29-Aug-2007 -- A chance to visit my first Southern Hemisphere Confluence. While in Australia attending my sisters wedding I decided to try and visit at least one confluence point and managed to do three!!
While visiting friends in Kalgoorlie I took a quick trip back past Coolgardie in my Dads Ford Falcon which he lent me for the trip. As S31 E121 was not too far off the main road, about 2.3kms, I decided to make this my first Australia CP, I was looking at a few maps in the Kalgoorlie Tourist Office before the drive out and saw that there are a couple of roads/tracks that may get you closer, about 800m I was thinking, so I decided to have a look at them.
Driving West past the closest point to the CP on the road I travelled on for about another 2km+ and found a road taking you over the water pipe to the South, which was a good road. About 2km down that road I found a sign and a track pointing East towards the CP saying YACKATOON, I took this track which was a pretty good track until I reached a place that I think was YACKATOON, it was a bit of an old settlement of some type, with a large Christian Cross and seats in the open, and what looked like an old wood oven. I could only really just make out the track continuing and drove down it for another 800+metres until it become a little over grown for me and the Falcon. At this point I was 3.4km West of the CP.
Back on the main road and a 2.3km walk to the CP. The walk was fine, it was a warmish day so took a little water, and like the previous visitor I was a little concerned about snakes, but saw none, in fact saw nothing at all in the form of wildlife apart from a few birds. The walk to the CP is very easy until you get about 300m from it and then the bush becomes a little thicker and you will come across very prickly grass. I did make out what I think was that track about 800m from the CP on the way to it, but on the return I did not, maybe I was not looking..
At the CP I took the photos, the point was very close to a bush. You will notice that the GPS that I am using for this trip is not the one that I normally use, that is because I got mine wet, salt water, earlier in the trip and it is now dead, so I am using my Dad’s, thanks Dad.