vk5pas

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Mount George Conservation Park 5CP-147 and VKFF-0784

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 04:10 PM PST
https://vk5pas.org/2017/02/18/mount-...and-vkff-0784/


YesterdayÂ*afternoon (Friday 17th February 2017) for the Friday
afternoon/evening event for the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award I
activated the Mount George Conservation Park 5CP-147 and VKFF-0784. Â*The
park isÂ*approximately 25 km south-east of Adelaide near the town of
Bridgewater.

I have activated this park many times before in the past and have well and
truly qualified it for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program, soÂ*this
activation was purely for the VK5 Parks Friday event.


Above:- Map showing the location of the Mount George Conservation
Park. Â*Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

Mount George Conservation Park which was proclaimed on the 7th November
1996, Â*conserves 85 hectares of important native vegetation in the Mount
Lofty Ranges Adelaide Hills. Â*The park is characterised by steep slopes
which are adorned with Stringybark Open Forest. Â*The park contains a number
of creeks including Cox Creek and Cascade Creek, wetlands, and freshwater
bogs and soaks. Â*These provide important habitat for numerous native fauna
species. Â*Â*State endangered Mountain Gum Open Forest is generally found
within the vicinity of these damper areas, particularly near the base of
the gully that runs through the centre of the park. The park protects a
diverse assemblage of flora, with several species considered to be
threatened at a national, state or regional level, such as the nationally
vulnerable Clover Glycine and the state endangered Mountain Gum. Â*Mount
George summit, 520m ASL is located within the park.









A total of 15 native species of mammals have been recorded in the park
including the Common Ring-tail Possum, the Yellow-footed Antechinus,
Western Grey Kangaroo, Koalas, the Lesser Long-earred Bat, the Bush Rat,
the Echidna and the Common Brushtail Possum. Â*The Southern Brown Bandicoot,
which is considered vulnerable in South Australia is also found in the
park. Â*A total of 66 species of birds have been documented in the park
including the Bassian Thrush, Super Blue Wren, Yellow-tailed Black
Cockatoo, Peregrine Falcon, Scarlet Robin, Red-browned finch, and Crested
Shriketit. Â*A total of 14 species of reptiles and seven species of
amphibians have been recorded in the park.






Images above courtesy of wikipedia.

During the 1840s much of the land in the Mount Lofty Ranges was cleared for
farming and mountain gardening. Â*The land which would become the Mount
George Conservation Park was acquired by the then National Parks and
Wildlife Service in 1989. Â*The park was originally 67 hectares before the
boundaries were extended in 2003 to incorporate adjacent land of high
conservation value. Â*An additional 18 hectares of land was added to the
park on 16 October 2003.

There are a number of walking trails to explore in the park. Â*A section of
the 1,200 km long Heysen Trail passes through the park. Â*Dogs can also be
walked in the recreation zone of the park, but they must be kept on a lead
and under control. Â*Sadly, each time I have been to this park, this has not
been the case. Â*There have been dogs and their owners, but the dogs have
certainly not been on a lead. Â*And this activation was no exception.

When I arrived at the park there were about half a dozen people in the park
all with their dogs, running free through the park. Â*Some of which came up
to me, jumping onto me, and getting caught up in the coax. Â*I ran the Yaesu
FT-857d set at 40 watts output and the 80/40/20m linked dipole sitting on
the top of the 7 metre telescopic squid pole.


Above:- Map showing my operating spot in the Mount George Conservation
Park. Â*Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

After setting up I headed to 7.144 on the 40m band and started calling
CQ. Â*It was quite noisy on the band with static crashes up to strength
8. Â*The map below shows all of the lightning activity around Australia
resulting in the noisy band. Â*It took a few minutes before my first caller
was logged. Â*It was Peter VK3PF who was a good 5/9 signal. Â* Next up was
Peter VK3HSB who was portable in the Lake Eildon National Park
VKFF-0625. Â*It was nice to get an unexpected Park to Park contact in the
log. Â*I then spoke with Les VK5KLV at Port Augusta who was 5/9 plus. Â*Port
Augusta is around 330 km north of Mount George,Â*so it was clear that there
was good propagation around South Australia at least out to that distance.


Map of Australia showing lightning activity. Â*Image courtesy of
weatherzone.com.au

I was just a few minutes into the activation when it started to drizzle
with rain, right in the middle of my fourth QSO which was with Stuart
VK3STU. Â*I was about ready to run back to the vehicle, when the
showersÂ*cleared as quickly as they had appeared. Â*I worked just 3 more
stations on 40m, all from VK3. Â*It was the quietest I had heard it on the
band during Â*a park activation, for a long time. Â*I suspect the static
crashes were certainly contributing to that. Â*I was pleased to log a new
amateur to the bands, Robert VK3FRCS, who has just been licensed for a few
months.

I lowered the squid pole and removed the links for operation on the 20m
band. Â*Whilst I was doing this I had an interested onlooker approach me and
ask inquisitively what I was up to. Â*I explained to him that I was an
amateur radio operator, and told him a little bit about the hobby and the
various parks awards. Â*He seemed quite interested and had heard of amateur
radio previously.

I thenÂ*started calling CQ on 14.310. Â*This was answered by John VK4TJ in
Queensland with a lovely 5/9 signal. Â*John advised that VK3JBL was also on
the frequency (I was unable to hear him), so I QSYd up to 14.315 where I
spoke with Rick VK4RF/VK4HA who was 5/9 plus. Â*Rick advised that Gerard
VK2IO was trying for me, but I could not hear a peep from Gerard, so band
conditions into the eastern States appeared to be very poor. Â*Sadly, the
drizzle started up again and this resulted in me having to hide underneath
my both bag. Â*I must have been a strange sight..somebody hiding underneath
a bright orange piece of plastic with a squid pole in the air alongside of
them.







As the weather was less than ideal I quickly headed off to 3.610 on 80m
where I logged Mick VK3GGG/VK3PMG in western Victoria who was 5/9, and then
Hans VK5YX in the south suburbs of Adelaide. Â*Hans was 5/9 plus. Â*To
complete the activation I headed back to 7.144 on 40m and logged just 2
further stations, Craig VK2KDP, and Gerard VK2IO. Â*Both advised that there
had been storms in Sydney and they were suffering quite badly from static
crashes.

Sadly the weather had really started to set in, with rain falling a little
heavier. Â*So rather frustrated, I packed up and headed home. Â*Not one of my
best activations.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK3PF
VK3HSB/p (Lake Eildon National Park VKFF-0625)
VK5KLV
VK3STU
VK3SFG
VK3FRCS
VK3MCK
VK2KDP
VK2IO


I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

VK4TJ
VK4RF
VK4HA


I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

VK3GGG
VK3PMG
VK5YX


References.

Department for Environment and Heritage, 2006, Mount George Conservation
Park Management Plan

National Parks SA 2017,
https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/pa...vation-parkgt;,
viewed 17th February 2017