25-Mar-2003 -- After visiting the confluence point 30S 23E, we (myself Gerrit Visser and my son Evan) spent the night in the little town of Vosburg where the people are friendly and the church bell still rings on the hour (not quite on the hour, about four minutes early). On the way to Vosburg it started raining, not an everyday occurrence in this arid area of South Africa. With the rain comes a unique beauty to a dry and dusty world, along with the roads changing from dust to mud. We decided that a roof over our heads was perhaps a better option than camping and opted for the local hotel. The hotel was recently taken over by its new owners Cheryl and Ricky Eatwell who are working hard at fixing it up. We had a good night’s sleep after a wholesome meal. Now came the task of finding the next confluence point and I was anticipating a long walk.

Cheryl told us about bushman paintings in the area however, when we arrived at the farm where the paintings are, the farmer did not recommend driving to them as the road was very muddy and the chances are that we would get stuck. We decided to leave this for another time.

Driving along what one could call the main road closest to the confluence point, we came to within about 4 km of the point. We carried on past this point to try and find the farmer and to find out if there was a farm road that might take us closer. Luck was on our side; there was a farm road heading off in the right direction. After some 12 km and 7 farm gates to open and close we arrived at the de Klerk’s farm. Typical of the Karoo people, they were very friendly and offered us tea while I explained to them about the confluence project. At first Mr de Klerk senior was a bit suspicious. Over the years these farmers have had different groups of people crossing their land. This area is very rich in fossils and bushman artefacts. In addition this area has been explored for oil and minerals. So when we arrived with what seemingly must look like an unusual request a few questions had to be answered.

The confluence point was about four hundred meters off the farm road (North view and East view) and close to a fence.

This for me was what finding a confluence point should be all about, an adventure getting there, meeting the landowner and seeing a beautiful part of the world. So off we headed to find a place for the night.

Continued at 32S 22E.