history of the park is very interesting.Â* Dr. Peter Crowcroft, the
former Director of the South Australian Museum, and the then Director of
the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago in the USA, initiated moves to purchase land
for the conservation of the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat.Â* The land which is
now the park was originally a large sheep station known as Glen Leslie
Station.Â* In 1971 the Chicaho Zoological Society purchased the station and
renamed the property as the Brookfield Zoo Wombat Reserve.



In 1977, due to rising finanical costs, the Reserve was gifted to the South
Australian State Government.Â* In August 1977 the then Department for the
Environment assumed financial and managerial responsibility for the reserve
and on the 6th July 1978 the reserve was proclaimed as the Brookfield
Conservation Park.

The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat is one of three species of wombat found in
Australia, and is the smallest of all three species.Â* It can be found from
the eastern Nullabor Plain to the New South Wales border region.Â*Among the
oldest southern hairy-nosed wombats ever documented were a male and a
female fromÂ*Brookfield Zoo.Â* Their names were Carver, which lived to be 34,
and his mother, Vicky, which lived to be 24





Other native animals found in the park include the Fat-tailed Dunnart,
Common Dunnart, Red Kangaroo, and Western Grey Kangaroo.Â* About 141 species
of native bird have been recorded in the park includingÂ*Crested
Pigeon,Â*Brown Treecreeper,Â*Purple-backed Fairywren, Splendid Fairywren,
Southern Whiteface, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, and
Australian Magpie.

Below is a photograph of the old Glen Leslie Homestead which can be found
in the park.Â* There are eco-tourism ventures which take people out to
Brookfield for wombat monitoring, with the homestead providing accomodation.



During our visit to the park there was plenty of evidence of wombat
activity, with lots of burrows.Â* Wombats are excellent diggers, with their
burrows measuing from 3 to 30 metres in length and up to 3.5 metres deep.





Marija and I entered the park through the closed (but unlocked gate) off
the Sturt Highway.Â* There is a dirt track here which leads through the
park, which is in good condition.






Marija and I drove a short distance down the track and set up alongside of
the information board, which offered some shade from the heat of the day.Â*
It was only mid morning, but it was already quite warm.
Above:- Map showing our operating spot in the park.Â* Map courtesy of
Location SA Map Viewer.

I spotted Marija on parksnpeaks and sent out a few SMS messages, whilst
Marija called CQ on 7.144.Â* Her first station in the log was John VK5BJE
who was 5/9 plus into Brookfield.Â* John reciprocated with a 5/9 for
Marija.Â* This was followed by Marc VK3OHM who was also 5/9 plus, followed
by park regular Rick VK4RF/VK4HA.

But it was really hard going, with very few callers.Â* It took Marija 25
minutes to get 10 contacts in the log.Â* That being a contact with Hans
VK5YX from the southern suburbs of Adelaide who was 5/9 plus.Â* Marija
logged 2 further stations, Adrian VK5FANA and Nick VK3ANL, before we
decided it was time to pack up and head off to Morgan.

Marija had qualified the park for the VKFF program, with 12 contacts,
albeit under very difficult conditions.





On our way out of the park I put out a few CQ calls from the mobile on
28.490 on the 10m band, and this was answered by Rick VK2RR who was a good
5/7.Â* I then tried 7.144 from the vehicle and logged Tony VK5MRT, Barry
VK5KBJ and Ivan VK5HS, before reaching the boundary of the park.Â* It was
great to get a few contacts from the mobile, particularly the contact on
10m.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK5BJE
VK3OHM
VK4RF
VK4HA
VK3NLK
VK5KKT
VK5HS
VK2HHA
VK5KBJ
VK5YX
VK5FANA
VK3ANL


I worked the following station on 10m SSB (from the mobile):-

VK2RR


I worked the following stations on 40m SSB (from the mobile):-

VK5MRT
VK5KBJ
VK5HS




References.

Birds SA, 2017,
https://birdssa.asn.au/location/brookfield-conservation-park/, viewed 2nd
December 2017

Flinders Ranges Research, 2017,
https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/angasvalley.htm, viewed 3rd
December 2017

National Parks South Australia, 2017,
https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/Murray_River/brookfield-conservation-park,
viewed 2nd December 2017

Sedan Progress Association, 2017, http://www.sedan.sa.au/town-history/,
viewed 2nd December 2017

Wikipedia, 2017,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_hairy-nosed_wombat, viewed 3rd
December 2017

Wombat Information Centre, 2017,
http://www.wombania.com/wombats/wombat-burrows.htm, viewed 3rd December
2017


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Day 16 and our final activation, the Deep Lead Nature Conservation Reserve
No. 1 VKFF-2033

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 12:43 AM PST
https://vk5pas.org/2017/12/02/day-16...o-1-vkff-2033/


The final day of ur trip had arrived, day 16 (Sunday 19th November 2017).Â*
We had a 492 km drive ahead of us from Ararat in western Victoria to our
home in the Adelaide Hills.
Above:- Map showing the route between Ararat in western Victoria to our
home in the Adelaide Hills.Â* Map courtesy of Plotaroute

Although we didnt have anything official down on our itinerary for this
final day, we decided to activate the Deep Lead Nature Conservation Reserve
No. 1 VKF-2033, which is located about 241 km north west of Melbourne, and
just 5 km out of the little town of Stawell.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Deep Lead Nature Conservation
Reserve.Â* Map courtesy of google maps

We left Ararat after breakfast and headed west on the Western Highway.Â* We
hadnt got far out of Ararat and we encountered the scene below.Â* A B-Double
truck had run off the road, fortunately to the left and had rolled into a
ditch on the side of the road.Â* Luckily he had not drifted to the right and
collided with an oncoming vehicle.Â* We waited for around 10 minutes until
the police allowed us through.



Marija and I then drove in to the little town of Stawell.Â* Whenever we are
in this part of Victoria we stop off at the Stawell Bakery which has
regularly won the award for the best vanilla slice in Australia.Â* We also
were in time to have a look at the clock tower at the Town Hall.Â* The
animated clock and bells chime every hour.





Just out of Stawell we stopped to have a look at the monument to
commemorate the exploration of this part of Victoria by Major Thomas
Mitchell, Surveyor-General of the Colony of N.S.W., and his party, in 1836.

A little further down the road, not far from Deep Lead is the Doctors Hill
Monument.Â* It commemorates the establishment and erection in 1859 of the
first Pleasant Creek Hospital, which served the needs of the gold miners
and the rural community of western Victoria.





We soon reached the area of Deep Lead.Â* Its not a town, but rather a
geographical area.Â* There isnt much here, other than a small hall, a
monument






Thousands of miners and their families headed to the Stawell are following
the discovery of gold in 1853.
Above:- Gold diggings at Ararat.Â* Courtesy of wikipedia

We turned down Cross Street off the Western Highway and crossed the
Adelaide-Melbourne railway line and soon found the park sign.



The Deep Lead Nature Conservation Reserve contains forest eucalypts which
provides a habitat for a range of native birds and mammals.Â* Â*The Reserve
consists of two parts, number .1 and number .2 and is about 1,1823 hectares
in size.

The Deep Lead Nature Conservation Reserve is the most western area of
Victorias Box-Ironbark forest and woodland.Â* Once covering about 3 million
hectares, today only 17% of the original forest remains.Â* It has been
described by the Environment Conservation Council as one of the most
important sited for nature conservation in Victoria.Â* Â*It supports at least
21 threatened species, including three plant species not found anywhere
else in the world.Â* A total of 350 species of native plants has been
recorded in the park.Â*Â*Native flora found in the park includes Red
Ironbark, Yellow Gum, Yellow Box, Longleaf Box, Red Stringybark, River Red
Gum and Grey Box.Â* Wattles, particularly Golden Wattle, dominate the heathy
shrubs, often in the company of small orchids.





A large amount of birdlife can be found in the park including Long-billed
Corellas, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, honeyeaters, parrots and lorikeets.Â*
During winter, the endangered Swift Parrot flies in to the area from
Tasmania to feed on the flowering gums.Â* Various native mammals call the
park home including Western Grey kangaroos, Swamp wallabies, Sugar Glider,
and the endangered Squirrel Glider.





There was plenty of room here to string out the 80/40/20 m linked dipole.
Above:- Aerial shot of the park showing our operating spot.Â* Image courtesy
of google maps

Marija kicked off this activation and called CQ on 7.090.Â* We stayed clear
of 7.144 due to the fact that it was a Sunday, and the higher portion of
the 40m is always full on Sunday mornings with the Wireless Institute of
Australia (WIA) broadcasts.Â* Marijas first caller was John VK5BJE in the
Adelaide Hills with a strong 5/9 signal.Â* This was followed by Les VK5KLV
in Port Augusta who was also 5/9.Â* A few QSOs later Marija logged Al
VK1RX/2 who was activating SOTA peak VK2/ ST-042.Â* Marija soon had 10
contacts in the log.Â* It only took Marija about 10 minutes, with contact
number 10 being a QSO with Gerard VK2IO.





I then jumped on the mic and started calling CQ.Â* My first in the log was
Al VK1RX/2 on his SOTA peak VK2/ ST-042, followed by Gerard BI2IO, Les
VK5KLV, and then John VK5BJE.Â* All had strong signals.Â* My 10th contact
came 16 minutes into the activation, that being a QSO with Rick VK4RF.Â* I
logged a total of 38 stations on 40m including Chris VK5CP who was running
QRP 1 watt.Â* I also spoke with Mas JA7FAS who was holidaying in South
Australia, and using his Australian call of VK5FAS.

I then headed to 3.610 on the 80m band where I worked 7 stations from VK3
and VK5.Â* I then moved back to 40m and worked Peter VK3PF after the
rollover, who told me that Marc VK3OHM was up the band working from a
park.Â* So I went up to 7.125 where I logged Marc VK3OHM who was activating
theÂ*Great Otway National Park VKFF-0405.Â* I then moved back to 7.090 where
I logged 8 stations from VK2, VK4, VK5 and VK7, before I started to
experience some interference from the VK6 WIA broadcast.



During the activation I spoke with Kevin VK3VEK who lives at Stawell and we
arranged on air for him to pop out to say hello.Â* It was great to catch up
with Kevin.Â* We had spoken many times on air but have never met.Â* Other
than having a good chat, I showed Kevin my portable station and he seemed
keen to give parks operating a go in the near future.
Above: with Kevin VK3VEK.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSSB:-

VK5BJE
VK5KLV
VK4RF
VK4HA
VK1RX/2 (SOTA VK2/ ST-042)
VK5PL
VK3SQ
VK5HS
VK4NHH
VK2IO


I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK1RX/2 (SOTA VK2/ ST-042)
VK2IO
VK5KLV
VK5BjE
VK3SQ
VK5HS
VK7NWT
VK7FOLK/m
VK2HHA
VK4RF
VK4HA
VK2PKT
VK2GAZ
VK2YA
VK1WAT
VK5CP
VK2XXM
VK2JNG/p
VK5NJ
VK5PE/m
VK5FMWW
VK3VEK
VK5WG
VK5FANA
VK2NEO
VK5XD
VK5FAS
VK2LEE
VK3PF
VK3UH
VK5NRG
VK1DI
VK2YW
VK4NHH
VK2HJG
VK3BBB
VK3PF
VK3KAI
VK3GV
VK3OHM/p (Great Otway National Park VKFF-0405)
VK7KT
VK4RF
VK4HA
VK2TCL
VK5PL
VK2LEE
VK7MPR
VK7RM


I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

VK5HS
VK3PF
VK3KAI
VK3GV
VK3MRH
VK5HS
VK3PF


After leaving the park we headed into Horsham and caught up with my Uncle
and Aunty, and some of my cousins and their families.



We then crossed over the South Australian border and stopped briefly to
have a look at the early settlers cottage just out of Keith.Â* The cottage
dates back to 1894 and was built by the Davis family.Â* The cottage features
natural bush timber, railway iron, sleepers and local limestone.







Our next stop to stretch the legs was the little town of Ki Ki on the Dukes
Highway.Â* Ki Ki is aboriginal for food and water.Â* The towns history dates
back to the late 1800s, but it was not proclaimed a town until 1913.Â* Sadly
there is not much here now, of what once once a vibrant town.Â* The Ki Ki
school closed in 1960 and the shop closed in 2003.






It was approaching dinner time, and Marija and I stopped off at the Tailem
Bend Hotel, but unfortunately it was not open for another 45 minutes.Â* We
have enjoyed a great meal here previously, so we decided to fill in the
time having a look around the town.Â* We had a look at the Tailem Bend Uneek
Animals exhibition which was only opened on the 10th November 2017.Â* We
also took a trip over the ferry to Jervois and back.







We returned to the pub, and as we had experienced on a prior occasion, we
enjoyed another excellent meal.Â* Marija and I cam highly recommend the
Tailem Bend Riverside Hotel.Â* There are some great views here as well of
the mighty Murray River.





About 45 minutes later and we were home.Â* It was the end of a great 2 weeks
away.

4,500 km travelled
27 parks activated
6 parks activated
We made a total of 1,680 QSOs
Included 138 x Park to Park contacts and 2 x Summit to Summit contacts.




References.

Parks Victoria, Deep Lead Nature Conservation Reserve Visitor Guide.


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Mount Lonarch VK3/ VS-013

Posted: 01 Dec 2017 10:16 PM PST
https://vk5pas.org/2017/12/02/mount-...-vk3-vs-013-3/


Our final activation for the penultimate day of our trip was to be Mount
Lonarch VK3/ VS-013, located about 207 km north east of the city of
Melbourne and about 29 km north of the town Beaufort.
Above:- Map showing the location of Mount Lonarch in western Victoria.Â* Map
courtesy of google maps

Mount Lonarch is 788 metres above sea level and is worth 4 points for the
Summits on the Air (SOTA) program.
Above:- Aerial view showing Mount Lonarch, looking east.Â* Image courtesy of
google maps

I have activated the summit twice before, back in 2013 and 2015.Â* Marija
had been with me during the 2015 visit to this summit, but didnt have her
amateur licence, so this was to be a unique summit for Marija as an
activator.



After leaving Raglan we turned on to Amphithreatre Road and on to the
little town/area of Chute.Â* There isnt much here.Â* BUT, it is the
birthplace of Cyril Callister, who is the inventor of vegemite.Â* Amazing
the places we stumble across when we are out operating portable.



For anyone reading this from overseas, you are probably asking what is
vegemite.Â* It is as Australian as a meat pie, as a Holden car, as is a surf
beach and Aussie Rules Footy.Â* Vegemite is a thick, black good spread made
from leftover brewers yeast extract with various vegetable and spice
additives.Â* Watch the great video below when Hugh Jackman shows Jimmy
Fallon how to eat vegemite.



The Mount Lonarch summit soon came into view.Â* Also visible to us in the
near vicinity were SOTA summits, Ben Moore, Ben Major, Mount Buangor, and
Mount Cole which we had just activated.



The GPS then took us through the Raglan Pine plantation.Â* There was a bit
if ducking wnd weaving along the way as there were many pine trees over the
track.



We enjoyed some magnificent views from the Avoca River Road.






Whilst admiring the view I spotted a paraglider.Â* Marija and I were to
later learnt that they had launched from Mount Lonarch.



We then turned on to Tower Road and followed the road up to the
summit.Â* Â*As we set up we noticed some vehicles parked in amongst the scrub
about 100 feet away on the other side of the fire spotting tower.Â* At that
stage we were not sure why they were there exactly, and assumed they may
have been bushwalking.

Marija started off first at Mount Lonarch, calling CQ on 7.095.Â* This was
answered by Mick VK3GGG/VK3PMG, Aaron VK1LAJ, and the Col VK3LED.Â* Marija
had now qualified the summit which was great news.Â* Marija logged 15
stations including Mark VK3MDH/p and Michael VK3FCMC who were activating
the French Island National Park VKFF-0622.Â* I also logged Mark and Michael.

Marija then handed the mic over to me and headed over to where the vehicles
were parked and soon came back to let me know that there were people
hangliding off the top of Mount Lonarch.





I logged a further 25 stations on 40m from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK5, and VK7.Â*
Signals back to South Australia were very good, which I cant say had been
the case for a lot of our trip.Â* I worked Ian VK5CZ who was running QRP 5
watts, and he was 5/9 from the Clare Valley.Â* I also logged Peter VK3TKK/p
in the Mount Martha Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2152.Â* Unfortunately
Marija missed out on that contact as she was watching the hang gliding.



I then took a break from the radio and went over to have a look myself.Â*
One of the guys there was very friendly and explained to us some of the
aspects of this exciting hobby.Â* We were lucky to see a couple of launches
off the top of Mount Lonarch.Â* It was quite amazing.
Click to view slideshow.

Also in the air that afternoon were a number of Wedge-tailed Eagles.



I went back to the radio and logged 4 stations on 14.310 on the 20m band,
all from Queensland.Â* I then called CQ on 3.610 on the 80m band which was
answered by Mick VK3GGG/VK3PMG who was a very strong 5/9.Â* I then logged
Peter VK3TKK/p who was in another park, the Kangerong Nature Conservation
Reserve VKFF-2122.Â* Peter was a beautiful strong 5/9 signal on 80m.Â* Whilst
speaking with Peter, Marija started walking back towards me.Â* So I shouted
out that I was working a park, which resulted in Marija running back to the
radio to work Peter.

To complete the activation Marija put out a few more CQ calls on 80m,
logging Allen VK3ARH and then Robert VK3KIX, whilst I took a little bit of
vision of the hang gliders on my iphone.



Marija worked the following stations:-



I worked the following stations:-



We packed up and started our trip into the town of Ararat, stopping briefly
to admire some of the magnificent views from Tower Road of the surrounding
countryside.







We got back into Ararat and booked in to the motel, freshened up and headed
off to a favourite restaurant of ours in Ararat, Sicilians, where we
enjoyed a very nice meal and a few ales.









References.

Summits on the Air, 2017, http://www.sota.org.uk/Summit/VK3/VS-013,
viewed 2nd December 2017

Wikipedia, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite, viewed 2nd
December 2017