The Bridge Barfold, Victoria, Australia
By The Morris on 22-Jun-08. Waypoint GC1DEE8

So long and thanks for all the finds

Good news that this bridge is now open both ways.
Came home this way to see if was open from our caravan at Lake Eppalock.
Nice new bridge.

We have your cache and we are holding it for ransom!
When we figure out how much we want you to pay for it, it will be returned.
Muhaha......(Evil laugh!)
Anyway, enough of the banter. Went for a walk at Kimbolton today and we were driving around the area so we thought we would drop by and see "The Bridge" to see if maybe we could make a walk out of it going down to the falls.
We walked out to the bridge and spotted a Sistema lid on the ground. Then, to our amazement, we found the remaining bottom half, complete with log book and swaps!
Do you want us to return it to you or hang onto it so, when the new bridge is complete It may be returned.

A few news reports on the progress:

Work to rebuild a bridge near Redesdale started last week, with road detours in the area expected for most of this month.

The old timber decking and barriers of Gibbons Bridge on the Sutton Grange-Redesdale Rd are being replaced as part of the project.

The new decking system will be a pre-cast concrete slab, while the barrier system will be made of steel posts and rails which will be painted white to emulate the heritage style on other bridges throughout Mount Alexander Shire.

The $550,000 project is being funded by the Federal Government’s Roads to Recovery program.

Mount Alexander Shire Council environment and infrastructure director Johan Louw said the work was being done now as it had been deemed necessary in council’s asset management program.

‘‘It is a very complex project that has required considerable planning,’’ he said.

‘‘The bridge was identified through our asset management system as a priority as it had come to the end of its useful life.’’

The bridge will be closed while work takes place, with the project expected to be completed by the end of July.

West bound traffic has been detoured via the Heathcote-Kyneton Rd, Siddies Rd, Metcalfe-Redesdale Rd and the Bendigo-Sutton Grange Rd.

The east bound traffic detour is via Bendigo-Sutton Grange Rd, Metcalfe-Redesdale Rd, Siddies Rd and the Heathcote-Kyneton Rd.

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More info when it becomes avaliable.

We had read the newspaper articles that the bridge was finally going to be replaced after a lot of local agitation. it had survived both flooding and fire and really does need some love. There is no way the cache will survive the replacement.

In the area today to find this road is closed to bridge works.


Sutton Grange-Redesdale Road


Near: Archbolds, Redesdale

Road Closed

You cannot get to this cache,,, it may be gone not sure.

see Vicroads web site

This old rattler has survived fire and flood. No doubt the deck will be replaced in the next few years. TNLN TFTC

Found after looking at some barbed wire and a lot of weeds before Mrs Riddell went in from the other side and found it.
TFTC

Came in from the wrong side of the creek and had lots of fun and wet feet getting across. Warnings about the bridge noise were very appreciated. Tftc.

All of the previous logs are not wrong... it is scary under the bridge. After the initial shock you brace yourself when you hear a car approaching. Future searchers please be careful in long grass. The bridge was not the only scary thing today. Thanks the Morris for a great hide and bit of adventure.

Found at 1.35pm. AI had a search for this one a few months ago with no luck. Today, I was by myself and everything was tranquil and then....the crap was frightened out of me, a quiet car snuck up to the bridge and drove over it. Crikey, did I jump. This was my 700th find, thanks "The Morris".

I took a keyring and left a toy car.

Went hunting for this cache today with no luck - got down next to the bridge but in all honesty, was too scared to go too far through the long, rough grass... bit worried about snakes. Will try again another day .

it is very loud when cars drive over the bridge. most bridges like this are beside the road now. tftc

Out to get my secret Santa today and grabbed a few caches on the way home
Drove right under the bridge and fopund out it was on the other side of the creek.
I was amazed at the debris still stuck under this bridge.

This entry was edited by Datruk on Tuesday, 29 November 2011 at 12:28:38 UTC.

Took 2 goes but luckily geowife was present on second visit and spotted it. Blended in well in it's hiding place. Traffic on bridge was noisey too. River looks good for this time of year too. Thank you "The Morris" for a well hidden cache. SL, TNLN.

Parked on the far side of the bridge and walked back across, that's scarier than driving across. Sent hubby to retieve cache as it is pretty step. Several cars crossed bridge while he was collecting. A piece of steel fell off just after it was put safely back in place, must have been the rattle I could hear from on top.
TFTC SL

Found relatively quickly today. I am glad, as I felt very unsafe under this bridge! (Did not even want to drive over it until I saw someone else do it before me). It is amazing to see the debris still clinging to the underside of this bridge following the floods so many months ago. Thanks The Morris for the cache. TNLN.

Well, all previous logs are correct. It is very unnerving as traffic passes overhead. So much so, as we commenced the search I was startled by a car, stood up and clangged my head into a wooden cross beam (thankfully not a rusty hanging bolt). So I announced the search to be called off as I tried to figure out if I was bleeding to death or not (thankfully not). Using much colourful and somewhat unlady-like language I rubbed my head all the way back to the car. We'll have to come back another day (when the egg goes down). TFTC all the same The Morris

This one i couldnt find myself i had to send the missus down to find it. I liked how all the bolts have fallen out of the bridge "scary". Took an orange rubber and left a poker chip. TFTC

Still there. Another day, another cache. Nice one .TFTH

What a rikety bridge!
We didn't find the cache in the 1st, 3rd or last place we looked. The ground was wet and slippery, the bridge was scary when a car drove over us.
Hope it is still there.

We spent about 1/2 an hour or more here....but couldn't find it. Everybody elses found it easilly....I'm such a loser. ...

Our second for the day after a late start. The foundations of the bridge are in better shape than the deck thankfully. Passing traffic while retreiving the cache was a little hair-raising. Nearly left the gps down there. SL TFTC

First For the night with Fellow GEO cacher, eay find, this bridge is in very bad condition!

into night mode again with snowy.. no1. more like the bridge of death, the walk across the bridge was harder than the hide was.. hopefully snowy will upload some holes we coulda fallen down..

Today was another day in trying to bring some cache logs up to date.
Our apologies to the cache owner but there has been many issues that have slowed us down and hopefully once all our caches are up to date we will log on the go. cache # 6 of 19 today. My thanks to The Morris for the cache.
Regards Mr.Coffee and the "Been to Bendigo and back again sooner than we thought" Coffee Clan

It was raining when I got here but what better place to be? Having read some previous logs I was set for a good search but found it in the third place that I checked! The coordinates were spot on and the hide was very logical. Thanks to The Morris.

Found this one alot quicker than GeoH.
TNLNSL
TFTC

Found on a tour to Reedsdale.
Thanks for the cache.

Found with the family, wow don't like the state of the bridge for driving over! I found this one after 5mins of searching. TFTC SL

I with part of the caching team today.

Found after a good search.
Found a cockroach (TB) as well.
TFTC TTB SL (F382)

Rated: for Overall Experience

Found by Mary & David at 1330. A peaceful spot. The structure could do with some TLC to quell all the rattles and clanks when vehicles pass over. Found after a short methodical search. Dropped off 'Cockaroach' TB. Our thanks to The Morris.

Thought this would be an easy find, but of course as we neared the bridge we lost coverage on our Iphone - Think its time for a real GPS!!!! We poked around a bit but without the exact co - ordinates it is kinda like looking for a needle in a hay stack. We will return with a real GPS as soon as we can afford one!

We are also on our way to pick up maccamobs Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines 1 when we stopped off to grab this one. When we read the cache page we thought that it might be a nice easy find as it was a chance placing, not the normal Morris purpose built caches. Even so we didn't find it for a few minutes, thankfully it was a Sunday and there were no workers to be seen..
Thanks The Morris for the cache and for showing us this nice little location

A stop on the way to Melbourne, but with no joy. Looked in all of the likely places but the hide eluded us...

Found with 4 Fun on this lovely warm day
Thanks Morris

Quick stop & sign on our assault of Bendigo.
Cheers, TFTC.

A quick find while the workmen appeared to be having lunch just over the rise of the hill. TNLN TFTC

Despite being hidden in a good logical spot it took a bit of finding. My GPSr had me searching in the long wet grass all around the place and I was very concious of being in Mr Joe Blakes kitchen. The frog songs from the river, while beautiful and varied, did keep me reminded that they could also be dinner for somone lurking under a log.

I've often meant to come for drive down this road, thanks for the oppurtunity and TFTC.

T beads
L car

Second for the day on my way to Melbourne for an event to celebrate 09/09/09 and 999 finds by BackPAQer.

Just a short detour from my normal route but well worth it because I now know another great road for a bike ride.

TFTC.

A chilly damp day, with burnt ground around, and all us dressed up in our good gear for going out to lunch.
Maybe we just lacked the enthusiasm to poke around too much today, and we have had trouble with bridges in the past. Never mind - maybe another time through here.

Driving from Heathcote to Maldon, stopped here for a quick find

Items in: Nil
Items out: Nil

14:00
While on our way to Kyneton and nearly a year after it was placed, we've finally got around to having a look for this The Morris cache.
A tricky hide, or maybe we were a bit rusty, anyway after a false start we got serious and then quickly found this neat hide.
We agree with Keeper of Time regarding the elephants - a very busy road during the period of time we were in the area.

TNLN .. SL .. TFTH The Morris.

found it on wet and cold night

nice easy find with Team Marengo. No hints needed found at 2:49pm took key ring and left golf tees and 20c

nice easy find with Lumeah. No hints needed found at 2:49pm took key ring and left golf tees and 20c

Yep, all is good to go, just! The first thing I noticed when I drove across the bridge was the absence of railing in one section. I thought soom poor person must have lost control of their car coming around the bend and went over, but then I noticed another section missing on the opposite side and concluded that a tree must have come down over it.

When I parked the car and got out I could still smell the burnt wood and quite a few sections of the bridge have been burnt as well. The clean up operation appears to still be continuing but the cache is safe and sound.

Many thanks,

R - B

Should be good to go

We don't want people in the area until the fire threat clears

Nice little cache & diversion on my way to Echuca. Pity I couldn't see any water in the river, even after all the rain over the weekend. TFTC The Morris. TNLNSL

Last find for the day. Took a little while as we approached it from the wrong side.
Nice trip home. SL TCTC. Regards Mobiledaws

Found with Karen, Corrina and Henry a quick pick up on our way to Heathcote food and wine festival. I think Karen was the one to find this one at GZ Thanks for the hide apologies for the late log

Found at 12.40pm GAFF1. On our way home from the Heathcote Wine and Food Festival, we could have gone straight down the Northern Hwy, but there was a cache just 23km south west of us wasn't there! So we turned the van around and headed past the famous Redesdale bridge (can we fit!) and after a bit of mucking around found a wonderfully pleasant lush green setting - full of frogs as well. Now that has to be a good sign doesn't it?
The cache was found after thinking a bit higher than a 1.5 terrain rating (you must be tough you lot!) and after thinking that it had been muggled. Thanks The Morris - a good spot for a camp if it wasn't so close to the road.

Found at 10.55am whilst on a day trip in the area
Left microPuck Geocoin

A pleasant spot to stop
Thanks
K&M

The Morris, many thanks for dropping off a FTF gift for me. We really love the items and appreciate the effort that you have put into personalising it for us. Hope to catch up with you at the xmas event that we and others are going to be putting on.

Found by Bevfre 1.30pm On Way home TN LN SL Thank You the Morris

I was nearly home and this was the last cache to get before heading south.
After reading the logs past I asked my workmate back in the car to give me ten minutes but I only needed one as I found the hide straight away which made up for my earlier bridge DNF earlier today at Nagambie.
TNLN
thanks again to the morris.

4.00pm
Found by Roma and Max.
With 2 successful finds behind us and the opportunity to continue geo searching after a period of abstinence, we decided to continue on to your other new hide.
Having read the previous finders log, we psyched ourselves up for a difficult search!
However your posted numbers placed Max in a position, that when he surveyed his immediate surroundings for a suitable hiding spot, immediately revealed the object we sought.
We left our mark in the log and made no exchange.
Thank you once more Team Morris for providing us with the pleasure of a most enjoyable afternoons geo searching.
Romax.

Found 10.30am
I have been away from work painting the house all week while my other half is in QLD, last night I saw some new The Morris caches launched. With my painting all finished the lure of a FTF had me eager to get up early only find a very heavy frost so I left it a while before setting out.

Great drive to GZ, then the search started. After about 10 mins of looking under and over "The Bridge" that sinking feeling was starting to set in. I was on my 4th look in what I though was the most likely place before I found the well hidden cache. Yeh, my 8th FTF. As I was signing the log a heard of elephants doing about 80kms/hr (well is sounded like a heard of elephants!!!) went right over the top of me, sceared the living you know what out of me . Decided to leave the other nearby new caches for another day when the whole team can enjoy the search.

Took Nothing
Left A "Keeper of Time"

TFTC The Morris, and the chance for the FTF.

Published