VK4KC Marty’s Ham Radio Adventures

 Bukkulla Conservation Park VKFF-1489, POTA VK-1479 About one hour drive north of Rockhampton at Marlborough head east on Glen Praire Rd and drive for about 20 minutes. The yellow X marks the spot where I activated. There is a large dam on the other side of the road so it is easy to located where this locked gate is. The bottom rung of the barbed wire fence is quite high so I was able to crawl under and activation just inside the park boundary. There is a star picket in the ground in which I was able to strap my Sotabeams pole to and use the linked dipole.

 Newport Conservation Park VKFF-1622, POTA VK-1150 About 1.5 hours drive north of Rockhampton turn off the Bruce hwy on to St Lawerance Croydon road and head east. Once you get to St Lawerance follow the signs to the boat ramp. It is about 10 minute drive from St Lawerance to Newport conservation park. I tested the mud/salt flat before driving on it. It seemed firm so I drove out on the flat area and into the park boundary. The yellow X marks the spot I activated from. S

Bullyard conservation Park VKFF-1491, POTA VK-1475 You can operate from your vehicle in this park. From Bullyard take Delan Rd, on the left there is a sign that says Bullyard conservation park (see photo below). Just to the left of this sign is a track that enters the park.  About 50 metres in on this track this is a small section where it is within the park boundary (see images below) Good phone reception with Telstra and Optus. W

Calliope Conservation Park VKFF-1499, POTA VK-1463 Heading south on Calliope River Rd on the left soon after the start of the park the is a dirt road where there are some empty small buildings.  This parking area is within the park.  There are quite a few power lines in this area which do generate some noise on some of the bands.  There is phone reception on Telstra and Optus.

Limestone Creek Conservation Park VKFF-1580, POTA VK-1257 Just north of Rockhampton this park can be activated from your vehicle.  This is my third activation of this park. There are some buildings in this park in the south east corner with a good size car park where I operated from my car. Mobile phone coverage fine withTelstra and Optus. 

Cape Palmerston National Park VKFF-0080, POTA VK-1453 This has been one of my favourite parks to activate due to being beside the beach. From Ilbilbie take Greenhill Rd east. Turn left into Cape Palmerston Rd. At the end of this road there will be the sign of the National park. The road then heads east then north till you get to the car park beside the beach.  I made 46 contacts. Good phone coverage on Telstra and Optus.

Horseshoe Lagoon Conservation Park VKFF-1560, POTA VK-1301 This lagoon is a bird watchers paradise with a bird hide viewing platform. This park is fenced with barbed wire so activating from a vehicle is not possible.  Just a few metres up from the bird hide I jumped the fence and was able to operate from within the park.   I had phone coverage with Telstra and Optus.

Mount Walsh National Park VKFF-0363, POTA VK-1174 Mount Walsh is about 10 minute drive from Biggenden. This park is easy to access as the large car park is within the park boundary. There are good facilities near the car park with a under cover picnic area.   Mobile phone coverage was good for both Telstra and Optus. I made 37 contacts. Drive along the park access road you get a good view of the mountain. This is the car park area. H

Wongi National Park VKFF-0710, POTA VK-1017 A vehicle can enter this park. I accessed the park by coming from the east along Old Gayndah Rd, head west, the road changed from asphalt to gravel and back a few times. When you see the sign for Yellow creek then the track to the park entrance is approx 1km on the left after this sign. It is just after you go up a rise in the road.  Definitely no mobile phone coverage on Telstra or Optus networks at the time of my activation. Yellow X marks approximate spot of my activation. About 80 metres in on the track there is a gate which vehicles can enter in through.   I set up my sota beams 10 metre pole strapped to a stump and used the link dipole with the 7300. I made a total of 24 contacts.

Woocoo National Park VKFF-0711, POTA VK-1016 This is quite a small park. There is one area where you can drive a vehicle within the park boundary.  The park is accessed by Ellerslie Rd. The images below show the location where I was able to drive my car into the park.  I had no mobile phone coverage with Telstra or Optus. I made a total of 63 contacts. The Yellow X shows the location where I activated. The photo below shows the track that leads into the park. It is in between the two large gum trees. This is shown on the map above by a yellow dashed line. Below shows my 10 metres pole with linked dipole.

This park is accessed at the end of Hills Road. As you enter the park there is a car park on the left. This location is in a valley with hills to the south and east and Mt. Boulder to the north so not a great location to operate from.  There is a walking track 3.2 km return that goes from the car park to Mt. Boulder. My intention was to walk to the top of Mt. Boulder for a SOTA activation but it was a very steep track and I was carrying my hard case with the G90 and batteries in one hand and my Sotabeams telescopic pole in the other and had my backpack on. I made it to about the 1km mark and was spent so I found a good spot to activate from. The sign did say fitness required and I’m lacking in that area. Made 32 contacts (10 of which were CW) It was a lot easier going back down. Got back to the car just before dusk. The yellow X marks approximate location for my activation. The yellow X marks approximate location for my activation. The yellow circle is the car park. Just beyond the...