13-Feb-2019 -- I especially enjoyed this visit because it allowed me to combine confluence hunting with another of my outdoor passions: mountain biking. However, this visit also involved a significant amount of hiking, and the hiking was by far the most difficult part ot the visit.

The confluence point lies on a steep tussock-covered hillside, next to sheep and cattle farming land on the edge of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, west of the town of Geraldine. From Geraldine, I drove westward along Te Moana Road, which started out paved, before turning to gravel. At the junction with Leishman Road, at 44.04255°S 171.08545°E, I found a campground where I parked and switched to riding my mountain bike (as Leishman Road looked too rough to continue driving with my rental car).

After about 3 km on Leishman Road, I crossed a creek and turned left onto another country road - the Clayton Pack Track - at 44.02227°S 171.06274°E. At this point I was about 5.5 km - as the crow flies - from the point.

Clayton Pack Track climbed gently at first, but then became exceptionally steep - so steep that I was forced to dismount and push my mountain bike. It then descended equally steeply (down a hill that I was also forced to walk up during my return trip). Finally, after more than 5 km of riding (and pushing), including several creek crossings, the road leveled out as it passed by sheep and cattle farms.

At 44.00981°S 171.00667°E, 1.22 km from the point (but 287 m lower in elevation), I stashed my mountain bike and continued on foot up a steep hillside to reach another farm road, which traversed the hillside, eventually passing about 150 m south of the point. The final hike to reach the point was difficult, as it involved scrambling through tussock up the steep hillside. The point lay at an elevation of 863 m (582 m higher than where I’d parked my car). The total ride/hike each way was 11.3 km - but felt much longer!

Here is a remote-controlled aerial video of this confluence point.