[VK5PAS] Moana Sands Conservation Park 5CP-136 and VKF-1061

[VK5PAS via rec.radio.amateur.moderated Admin]

vk5pas

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Moana Sands Conservation Park 5CP-136 and VKF-1061

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 05:51 AM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2017/07/02/moana-sands-conservation-park-5cp-136-and-vkf-1061/


After packing up at Onkaparinga River Recreation Park, Marija and I headed
to our second park activation for Saturday 1st July 2017, the Moana Sands
Conservation Park 5CP-136 & VKFF-1061.  This was to be a unique park for us
as activators for both the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program, and the
VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award.

Moana Sands Conservation Park is located about 36 km south of Adelaide.
Map showing the location of the Moana Sands Conservation Park.  Map
courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The Moana Sands Conservation Park is about22 ha (54 acres) in size and was
established on the 7th November 1985.  It was proclaimed under the National
Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 in 1985 for the purpose of conserving a
‘significant Aboriginal cultural heritage site associated with the
Kaurna people.

The parks coastal sand dunes are very important in the cultural traditions
of the Kaurna people who made their summer camp in the dunes next to Pedlar
Creek. Many archaeological artefacts, including burial sites, hearths and
shell middens some dating back more than 6000 years have been found where
the overlying sand has blown away.
Aerial view showing the park in the southern suburbs of Adelaide.  Image
courtesy of Google maps

Moana was originally farming land from 1841. In the 1850s a local landowner
lent his name to the beach and it became known as Dodds Beach.  In 1855,
when shipping was the primary means of cargo transport in the area, the
Nashwauk was wrecked on the beach near the Pedler Creek outlet.
Bricks recovered from the wreck of the Nashwauk.  Image c/o South
Australian Maritime Museum.

Due to an increased interest in tourism in the area, in 1927 the land was
subdivided by Lake Beach Estate Ltd who held a competition to name the new
town.  Mr C.H. Cave won the competition with Moana, which means blue water
in the Maori language.  The land was divided into blocks of land suitable
for holiday homes and wide streets were planned and laid out, but due to
the Great Depression in 1929 development of the area was slow.

In the 1950s Moana experienced renewed interest from tourism as the
residents of Adelaide enjoyed the freedom and mobility of car ownership
Moana was a pleasant 40 minute drive from Adelaide.

The area was recorded in the 1890s as “the greatest development of sand
dunes of  Gulf St. Vincent” boasting imposing dunes to 80 feet (25 metres);
but within 40 years human and animal impact denuded the dunes and erosion
demolished their magnificent stature.

The park is home to a large variety of birdlife including the Swamp harrier
and the rare Hooded Plover.







We set up on the beach just a little south of Peddler Creek.  We ran the
Yaesu FT-857d and the 80/40/20m linked dipole supported on the 7m
telescopic squid pole.
Aerial shot of the park showing our operating spot.  Image courtesy of
Location SA Map Viewer.

Despite it being a beautiful sunny afternoon, it was quite brisk, so there
were only about 3 or 4 other vehicles on the beach.



Marija started off the activation again, calling CQ on 7.140.  First in the
log was regular park hunter Geoff VK3SQ, followed by Mr. reliable Rick
VK4RF/VK4HA, and then Cliff VK2NP.  Within 7 minutes Marija had her 10
contacts in the log, qualifying the park for VKFF.  Contact number 10 was
Allen VK3ARH.  Marija logged a total of 15 stations, before the pile up got
the better of her and demanded that I take over on the mic.



My first station in the log was John VK2YW in Wagga Wagga, followed by
Peter VK2NEO and then Mike VK3ZMD.  Unfortunately a G station came up on
7.138, just 2 kc below me, and he was a good 5/7 signal and I experienced a
lot of bleedover.  So I decided it was just not worth competing with him
and I QSYd up to 7.144.

I logged a total of 54 stations on 40m, including some European DX, much to
my surprise.  Deme EA5IPC from Spain called me in amongst the VK pile up,
confirming that sometimes it is very worthwhile listening for stations
outside of VK.  You never know who is hearing you.  A few dozen QSOs later
I was called by Uwe DL2ND in Germany.  It was quite a thrill to work a bit
of DX on 40m from Europe.





I also logged a Park to Park contact with Hans VK6XN in the Greenmount
National Park VKFF-0218 who was a good 5/7 signal.  Marija also logged Hans.

I then moved to 14.310 on the 20m band where I logged a total of 7 stations
from Hawaii, Italy, Norway, VK2, VK6, and France.  It has been quite slim
pickings in recent times with DX on 20m, so it was nice to at least log a
handful of overseas stations.  I also logged Hans VK6XN/p on a second band
from the Greenmount NP.

I then headed over to 3.610 on the 80m band and started calling CQ on
3.610.  Andrew VK2UH answered my call and reported that my signal was
breaking up.  My VSWR was also a little high, but despite checking the BNC
connection and the connections in the linked dipole, all appeared
okay.  But I decided not to push my luck, and logged just 3 further
stations: John VK5BJE, Terry VK5ATN, and Adrian VK5FANA.  Bill VK4FW tried,
but we could quite make a valid contact.



It was now approaching 5.00 p.m. local time and it was time to pack up and
head home.  Marija and I had both qualified the park for VKFF, and I had
qualified the park for WWFF.  Together we had 82 QSOs in the log.



Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK3SQ
VK4RF
VK4HA
VK2NP
VK3MH/m
Vk7QP
VK5BJE
VK3FOTO/m
VK4AAC/p
VK3ARH
VK3GQ
VK6BSA/m
VK2IO
VK7CW
VK5HS
VK6XN/p (Greenmount National Park VKFF-0218)
VK4NH


I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK2YW
VK2NEO
VK3ZMD
VK4AAC/p
VK5BJE
VK2XXM
VK3ANL
VK3FT
VK5HS
VK2QK
VK3FTRI
VK7DIK
VK4HNS
VK3NCR
VK2KYO
VK5GJ
VK2JDR
VK4PDX
VK6MAC
VK3KIM/m
VK3FPHG
VK3ZPF
EA5IPC
VK3BBB
VK2HHA
VK7DW
VK2VRC
VK4FMAX
VK4TJ
VK4GSF
VK6HRC
VK2GPT
VK2VX
VK2NP
VK3FSPG
VK3MPR
VK3AWG
VK7FGRA
VK5KLV
VK4FE
VK2IO
VK3HSB
VK2NWB
VK4NH
VK6XN/p (Greenmount National Park VKFF-0218)
VK5FANA
VK3BUS
VK3SQ
VK7HCK
VK4QQ
VK3ZQ
VK7AU
DL2ND
VK3TXB


I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

KH6EB
IK4GRO
LB0OG
VK2SR
VK6RC/m
VK6XN/p (Greenmount National Park VKFF-0218)
F5PAU


I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

VK2UH
VK5BJE
VK5ATN
VK5FANA




References.

Moana Surf Life Saving Club, 2017,
<http://moanaslsc.com.au/about-moana/our-community/gt;, viewed 2nd July 2017

National Parks South Australia, 2017,
<https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Fleurieu_Peninsula/moana-sands-conservation-parkgt;,
viewed 2nd July 2017

Wikipedia, 2017,
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moana_Sands_Conservation_Parkgt;, viewed 2nd
July 2017

Wikipedia, 2017, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moana,_South_Australiagt;,
viewed 2nd July 2017


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Onkaparinga River Recreation Park VKFF-1738

Posted: 01 Jul 2017 08:28 PM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2017/07/02/onkaparinga-river-recreation-park-vkff-1738/


Yesterday (Saturday 1st July 2017) was a spectacular sunny Winters day, so
Marija VK5FMAZ and I packed the Toyota Hi Lux and headed south to activate
two parks.  Both were to be unique parks for us as activators for the World
Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program, and Moana Sands, our second park, was to
be a unique park for the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award.

Our first park for the day was the Onkaparinga River Recreation Park
VKFF-1738 which is located about 32 km south of Adelaide.
Map showing the location of the Onkaparinga River Recreation Park south of
Adelaide.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.



The Onkaparinga River Recreation Park is 284 hectares in size and was
established on the 7th November 1985.  Translated from the Kaurna language,
‘Ngangki’ means women, ‘Pari’ means river, and ‘ngka’ means location.  So
the correct translation for Onkaparinga is Ngangkiparingka, which means
women only places along the river.  The Onkaparinga River, South Australias
second longest river, flows through the park on its journey to the sea.
Map of the Onkaparinga River Rectreation Park.  Map courtesy of National
Parks SA.
The floodplain and surrounding areas of the park are covered by a
combination of open shrubland with Nitre-bush, Lagoon Saltbush, Marsh
Saltbush and Sea-berry Saltbush, native grassland and introduced pasture.  
Along and near the river areas of there is Common Reed, samphire flats with
Thick-head Samphire, Grey Samphire, Shrubby Samphire  and areas of
revegetation. The aquatic estuarine flora is dominated by Garweed.







During our visit the park was very active, with lots of bushwalkers,
anglers and people canoeing and kayaking down the river.  We had the
opportunity of speaking with a few walkers, and explained to them the hobby
of amateur radio and the parks awards.


Between 1973 to 1977, the majority of the land which is now dedicated to
the recreation park was purchased by the State Planning Authority, a former
South Australian State Government Agency.  The purpose of the land
acquisition which included land along the full length of Onkaparinga River
was threefold.   Firstly, it was ‘to provide open space for recreational
purposes’, secondly, ‘to preserve the natural character of the landscape,
including the native flora and fauna’ and thirdly, ‘to function as a buffer
between areas of urban and rural land.’
In 1982, the majority of the land was transferred to the then Department
for Environment and Heritage which established the recreation park in
1985.  In 1993, all of the land east of Main South Road (known as the gorge
section) was reclassified as the Onkaparinga River National Park.   For
managerial and administrative purposes, the recreation park and the
national park are known collectively as the ‘Onkaparinga River Reserve’.



In February 1839, land in the locality including the Onkaparinga floodplain
was surveyed and became available for selection by settlers to the new
colony of South Australia.  The majority of the land in the recreation park
was a farm originally purchased about 1861 by John Jared, an immigrant who
arrived from Lincolnshire, England.  The original purchase of 240 acres was
expanded to 400 acres.  Jared named the farm ‘Clear Farm’ and built a house
on the property in 1862.  Jared was succeeded in 1871 by his son, John
William Jared, who renamed the property ‘Pingle Farm’.  The property
remained in the Jared family until the 1970s when it was purchased by the
State Planning Authority.  The remains of Pringle Farm which was listed on
the South Australian Heritage Register on 11 April 1996 are conserved
within the recreation park.


Over 150 species of birds have been recorded in the park includingSilver
Gull, Great Egret, Australian White Ibis, Crested Pigeon, New Holland
Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, Australian Magpie, Little Raven, Willie
Wagtail, Magpielark.  Many birds migrate from the northern hemisphere to
escape the arctic winter. Every Australian summer they come from Siberia,
China and Japan to feed.  Below are some photos of the birds I observed
during our visit to the park.
Click to view slideshow.

Around 20 species of fish have been recorded in the river including
mulloway, jumping mullet, black bream, and yellow-eye mullet.

Onkaparinga River Recreation Park is also home to a mob of Western Grey
kangaroos.  These can often be seen in the cleared land just below the the
south western corner of the park off Commercial Road.  And during our
visit, the kangaroos were out enjoying the sunshine.



Of note, a wild goat which has been nicknamed Gary has been adopted by the
mob of kangaroos, and calls the mob home.  Unfortunately we didnt see Gary
during our visit.  There was some talk last year that the local Council was
going to catch Gary.  We hope that hasnt occurred.

Gary has become quite a celebrity and there is even a Facebook page
dedicated to him which can be found at.

https://www.facebook.com/GaryGoat5165/
Gary the goat.  Photo courtesy of Facebook

The park has been subject to a lot of local media attention in recent
years, as housing has encroached on vacant land surrounding the
park.  There is one last piece of land near the SW corner of the park which
has been earmarked for further housing and there has been a lot of public
outrage at the proposed housing, suggesting it will spell the end for the
kangaroos and Gary the Goat.





Marija and I spent nearly one hour trying to find a suitable spot to enter
the park.  Many years ago when I lived and worked in this area, the
majority of the land surrounding the park was vacant and there were various
tracks leading into the park.  Sadly this is no longer the case, with
development all the way around the park.  We had hoped to access the park
via Sauerbiers Road, but the GPS took us into continual dead ends in the
high density living area which is Seaford Meadows.

We eventually found a nice quiet spot just off River Road.  For this
activation we ran the Yaesu FT-857d, set at 10 watts for Marija and 40
watts for me, and the 80/40/20m linked dipole.
Aerial shot of the park showing our operating spot.  Image courtesy of
Location SA Map Viewer.

As is our normal practice when activating parks together, Marija started
off first.  Marija is generally only interested in qualifying the park for
the VKFF program (10 contacts).  Prior to finding a spot to call CQ, we
both worked Gerard VK2JNG who was in the Goobang National Park
VKFF-0204.  Marija and I had worked Gerard from the mobile on our way to
the park, but were very happy to get the Park to Park contact with Gerard
as well.

We then QSYd down to 7.130 and Marija started calling CQ whilst I spotted
her on parksnpeaks.  Marijas first taker was Geoff VK3SQ at Beechworth in
NW Victoria, followed by Dennis VK2HHA in Albury, and then Nick VK3ANL in
Melbourne.  Considering it was a weekend, the number of callers were quite
low.  But Marija perservered and within 20 minutes had contact number ten
in the log, Brett VK2VW.





We then swapped the mic and I started calling CQ and this was answered by
Peter (VK3YE) VK5WAT/3 who was pedestrian mobile on Chelsea Beach running
QRP 3 watts.  Peter was an excellent 5/8 signal.  Contact number 10,
qualifying the park for me for VKFF, was with Peter VK3ZPF.  Shortly
afterwards I was called by Ian VK5MA/6 who was activating the Stokes
National Park VKFF-0468 in Western Australia.  Ian was 5/8 and considering
the time of day (1.20 p.m. local time), had an excellent signal on 40m,
some 3,000 km to my west.   Marija also logged Ian.

The 40m band was in quite good condition, with excellent signals from the
eastern states of Australia.  Of note, were the number of Western
Australian stations logged on 40m: Ian VK5MA/6, Ian VK6EA, Mark VK6BSA
mobile, Richard VK6HRC, and Hans VK6XN.

Contact number 44 qualifying the park for the global WWFF program was Peter
VK7PRN.  I worked a total of 47 stations on 40m before things started to
slow down.  I had received an SMS message from Peter Vk3PF asking me to
give Joe VK3YSP a call, who was portable at the GippsTech amateur radio
convention.  I headed to 7.144 and have Joe a call, and went live at
GippsTech.

I then called CQ on 14.310 on the 20m band where I logged 5 stations: Rick
VK4RF/VK4HA, Hans VK6XN, Ken ZL4KD, and Lee VK2LEE.  To complete the
activation I put a few CQ calls out on 3.610 on the 80m band and there
logged 3 stations: Iain VK5ZIF, John VK5BJE, and Ivan VK5HS.  The 80m band
continues to be a reliable form of communication locally when the 40m band
is not open.



Marija made a total of 12 contacts including 2 Park to Park QSOs.  I worked
a total of 56 stations including 2 Park to Park contacts.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK2JNG/p (Goobang National Park VKFF-0204)
VK3SQ
VK2HHA
VK3ANL
VK3ZPF
VK2KYO
VK4TJ
VK3ARH
VK5GJ
VK2VW
VK5WAT/3
VK5MA/6 (Stokes National Park VKFF-0468)


I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK2JNG/p (Goobang National Park VKFF-0204)
VK5WAT/3
VK3SQ
VK2NP
VK2HHA
VK5GJ
VK2IO
VK2VW
VK2UH
VK3ZPF
VK4AAC/p
VK3HWB
VK5MA/6 (Stokes National Park VKFF-0468)
VK3MCK
VK3BBB
VK7NWT
VK3WAR
VK3AWG
VK2JNG/m
VK3MRH
VK6EA
VK5GI
VK7DW
VK3VLA
VK3VEF
VK6BSA/m
VK3GQ
VK4NH
VK2VRC
VK6HRC
VK7AU
VK3FPHG
VK3FSPG
VK3MPR
VK3BG
VK3WAC/m
VK3QA
VK4RF
VK4HA
VK6XN
VK3UH
VK5ZIF
VK7FPRN
VK7PRN
VK7GG
VK2LEE
VK2JDR
VK3YSP/p (Gippstech)


I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

VK4RF
VK4HA
VK6XN
ZL4KD
VK2LEE


I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

VK5ZIF
VK5BJE
VK5HS




References.

Birds SA, 2017,
<http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/onkaparinga-river-recreation-park/gt;,
viewed 2nd July 2017

National Parks South Australia, Onkaparinga River National Park and
Recreation Park.

Wikipedia, 2017,
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onkaparinga_River_Recreation_Parkgt;, viewed
2nd July 2017