Our second park for Sunday (10th November 2019) was the Timberoo Flora and Fauna Reserve VKFF-2456.  This was to be only the second time that the park had been activated for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.  It was the first time that Marija and I had activated the park.

The park is located about 24 km south-west of the town of Ouyen in north-western Victoria.

Above:- A map showing the location of the Timberoo Flora and Fauna Reserve in north-western Victoria.  Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

After leaving Kattyoong Marija and I drove east on the Mallee Highway and into the little town of Walpeup.  The town’s name is derived from an aboriginal word with several meanings including ‘stumpy tailed lizard’ and the other an indigenous acacia.  There isn’t much at Walpeup these days.  However in its heyday in 1920 the town had a population of about 400 people, with a general store, a blacksmith, a butcher, a bank branch, and various other businesses.

The main street of Walpeup

An old BSA motorcycle in an old shop window.

The Timberoo Flora & Fauna Reserve is also referred to on maps as the Timberoo Nature Conservation Reserve.  It is a large piece of remnant mallee scrub which is surrounded by cleared farming land.  It is not to be confused with the much smaller Timberoo Bushland Reserve.

Above:- An aerial view of the Timberoo Flora & Fauna Reserve looking west.  Image courtesy of Google Maps.

The reserve is 3,034 acres in size and was created in 1993.  The reserve contains Walpeup Lake which has no water in it, and due to water no longer being piped into it, will probably remain that way for some time.

We accessed the park via Walpeup Lake Road which runs off the Hopetoun-Walpeup Road.

Above:- Map showing the Timberoo Flora & Fauna Reserve showing our operating spot.  Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

After setting up Marija and I had a tune across the 40m band before calling CQ, hoping to track down some other park activators.  Our first contact was with Peter VK3ZPF/p who was activating the Yarra Ranges National Park VKFF-0556.  At the end of our QSO with Les VK5KLV asked us to go up to 7.165.  We moved up the band and logged Les VK5KLV/p who was in the Franklin Harbor Marine Park VKFF-1709.

I then moved down the band to 7.144 and started calling CQ.  First in the log was Lee VK2LEE, followed by Mark VK2EMI, and then Ray VK4NH.  A handful of contacts later I had two more Park to Park contacts in the log: Gerard VK2IO/p who was in the Berowa Valley National Park VKFF-1162, and Shane VK2LUV/p who was activating the Belford National Park VKFF-0023.

With 21 contacts in the log, I swapped the mic with Marija.  It didn’t take long and Marija had soon qualified the park for VKFF.  Her tenth contact was with Adrian VK5FANA on the Yorke Peninsula.  Marija logged 10 contacts including a Park to Park with Alan VK2MG/4 in the Samford Conservation Park VKFF-1639.

Marija had now qualified the park for VKFF, so I again jumped into the operator’s chair.  I logged a further 6 stations with band conditions on 40m being very poor.  This included a Park to Park with Alan VK2MG/4 in the Samford Conservation Park VKFF-1639.

With 27 contacts in the log, I moved to the 20m band where I logged a total of 8 stations.  This included a contact with Mark VK3BSA/5 who was mobile on the Nullabor Highway.

I then moved down to the 80m band and logged 5 stations including Park to Park contacts with Peter VK3ZPF/p in the Yarra Ranges National Park VKFF-0556 and Brett VK3FLCS/p in the Terrick Terrick National Park VKFF-0630.

I then moved back to 40m and logged a further 12 stations including a Park to Park with Gerard VK2IO/p in the Dural Nature Reserve VKFF-1926.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3ZPF/p (Yarra Ranges National Park VKFF-0556)
2. VK5KLV/p (Franklin Harbor Marine Park VKFF-1709)
3. VK2LUV/p (Belford National Park VKFF-0023)
4. VK7QP
5. VK3UH
6. VK2VW
7. VK4AAC/2
8. VK2MG/4 (Samford Conservation Park VKFF-1639)
9. VK5FANA
10. VK2IO/p (Dural Nature Reserve VKFF-1926)
11. VK2UH

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3ZPF/p (Yarra Ranges National Park VKFF-0556)
2. VK5KLV/p (Franklin Harbor Marine Park VKFF-1709)
3. VK2LEE
4. VK2EMI’
5. VK4NH
6. VK4DXA
7. ZL4TY/VK4
8. VK3DAC
9. VK2IO/p (Berowa Valley National Park VKFF-1162)
10. VK2LUV/p (Belford National Park VKFF-0023)
11. VK3SQ
12. VK7QP
13. VK7EK
14. VK3PF
15. VK3UH
16. VK3MPR
17. VK3HAY
18. VK4SMA
19. VK2VH
20. VK4AAC/2
21. VK2HBO
22. VK5FANA
23. VK2HMV
24. VK4CZ
25. VK2AWS
26. VK3BSA/5
27. VK2MG/4 (Samford Conservation Park VKFF-1639)
28. VK2VW
29. VK7KT
30. VK1AT
31. VK4MWB
32. VK7JJ
33. VK5TR
34. VK7FRJG
35. VK2LX
36. VK3AQX
37. VK2IO/p (Dural Nature Reserve VKFF-1926)
38. VK2UH
39. VK7JON

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK3BSA/5
2. VK4CZ
3. VK4TJ
4. VK4/AC8WN
5. VK4/VE6XT
6. VK4SSN
7. VK4SMA
8. VK4MWB

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

1. VK3ZPF/p (Yarra Ranges National Park VKFF-0556)
2. VK7QP
3. VK3FLCS/p (Terrick Terrick National Park VKFF-0630)
4. VK3SQ
5. VK5DW

References.

Victorian Places, 2019, <https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/walpeup>, viewed 13th November 2019