OPPY II Wantirna South, Victoria, Australia
By pprass on 07-Sep-06. Waypoint GCY67H

Im back once again in Melbourne for a few weeks looking to clear up this DNF from my last visit. Unfortunately the cache is inaccessible right now.

can you move it the grass is way too long

Tried to go for this one today but much like the previous log, the grass was far too long to venture into and a high risk of snakes. Can this one be moved, CO? Thanks

I am really letting these logs get away from me. Slowly catching up after a long busy period at work. So spotting this older multi had me a little intrigued, but even with the plaque missing I was able to use the tools given to me to proceed with this one. With the tunnel from memory being quite flooded I had to run across the road to get to this one.... ah well, after a quick search the cache was located and signed. Thanks for the cache and the little adventure.

Got the correct coordinates but could not find the cache since the grass was very long. Planning on coming back soon.

Out for a big afternoon ride and the scooping up of caches helps me to plan a route and take my mind off my aching legs!! This was a relatively quick find in between passing muggles, quick dive in and out. TFTC.

A quick find this afternoon after a day in the mountains collecting some DM series caches. I decided to clear out this suburb too on my way back down. Much easier terrain and a nicely crafted cache container, not what I was expecting. Grass in the area is very long, so be careful of wriggly sticks. Thanks pprass for the cache.

A suitable alternative plaque in the area is being sought by a local cacher, so until that is organised, the information for ABB & CDDE has been provided in the cache description.

Investigating if there is another plaque nearby that can be used for the start of this cache.

Seemed the plaque was fully removed but does seems like a great cache! If someone can upload photo thatll be great!

Will wait to see if the plaque is replaced, otherwise I'll change it to a Trad.

Armed with the correct coordinates I set out to find the cache. I came to a spot with long grasses and evidence of previous searches but I could not locate a cache.

There is no plaque here. Can anyone help me with this one?

The plaque has been completely vandalised - was lying face down on the ground. Whole sign almost all illegible but someone has kindly made the needed numbers readable. information inserted followed by a pleasant stroll to cache. Managed to not get rained on. Liked the hide, interesting setup. TFTC

Great quick,grab on a sunny winters day. Love the creativity. Took trackable.

Roy0767

It was getting late today and as the sun was setting I realised I hadn’t logged a cache yet. So I put on some tunes and walked over to this one

This statue is one that I always used to ride past on my way to school. Continuing with the cycling theme, right near where the cache is located is where I always used to cut straight through the bush instead sticking to the path as a shortcut, so I am quite familiar with the area.

It didn’t take very long to locate the cache once I had the coordinates, it’s been signed and returned. Great camo too!

Happy to report that the cache is in good condition and the log nice and dry.

Tftc

Wow what a hot day to do some multis near here. We aimed at smaller staged multis and this was one. A nice quick cache. Thanks

Lovely cache. Nice camouflage at the end. Unfortunately the sign has been hit by some graffiti and heavy weathering. TFTC

After help from the CO I was able to find the cache.

Creative hiding spot, needed the clue on this one.

13:49
World Wide Flash Mob!

This year's silly o'clock event was done and dusted, but n0w0rries and I had plenty of caching to do...

Once I'd dropped him off so he could attend a birthday party and watch the footy, I continued in search of a few more smileys.

This cache was high on my target list for today, because Oppy was a legend. In honour of his feats, Audax Australia hold the Flèche Opperman All Day Trial (The Oppy), where teams ride a self chosen route of a minimum of 360 kilometres in 24 hours, to a common finishing point.

When friends of mine participated, that finishing point was the Oppy statue in Rochester.

Thanks, pprass.

By the time I'd walked back to the car, it was time to meet the family for some football avoidance in the form of a few board games.

Related to this cache's subject: the few hours of today's sporting event are fabulous for cycling on quiet roads.

#6416

DNF

An errand has brought me to Wantirna, and this cache was selected from the nearby offerings. What a great story; thanks for bringing me here. Favourite cache of the day! Cheers pprass.

I was in the area on a bus driving job to the sports centre nearby, so I headed out to find a few caches.
This was my first find today.
As a keen cyclist, I am well aware of Oppy's marvellous achievements, and it was a pleasure to complete this multi commemorate his life and career.
Calculations complete, I strolled to GZ (no room for the bike under the smaller bus).
It was a case of assessing the most likely hiding spot, and I soon had the cleverly hidden cache in hand.
TFTC pprass

We aren't sure why we haven't done this sooner. GT loves searching out old caches. This was a fairly quick find but took a little longer to retrieve. Glad there was no height challenged people here today. Thanks for placing and maintaining this cache for so long.

Papi and I both needed a cache today so this was perfect. A multi for him and an old cache for me. I was glad that he is taller than me as the retrieval was a little hard but the cache was soon signed and returned to it's hiding spot. Thank for keeping this cache going for so long.

TFTC

I think I must have looked for this one before with no success, but I didn't have the coordinates saved so had to start again. Or maybe I'm imagining that. I do that a lot. Anyway, today we were successful in our discovery and now smell like onion weed.

We partially completed the puzzle at home before heading out for our daily exercise. After completing the puzzle at GZ we walked to to the new coordinates and it was Mr Pooky, with the help of the hint that made the find. A well camouflaged cache. TFTC TNLN.

We were in the area and decided to drop in on OPPY II (we've seen him around a few times now).
Using the extra information provided, we were able to make the calculations and begin our short walk to GZ.
The cache was found cleverly disguised and out of harms way.
Thanks pprass for showing us this area.
Chiefton!!!

Found it TFTC

April 6, 2021 9:13 AM

Up early to head home to Ballarat today. But with Mrs P wanting to visit some Op-shops before first we had a little bit of time to fill in before they opened. Beauty, more caching time! This was the third cache in a group just around the corner from our Hotel.
A nice easy multi to work through and I soon had a final GZ calculated. A brisk walk while Mrs P headed to the servo over the road for coffees, and the search was on. A great clue, just a matter of spotting the right hidey hole. Appropriate camo for the location, logsheet a little damp but otherwise all was good today. Thx pprass for this cache, not the first one I've come across in tribute to this great Australian athlete.Cheers!

Quick easy grab in a wonderful local wetland

today on a ride that oppy could do in his sleep
this seemed a worthy detour

while many in this country prefer cricket or some form of football
our family are cycling devotees
every winter is spent working night shifts to watch pedallers scale the pyrenees and the alps
the silver commentary of phil liggett burned into the familial vernacular
dancing on the pedals
the suitcase of courage
mask of pain
each ride is performed to a soundtrack of liggett soundbites

oppy raced in a different era of course
an era of unmentionable liquids and powders and malice
so much of cycling’s polka-dot history has marred the record books
it’s nice to be able to hope, at least, that today is cleaner

Good fun

Firstly - did note this has not been found for some time. In Melbs on care dories and luckily dear mum not far from here. So here I am about on the MTB and spied this multi on the map so that was a very appropriate tribute and also keeps a multi mission alive. A really impressive sculpture that I’d never have known was there if not for getting out on the bike. Thanks for honoring a great Australian. At GZ - well I knew it would not be on the ground, but it took a lot of faffing to dislodge - totally due to short legs. Grrrr, Not like there was anything around to stand on. Either way, perseverance and some dexterity got it. So bingo bango, log signed. TFTC pprass.

Out for some caches for the first time in a while after the coronavirus restrictions were lifted on a Saturday afternoon. After calculating the co-ordinates, we went to find some caches in-between before going to find this cache. At GZ, we looked, and looked to find out that after reading previous logs we weren't in the right spot. After some more research, and calculations, we had what looked like a more promising GZ. After a short search, the cache was located. Tftc for the informational multi pprass!

Date is missing, but I used a friend (Everyone's favourite friend google) and managed to find the required information. I had tried this one once before, but the path was closed for upgrades. So back again, and headed towards GZ. Once there, looked around, before consulting the clue. Hmm... nowhere seemed to match the clue, so kept looking, eventually resorting to reading past logs. After reading one about being vertically challenged, looked around again and saw a potential spot. Could it be? Over I went and yep - there it was. TFTC!

Year of sculpture erection has been erased

Year of sculpture erection has been erased

Happy to have found this old timer today.
Out with Geobabe on a busy getting jobs done day. We stopped here for our leap year cache. I did leap a little bit in the air after making the groovy find.
We have on occasions ridden our bikes along this path to Jells Park.
The cache is in great condition.
Thanks for the informative cache.

Out for a drive to find some caches for the day. Found it and good one! Thanks pprass for placing this cache.

Nice neat multi about a well know biking legend with a surprising hide in the end. It was the best of this sort that I have seen in my travels.
Thanks for the fun here on a wet morning pprass

It was a quick solve then off to GZ but where was the cache??? I was in the general area and searched in every nook and cranny .. I was a bit nervous putting my hand in places I couldn’t see .. thank goodness for my phone camera. A favourite point from me.. can’t believe I found it!! Thankyou pprass for creating the cache and for keeping local history alive

Out with Echidna44. We gathered the clues and went looking for the cache. We looked and looked but it was harder to spot than we expected. Eventually the eagle eyes of Echidna44 spied i and we signed the log and were on our way.

Out with BoabTree, we made short work of the multi, but much longer getting to GZ.
Love the history of this great man. I remember watching Oppy ride as a child !!! Thanks pprass

Nice, easy find. Cool statue. All in good condition. TFTC

Nearly gave up as I was looking in the wrong area, saw this other likely spot and hey pesto! Lots of muggles as it's a public holiday and sunny. Binoculars helped to 'hide' me. Ike some others i was also a little short but managed okay TFTC.

Found with my son on a nice Sunday afternoon.Tftc

Quick easy solve. Like others i couldn't resist continuing the walk although the tip stinks. At GZ i found myself a little vertically challenged. Grabbed a nearby log but didn't get me much higher. I wasnt game to stick my hand into the unknown. Took a photo first lol. So glad it was attached.

I thought about doing this multi on my bike but I have been doing lots of walking lately so the walk continued.
Thank you for honoring a great Australian and for the cache pprass.
Merry Christmas to both of you.

Up early with the geohounds on a crackin morning hoping for a pair of pprass multis.

This was the first, and although I’d seen a tribute to Oppy on the way into Geelong, I didn’t realise there was a local connection.

I appreciated the straightforward numbers collection and enjoyed the walk to the cache.

Once stamped, sealed and delivered it seemed a waste of a beautiful morning not to continue along the bike path.

Nice one pprass TFTC!

Quick and easy grab for dad and boy tonight. No torch necessary but the gumboots could have been handy. Tftc

*16 Oct 2018, Found @2:03 pm, Find # 2148.*

Looking to do some caches with a high number of favourite points this one was an obvious choice. Another creative cache and well hidden. I managed to grab this one without even drawing attention to myself, even with a muggle working on the nearby house.

**Thanks to pprass for placing this cache.**

Numbers crunched, we were on our way to GZ.
Found after a brief search of all the possibilities.
A cunning little hide.
TFTC

It was fun to find - in the end we found it. GeoE, GeoZ and GeoB - the geokids found it. Thanks for the cache - it’s in good condition.

I went to the statue last night to get the info but it was just raining too hard for me to attempt the find. I went back today to grab it - what a great hide! Loved the history, the location and the hide, thanks pprass

A nice multi, TFTC

A nice quick multi! Thanks

Nice simple multi on a lovely sunny afternoon. Wasps blocked the straight path so we had to go around. GPS was a little jumpy at the GZ but we eventually found the hide. Great location for the cache. TFTC

With Zedaycee out for our daily cache. This a lovely walk on a nice sunny day. What more does a person need. Well i could have done without the swarm of wasp. We saw a muggle go through the swarm and quickly decided to take the long way. Lucky the muggle was ok.

#1151 - 10.25pm
I'd been holding off on this one despite its proximity to 'Welderstan', but my reasons were vague at best.
Sometimes I was with the Mini-Welders and didn't want to risk the unknown variables of a multi.
Other times it was simply because it was on the wrong side of the road with no clear parking area.
Often I simply needed a quick find within a limited window of opportunity.
But tonight, I was a free man.
It was a rapid transition from the bright lights of the convenience store, to scaring foxes in the darkened creekside vegetation. I couldn't have been more wrong in my assumption of where I had expected GZ to be. And once I was there, I dumbfounded until I went to the hint...
I guess it wasn't the most brilliant idea to do this one at night, but then the muggles along here in the day would also make this rather awkwardly challenging.
All the same, tracking down the cache to this great hide was very enjoyable and is quite deserving of a favourite point.
Thanks so much, pprass, for bringing together a local historical icon, a pleasant stroll, and a great hide...
Well played!

This was my second and final cache of the day. I'm slowly converting all the multis from home and work into smileys and it was the turn of caches to the east today. Another quality cache from the CO and I'm glad he's kept it going all these years.
I won't sing the praises of old caches in this log but suffice to say the subject matter was not only entertaining and edifying but the cache camo well thought out and evidence of a bit of effort put into the container and camo.
Surprisingly, as with Wantirna Estate a muggle managed to turn up at the least convenient time. Despite the hour being late the muggle in question was busy exercising on the path and it was lucky I spotted him before I turned off the established track. It'd be a bit difficult to explain what I was doing off track to anyone happening by....
Cache was found safe and sound but the log was quite damp due to previous finders not sealing the bag. C'mon people, I know you've found the cache and it's over for you but a bit of consideration for those following would be welcome....

Waiting for geo daughter to finish up a commitment ina nearby location allowed us some time to join in this week's Mary Hyde multi-cache festivities. The coordinates were quickly solved and it was a nice walk to GZ.

In the dead tree

2572# omegaman1971
Did most of the hard work on this one weeks ago but couldn't compete due to muggles.
But today no muggles to be seen.
After a short search Jentrek1 found the goods.
Cheers for the cache

Out about with Omegaman1971 for a fun night out caching. Cool hiding spot. Love it cheers heaps

I'm doing multi month and was in the area to find the Soccer and Basketball caches nearby. I had a go at this cache a few months ago but didn't find anything, so wasn't sure it was worth having another crack (as it hasn't been found since April).
Well I'm glad I came back! I decided to go back to WP1 and start from the beginning, it was here that I realised I made a simple error last time and my coords were out (not by much, but enough). On the way back to GZ and now I was several metres away from last time, the hint finally made sense and I found the clever cache. It gets a favourite from me, thanks

Doing it like Oppy today, on the bike for a 25k ride, grabbing some caches though, no 7 hours in the saddle here ! I forgot to adjust the south coords and was searching in the creek before going back and checking my calcs, my calcs were right but my execution wrong. At GZ at bit of a search finally uncovered the clever hide, thanks, dropped a tb

4th multi towards my target of 'a multi a day for a month'
The man's a LEGEND. Well worth a google search
Love the sculpture. Info was easily sought and calculated. No probs in locating the cache which was found in good condition. Ironically almost cleaned up by 2 cyclists as I re-entered the path. My fault for not concentrating on the environment. Many thanx to pprass

I also found myself backtracking - that just means I'll have walked further by day's end! Nice easy multi led me to accurate coords. I just took it longer than I should have. Well hidden, SL, TNLN thank you

I have decided to concentrate on multis for a while. Hopefully I may get enough completed to qualify for the multi monthly challenge.
This was a great multi to start the day with. A quick find. TFTC.

A pretty nifty little multi. The coordinates were cobbled together fairly easily. I'm not actually sure I was familiar with the dedicatee of the structure involved, so I learned a little there. The cache was found to be nicely concealed in an unexpected fashion after a pleasant stroll. Thanks pprass!

TFTC. Needed to get away from the grandchildren for a bit so a caching run was the solution. We earmarked enough too get us through a couple of hours in the sunshine and for some exercise. Oppy was the patron of my long distance cycling club, Audax Australia. As we were close by we went to pay tribute to the great man. Very impressive statue. We retrieved another Oppy cache from his birthplace in Rochester a few month ago.

I stopped on the way past this sculpture last night. I've cycled past it a number of times but never actually paid much attention to it and the information on the plaque. It was good to find out the story behind it. Having worked out the final coordinates I realised they were in the direction I had just come from, so I decided to stop on the way through this morning for a look instead. It ended up being a surprisingly quick find, which almost never happens. The cache is in pretty good condition and the camo is fine. Log is slightly damp but I was still able to add my name easily enough. TFTC!

Was hoping 3rd time lucky but can't find this one I'm probably looking straight at it.

What a beautiful bike path in a lovely area. Put looking for Multis and this seemed like a good pocket! Made the necessary calculation at and interesting sculpture then went for a saunter to GZ. Soon saw something that looked a little odd, and grabbed the cache. Thank you!

Tftc out to get a few multis in the warmer night

Tftc found with lukie1987

Nice easy multi, good hide. TFTC.

Quick to locate but had to wait for the muggles in their backyard to go inside tftc

Relatively straightforward - although GPS was a little unstable. But with a little bit of care amongst the blackberry thorns we were able to locate the cache. Nicely hidden.

21/03/2015 2:05 pm Find #184
This has been on my to-do list for a while. 88andy88 and I were driving right by here on the way to the beach to retrieve some solved puzzles.
Figured out the coords in no time and headed over to gz. Waited for a couple of bike-riding muggles, then quickly retrieved cache, signed log and replaced. TFTC.

Great hide and nice little multi tftc

Find #800 (Multi March #15)

Tarbit bought a trampoline on Ebay this week so as I set off out east to pick it up I thought I might try and grab a few caches. My self imposed Multi March challenge (31 multi caches in the 31 days of March) meant that multis were the order of the day and this was my first second of four in this area. Great to get a cycling themed cache for my 800th. I've read a lot about Oppy and his exploits in Europe that were years ahead of their time so it's great to be brought to this memorial. I crunched the numbers and headed off along the bike track. Had to watch for passing muggles but then I was able to look at GZ. Loved the work on this one and it's such a neat fit. Signed log, visited my personal TB and grabbed the Family Car TB. Thanks for the cache pprass. A favourite from me.

Found at 10:57
With a day off work I'm out collecting multis to qualify for a challenge cache and this one was next on my list. I parked near wp1 and collected the information and after getting an unrealistic location for gz, I did the sums a sending time for a much more believable location.
A pleasant walk followed by a too long search with the GPS leading me in circles and I was soon on my way back to the car.
Thanks pprass for the cache and for the story of the great man.

Found it! Some traditions are passed down over the years, some seem to be just the way things are but all traditions have a start somewhere. This is the second time we have enjoyed our new 'grab a cache after school on Friday' tradition which is now a full 1 week old. Will it last as long as Oppy did? Will it survive until the end of term? Who knows, all we know is it's fun now so we will keep doing it. This was a great cache, we had no idea that the great man had resided around here in his later years, always thought he stayed in Rochester. Geokid 3 loved the sculpture, the clues were easyish, the trek to the hide was ok for small kids even on a hot day, the hide was challenging and cleverly done. All the things you want in a quick to grab multi. We dropped our VW factory seeking TB here to start its journey, so happy trails to it as well. Thanks for the history and thanks for the cache.

Great multi. I enjoyed the description info and had no idea Oppy lived around here. My son loved the bit about him cycling until he was 90 and being on his exercise bike when he died.

The multi was nice and easy (always good with a kid whose patience for geocaching is limited), and we soon found ourselves walking through a slippery tunnel. Signs were up to say that the tunnel was unusable because of the rain, but we decided to take the adventurous approach and slipped and slid through. Thankfully we managed to stay upright, even with a enthusiastic dog.

At GZ I'd noted the previous log about being vertically challenged, being a sufferer myself, and got my son on my shoulders and then on my head. He couldn't get the cache out, so I found some material to make myself a bit higher and tried him on my head again. He got the cache out and was very proud of himself.

Clever hiding spot, and container, pprass. We signed, took nothing, left nothing, visited two TBs and went the easy way back to the car (i.e. via 7-11).

I think I know where this cache is hidden, but unfortunately I'm very vertically challenged and I was wearing shorts - there's an awful lot of stinging nettle there! Thanks anyway pprass!

Visiting my personal TB

I was in the area after work seeking out caches opposite my side of the M3. Saw this multi and set my phone to take me to GZ.

Parked nearby, enjoyed the stroll to plaque, calculated coordinates and then took a quick walk to new GZ via dark tunnel and metal bridge. Upon arrival, set about searching. Being at night meant it was alittle more challenging. Couldn't spot the cache initially and widened my search area, taking into consideration the hint. Soon found something out of place, reached in and bingo, cache was found. Would be tough for the vertically challenge

Thank you for the very interesting history, beautiful parkland and great hide. The cache has some moisture in it. If anyone comes during a sunny day and can spare some time, might be good to dry the contents.

TFTC!

A nice, simple multi on a spring afternoon. Need to be careful at GZ that you aren't sprung by the bike riders that appear from both directions without warning. Great hide and great camo. Coo-ords are spot on which made for a much easier find. Thanks!

Thankyou for showing me this great piece of history, just on one of the other caches I did today I came across a story sign about OPPY on that bike path too.

It was a little out of my reach today, but I managed to place a sticker on the cache,

thanks pprass [:x]

Great spot. Great story. Great find.
Cheers.
Simon & Benny.

Sadly, I was not on my bike today which would have been far more appropriate. Having planned a trip out here today, primarily to find the CO's cache in Norton Park, I noticed this and some others weren't far away. Parked nearby and wandered to collect the required information and then wandered further towards GZ. Once there, my search took a while, looking here and there, banging my head and wandering around. Thankfully no muggles about today, so I had time to look everywhere I could think. Reading the hint narrowed my search a little more and I finally had this well constructed cache in hand.

I really enjoyed reading about that incredible race that Oppy won as I hadn't heard about that one before. He really was an absolute star of the sport and yes, I agree, on a similar level to Bradman and Walter Lindrum.

Thanks for another great cache, pprass.

Geoshaz couldnt find it

Tftc good find with team relphy

Great hide

; new to this phenomenon....found our first cache with nanny, poppy, dad and ruby (kid)..awesome fun
helps to be GIS centric. took one of the kids toys...probably needs a top up..