The final cache of the Moor-Shepp Hidden Gem Series. After hiding the first of this series on 13/11/2020 I have finally made it all the way around the 16k circuit and back to the start. I have loved placing all these 62 caches for the enjoyment of fellow geocachers and I have especially loved exploring the bush out here as I hope many of the finders have done. I got to know the bush out here so well, every track, I knew where every hide was without needing my GPS then the floods of October/November 2022 came and everything changed. Most of the 49 caches i had hidden at that point needed replacing and the bush changed so much. Logs and stumps that I had previously used to hide caches were gone, swept away by the floodwaters. So I am very proud of being able to replace them all and have the series continue. Thank you to everyone for your support. There will be more caches but for this series it is the end.
The city of Shepparton and the town of Mooroopna border the Goulburn River. Shepparton to the east and Mooroopna to the west. They are connected by a four lane road called the Peter Ross Edwards Causeway. The bushland on either side of the causeway is known as The Flats. The area known as The Flats became home to many indigenous after the Walk Off from Cummeragunja at Barmah on 4 February 1939. You can read more about this event at
www.riverconnect.com.au/education/theflats
This area and the area around the Goulburn River has many great bike/walking paths and trails. You can in fact ride over 12 kilometres on sealed bitumen paths without crossing a single road, which makes it extremely safe esp for kids. (Start at The Boulevard and Howitt Road and ride all the way to Archer Street near Broken River Drive, or vice versa.
During Covid-19 I discovered a 16 kilometre mountain bike circuit in the bush between Shepparton and Mooroopna. I had never heard of it and it certainly doesn't rate a mention in any of the city's tourist attractions. It really is a hidden gem. There are lots of locals who know about it and I presume some of them built and maintain the track but unless you discover it by chance like I did or someone tells you about it, you wouldn't know it's there. And yes, Shepparton is pretty flat but this is a challenging course nonetheless, going up and down creek beds, through bush and trees where the track is not much wider than your bike and up and down a levee bank built to stop flooding. My record around the 16k circuit is just over an hour and I'm 50!
So due to discovering this hidden gem I have decided to place a series of caches in the area, some are quite close to the bike trail, some a bit of a walk/ride. In dry weather the area can be accessed by 2WD.
Cache: 500ml screw top plastic container with log, pencil, sharpener and a few swaps
Good luck and enjoy the beautiful bushland.