#3: [01-Mar-16]

#2: [14-Jul-05]

02-Jun-2002 -- Driven on by the excitement of finding the 46S/170E confluence, James and I decided to try for one even more scenic the next weekend. To celebrate the Queen's Birthday 2002, we traversed beautiful subalpine tussock land to find 45S/169E. No bush bashing this time!

The night before attempting the confluence, we stayed on the stunning shores of Lake Dunstan, near Cromwell. The following morning, we travelled less than 15 km along SH6 through orchards and abandoned gold sluicings in the craggy Kawarau Gorge. SH6 took us to a farm track near Gentle Annie Creek (named after a famous "barmaid" during the 19th century goldrush). About halfway up the track, near some cattleyards, we diverged onto a smaller trail ascending to the summit of Mt Allen (1492 m), located on the Main Divide of the Southern Alps.

As we climbed higher, the country became more rugged, with spectacular schist torrs, snow covered ranges, and frost covered tussocks. Snow clouds rolled over nearby ranges as we reached the confluence at 1069 m, and we hurried to take pictures of the astounding scenery. From the confluence, we could see the Pisa Range, the Dunstan Range, the Remarkables, and the Kawarau River Gorge (see photos). In all, it took us about 2 hours to reach the confluence from the road, and the views make this spot definitely worth a visit!