26-Dec-2016 -- While driving from Auckland to Wellington for a vacation, I made a detour to the Masterton (Wairarapa) area in order to visit this Degree Confluence Point, last visited more than 14 years ago. Because I knew that the point lay in a commercial forest, I deliberately chose the Boxing Day holiday (26 December), knowing that there’d be no logging activity that day, and that I’d likely have the forest to myself. I parked at the gate on Waihoro Road at 40.99915°S 176.02785°E, and rode my mountain bike from there.

I began by dropping down into a drainage, then making three creek crossings, before beginning a long climb up gravel forest roads. After a climb of about 3 km, I arrived at a clearing forming a junction of several forest roads. A sign nearby noted that this clearing has the nickname “Spaghetti Junction”. From there one forest road headed westward down a hill towards the point. This road ended up passing just 60 m northwest of the point, which lay down a steep slope.

The previous visitor, more than 14 years ago, noted that the point lay in a forested area. Since then, however, the forest surrounding the point has been logged; the point now lies among recently downed trees.

After stashing my mountain bike, I hiked gingerly down the slope, negotiating the downed trees. Remarkably, I was able to get ‘all zeros’ as I stood on a downed tree, struggling to maintain my balance.