Mount Warrenheip, VK3/VC-019

The Trig Point Mt Warrenheip: my operating position.

Mount Warrenheip is an inactive volcanic cone just on the outskirts on Ballarat. You will see it as you drive the freeway to Melbourne, nine kilometres out of Ballarat. I never took much notice of it when we lived just west of Ballarat for two years in the early 1970s. We used to practice our driving techniques in the Mount Cole Forest Reserve instead. Mount Warrenheip is a bush covered cone, but it has been burnt in recent times and is a bit bare in places. I drove to the summit of Mount Warrenheip and noticed that there are two commercial radio compounds and towers in place. I parked in the shade and walked around the summit past these installations and out and back into the activation zone looking for a spot where I would not be too conspicuous. I need not have been too concerned. There was only one car that visited the summit during my occupation: a car with four young men in and on-board. One was sitting with his legs in the cabin, but his trunk outside on the window ledge hanging onto the roof rails. They were travelling fast and I am glad I didn’t meet them on my ascent! I suspect one or all were still suffering the consequences of too much to drink on New Year’s Eve!

I decided to activate along side of the trig. I used a steel bollard as the support for my squid pole. I had a great time logging 22 stations from VK1, 2, 3 and 7, including 11 s2s contacts.

It was a long day travelling to the Brisbane Ranges National Park in the morning and then returning to Mount Warrenheip later in the day. Unfortunately, despite my best intentions, its twin, Mount Buninyong, VK3/VC-018, will need to wait for another day.

My Activator Log