13-Jan-2002 -- As the Foleys found, this confluence is surrounded by lantana which becomes thicker the further you go. Maps of the area confirmed that the power line access track was the best point to approach from as recommended by the Foleys. We obviously parked not quite as far along as we did not find the rainforest area he mentioned.
On this track we were able to drive to within 500m of the confluence. The first 200m was a gentle grade incline with lantana which could be pushed through without too much trouble although at one point we made a slight detour to avoid further confrontation with the pointy ends of the wasps whose nest we had disturbed. From here we had to cut our way through thicker lantana diagonally up a steep slope to the ridge line, about 100m further on. Down the other side the descent became increasingly steeper with the lantana thicker and up to 2m high to the confluence about another 200m. Cutting our way in took about 2 hours, and getting out (trying to follow the same path) took about 1 hour. Our decision to take a compass and machete (also suggested by the Foleys) proved to be a good one as we could not have got any closer than 300m without them.
Standing at the confluence our readings fluctuated a little but not more than 0.003”. The confluence itself was about half way down the slope heading into another gully. The entire distance we travelled was rocky underfoot with little undergrowth apart from lantana which varied from 50% to 100% ground cover and up to 2m deep. Only trees seemed to have survived the lantana onslaught with no native shrubs or undergrowth. Looking across the next gully the vegetation appeared similar for up to 1km as seen in the photos.