05-Dec-2012 -- The story starts at 43°S 147°E and continues from 26°S 153°E.
For one week, I hadn't visited any confluence points due to a couple reasons. Firstly, I left the coast and went inland, where the road-network is less dense. Secondly, the temperature rose over 40° C every day. While biking was still OK, walking in the outback at such a heat was dangerous. Thirdly, I had a tick and got borreliosis which knocked me down for a while.
On confluence day, I had first to wait for the bike shop in Emerald to open. Then I rode to the little town of Capella (10 km from CP). Even though it was extremely hot, I spontaneously decided to visit this confluence point and hit the road again at 1:30 PM. My approach to the confluence was from the south-east, where I reached a farm house with a beeline distance of 1.8 km. This is surely not the quickest approach, i.e. from the west one can get within 800 m on a track.
At the farmhouse, the friendly owners provided me with water and let me do the hike to the confluence, also they were a little worried that I might dehydrate. I reached the confluence after walking through bush and farmland for 30 minutes.
The confluence itself was on an already harvested sorghum field. It is on a huge agricultural open space, where some mountains can be seen at the horizon.
After my return to the farm one hour later, I was supplied with drinks again. Then I hurried to reach Clermont before the supermarkets would close.
CP Visit Details:
- Distance to an asphalt road: 4500 m
- Distance to a track: 800 m
- Distance of bicycle parking: 1800 m
- Time to reach CP from bicycle parking: 30 minutes
- Time at CP: 2:45 AM
- Measured height: 272 m
- Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
- Position accuracy: 3 m
- Topography: flat
- Vegetation: sorghum
- Weather: sunny, 41° C (felt temperature)
- Given Name: The Hot Sorghum Confluence
More pictures of the trip can found at mautz.net.
The story continues at confluence 22°S 147°E.