Rivock Ramble #1: Info | Big Boy!
This is the 1st in a series of 9 caches which will take you on a 4.6km there and back ramble across moorland east of Bradup on the southern side of Rombalds Moor to the edge of the large Rivock Plantation and up to Rivock Edge where you will - on most days - be rewarded with a stunning 3 counties panorama.
There is a good footpath for the route, however this may become boggy & partially puddled after prolonged precipitation. The walk can be completed in 2-3 hours depending on the duration of stops for caches and any additional activities which may include refreshments, bird-watching, gazing at the views, taking photos or videos (see here for one which covers the route and more).
The preparation of the series acknowledges and was induced by the archiving of three Hillgorilla caches:
GC77BVW Three Counties View - hidden on 15/6/17 and archived on 10/10/20 after 23 finds and 1 FP
GC77BWE A Stimulating View - hidden on 15/6/17 and archived on 30/8/21 after 31 finds and 2 FPs
GC85PEQ Trigtastic - Rivock Edge hidden on 2/4/19 and archived on 30/8/21 after 19 finds garnering 5 FPs
Parking is available in a small lay-by close to the cache (a small camo-taped, screw-capped plastic pot) and start of the signed footpath @ N 53 53.435 W 1 51.879.
To find the cache, clicking on the image of Big Boy at the top of the page will take you to a jigsaw puzzle, completion of which will reveal the coordinates - and a helpful hint.
Please note that the cache description contains an external link above to a jigsaw.
Although it is from a well-known source, it has 'not been checked by Groundspeak nor by the reviewer for possible malicious content and access to the site is therefore at your own risk'
On return to the footpath start after completing the ramble, my way was temporarily blocked by a large beast who, after required investigations, was identified as a Murray Grey bull.
Fortunately he was more of a pussy cat than a raging bull and after a little gentle vocal persuasion and slow cautious approach - whilst constantly looking for a possible rapid escape route - he quietly moved out of my way and, watching my every step with apparently bored interest, let me pass and exit the field corner.
Murray Grey is a breed of Australian polled beef cattle that was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales-Victoria border. It originated from a chance matings of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and roan Shorthorn cows in 1905 during the Federation Drought. The resulting 13 dun-grey calves were first kept as curiosities and then bred.
The unusual coloured cattle grew quickly, were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. Local cattlemen soon became interested and began breeding them. The first larger-scale commercial herds were established in the 1940s. In the 1960s, several grey cattle breeders were selling them as a commercial enterprise and the Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society was formed to register the cattle and to administer the breed. Such registries are also found in Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA. In NZ, they are favoured because of their resistance to facial eczema - a problem in other breeds.
On 11 January 2011, an MG cow was swept 95 km by flood waters that raced through Lowood in the Brisbane Valley. Amazingly, the cow was found alive, 3 days later, in Moreton Bay, and was towed through mangroves to shore. She was identified by her National Livestock Identification System ear tag and returned to her owner.
MG cattle are a moderate size, have a sound structure and good walking ability. Bulls usually weigh 817-1,135 kg and cows 500–700 kg.
Colour ranges from very light silver to chocolate or dark grey; a few animals are even black, but most are silver to a silvery-dun color. This colouring is very dominant, so when crossed with another breed, the resulting colour is grey or silver (light grey).
They are quiet, easy care cattle, calve easily, and females milk well. They grow quickly, readily convert grass to high quality beef, fatten well on grass, finish economically in feedlots and have high beef yields.
MGs also provide an excellent cross with Bos indicus (Zebu) and British or European breeds. Their attributes of easy calving, docility, beef marbling, fertility and carcass quality are all found in the cross bred progeny.
See here for more info on this splendid animal.
