It was now Thursday 2nd March 2023, and we had another full day before attending the Avalon Air Show. After breakfast Marija and I drove out to the Werribee Open Range Zoo, located at Werribee, about 32 km southwest of Melbourne.

The zoo is home to a variety of animals including gorillas, Hippopotamus, Giraffe, American Bison, Przewalski Horse, Oryx, Blackbuck, Cheetah, and Lion.

The zoo also has a number of Southern White Rhinoceros, which we were able to get up close and personal with during a Safari tour.

The park also has numerous native birds and animals.

I even found a ‘radio room’ at the zoo which contained an Icon IC751, a Uniden 2020, and a Realistic receiver.

The zoo is also the home of the historic Chirnside Shearing Shed which was once part of the Chirnside pastoral property. The shearing shed was built in 1861.

One of the highlights of the Werribee Zoo was observing the Orange-bellied parrots. There are fewer than 50 of these in the wild and they are listed as critically endangered.

We then visited the Victoria State Rose Garden at Werribee. It contains over 5,000 roses, covering about 5 hectares. In 2003, the rose garden was awarded the International Garden of Excellence by the World Federation of Rose Societies. It was the first rose garden outside of Europe to receive this award.

We then strolled over to the Werribee Park Mansion, a magnificent basalt and sandstone mansion which was completed in 1877 for the Chirnside family. They were originally from Scotland and made their fortune from would production across the Western District of Victoria.

We spent quite some time at the mansion as there was a lot to see.

Marija and I then drove to The Spit Wildlife Reserve VKFF-2452, which is about 28 km northwest of Geelong, and about 53 km southwest of Melbourne.

Above:- Map showing the location of The Spit Wildlife Reserve. Map c/o Protected Planet.

The park is 300 hectares in size and is located on the northwestern shore of Port Phillip Bay.

Above:- An aerial view of The Spit WR. Image c/o Google maps.

The Spit Wildlife Reserve is located in close proximity to the Avalon Airport, the venue for the Australian International Air Show. There was quite a variety of aircraft up in the air during our activation at the park.

What does Spit mean? A spit or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It is a stretch of beach material that projects out to the sea. A spit thus has two ends. The end jutting out onto the water is called the distal end, and the one attached to land is called the proximal end.

Above:- A spit, contrasted with other landforms. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The Spit Wildlife Reserve contains sand spits, a lagoon, and an area of saltmarsh. The north and sout spits at the reserve are about 4 km in length and they vary in size and shape dependant upon the tide and onshore currents.

At high tide the lagoon’s depth reaches about one metre. At low tide a mudflat is exposed. This changing environment provides an important feeding ground for a variety of birds, particularly waders and waterbirds.

The critically endangered Orange-bellied parrot was once found in the park, but it is believed that due to a decline in the condition of the saltmarsh, numbers have declined and they are no longer observed.

Below is a video on this amazing bird which is bred at the Werribee zoo (see above – we actually saw these critically endangered birds. albeit in captivity).

The reserve is listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention as part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site. It is also subject to the China–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement, the Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement, and the Bonn Convention. The reserve is part of the Werribee and Avalon Important Bird Area, which was identified by BirdLife International due to its importance for wetland and waterbirds as well as for orange-bellied parrots.

Access to the majority of this park is restricted by permits for birdwatchers. But we did find a small area where we were able to pull off the road and set up. We ran the Yaesu FT857 and the 20/40/80m linked dipole, and the Icom IC7000 & Codan 9350 antenna for this activation,

Above:- An aerial view showing our operating spot. Image c/o Google Earth.

Marija made the following contacts on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3AWA/p (Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park VKFF-0747)
2. VK3PF
3. VK7MAD
4. VK2VH
5. VK4AAC
6. VK5CZ/p
7. VK1CHW
8. VK7AAE
9. VK2IO
10. VK4FW
11. VK8MM
12. VK2EXA
13. VK1AO
14. VK2MET

Marija made the following contacts on 20m SSB:-

1. VK2LEE
2. VK1AO
3. VK2MET

I made the following contacts on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3AWA/p (Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park VKFF-0747)
2. VK3PF
3. VK7MAD
4. VK2VH
5. VK4AAC
6. VK5CZ/p
7. VK1CHW
8. VK7AAE
9. VK2IO
10. VK4FW
11. VK8MM
12. VK2EXA
13. VK1AO
14. VK2MET
15. VK3GB
16. VK3UCD
17. VK2LEE
18. VK3MCK
19. VK4NH
20. VK4DXA
21. Vk5GY
22. VK2DA
23. VK1DA
24. VK3BBB
25. VK2CCP
26. VK2MOE
27. VK5TN
28. VK3AMO
29. VK5BJE
30. VK5FB
31. VK3NP
32. VK3UAO
33. VK3LVH
34. VK5KRX
35. VK3NBL
36. VK4KTW
37. VK3SKT
38. VK7WJT
39. VK3VCE
40. VK1NK

I made the following contacts on 20m SSB:-

1. VK2LEE
2. VK1AO
3. VK2MET
4. VK3ZPF
5. VK4SMA
6. VK5CZ
7. VK4FW
8. VK8MM
9. VK4NH
10. VK4DXA

I made the following QSO on 15m SSB:-

1. ZL4NVW

References.

1. Port Phillip & Western Port Regional Catchment Strategy, 2023, <https://portphillipwesternport.rcs.vic.gov.au/prospectus/the-spit-saltmarsh-restoration-project/>, viewed 19th April 2023.
2. Victoria State Rose Garden, 2023, <https://www.vicstaterosegarden.com.au/>, viewed 19th April 2023.
3. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spit_Nature_Conservation_Reserve>, viewed 19th April 2023.
4. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spit_(landform)>, viewed 19th April 2023.
5. World Atlas, 2023, <https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/coastal-landforms-what-is-a-spit.html>, viewed 19th April 2023.