She's a mighty big sucker.... Traditional Geocache
She's a mighty big sucker....
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache was originally placed here by cacher DJCACHE, then adopted by GREYNOMADS and it has now been adopted by FREDD01.
A fairly easy cache (not as hard as it could be...) in an interesting spot a little out of the way of the mainstream visitors locations of interest. This small cache will find you at the location of another part of local history slowly rusting. Enjoy the view from nearby at what must be one of the best located educational facilities in the country.
She's a powerful sucker.... but I don't mean she's easily fooled!
Unfortunately I haven't been able to locate a photo of the vessel that this piece of machinery once operated on. The photo on the display is too old & faded to be of any use.
The signboard is a little out of date too as the Sandpiper was decommissoned in 2005.
Sand in the Gippsland lakes has long been an issue. Millions of dollars a year are spent now to keep the entrance open. Some would believe it is due to the influence of the fishing industry and tourism - and that is partly the case - but should the entrance be left to it's own devices and close periodically most of Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Metung and Raymond Island would be submerged before the water rose to a level sufficient to open a natural entrance.
Devices such as this, and others visible operating near by are now necessary, along with a complex sand transfer system to maintain the lake's entrance and channels.
A recent trial of a hopper dredge to replace the aging April Hamer was very successful, largely due to the fact that it removed the sand and carried it out to sea rather than just pumping it around the entrance as the April Hamer did.
The equipment here is now idle. It marks the entrance to one of the most interestingly sited university campus's in the country. What a place to study!
The only thing left for the equipment to do now is to ironically (no pun intended) fulfil the name of one of the engines manufacturers - Ruston.
The cache you seek is a small Sistema
I hope you find this interesting. Enjoy exploring the area from a location seldom visited by the mainstream tourists.
Often the dredge Kalimna can be seen in this view.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Uvag: 'Xrrc obgu gjb srrg svezyl cynagrq ba gur tebhaq, nqbcg n fgbbcrq fgnapr naq srry n ebhaq, vg jvyy orpbzr n ubyr ybg rnfvre'
Gur pnpur vf ABG vafvqr gur chzc pnfvat. Cynfgvp yhapu pbagnvaref (naq pnaf) unir orra xabja gb unir orra guebja va gurer ol fghqragf sebz gur arneol GNSR pbyyrtr - gurl ner abg gur pnpur !!!