Mt St Leonard VK3/VC-006 for the VK1 SOTA QSO Party 2016

The VK1 SOTA QSO Party is in its fourth year.  Mountain Goat Andrew VK1AD ex 1NAM does a fine job of promoting it and rallying VK1s onto hilltops.  On Friday 5th August he posted that there were 19 planned activations recorded at SOTAWatch involving activations across VK1, VK2, VK3, VK5, VK7 and ZL1.  It worked out that if I left early for a nearby summit and kept moving I could join the party on Mt St Leonard VK3/VC-006. Mt St Leonard is not much more than an hour’s drive from the eastern suburns of Melbourne.  I left at 0710 and arrived at the car park just over an hour later.  On the Yarra Glen-Healesville Road I passed the morning balloon departure.  I was on the summit by 0830, plenty of time.

Mt St Leonard VK3/VC-006 and a bonus (Mt Toolebewong VK3/VC-033)

On 12th April 2015  I set out on a sunny day with light wind to activate Mt St Leonard (VK3/VC-006). From the eastern end of Healesville St Leonards Road (which becomes Meyers Creek Road) takes you north through a valley of mountain ash and fern gullies on a variously tight cornered and winding country road typical of the area. After about 18 km Monda Road on the right takes you east and up the mountain, a dirt and gravel but good surface. An easy drive in a small 2wd and not too much dust. Near the top is a gate in front of a fire track stretching out ahead. Several walkers were coming down the hill, including a family with several children making lots of noise and shouting in the hope of hearing an echo, or at least the reverberation off the mountain top behind them.  The walk to the top was easy and enjoyable, not too steep so as to allow a steady but not tiring walk. The summit is a large cleared area with a significant communications facility behind a high wire mesh fence.