W
NW
N
N
NE
W
the Degree Confluence Project
E
SW
S
S
SE
E

Botswana : Central

9.4 km (5.8 miles) N of Nekati, Central, Botswana
Approx. altitude: 916 m (3005 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 20°N 154°W

Accuracy: 4 m (13 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: View to the North from Confluence #3: View to the East from Confluence #4: View to the South from Confluence #5: View to the West from Confluence #6: GPS #7: Visiting group at 20S 26E

  { Main | Search | Countries | Information | Member Page | Random }

  20°S 26°E  

#1: View of Confluence

(visited by Roland Bergh, Yvonne Vorster, Kobus Swanepoel, Mike Condy, Anton Matthee, Tommy Freeborough, Robert Consani, Simon Conradie, Patrick Consani, Vossie Vorster, Dini Condy, Helgard Theron, Adri Swanepoel, GG & Sue Alcock, Jan van Deventer and Ben Theron)

05-Aug-2005 -- We were in a group of 8 teams participating in a semi-final round of the 2005 Overland Challenge. One of the tasks assigned to the whole group was to visit a degree confluence. As 20S 26E was not visited before, we made it our objective to record this Confluence.

We plotted a route from GoogleEarth to establish a driveable route which would take us to approximately 1.3 km from the Confluence. We found the overgrown track identified from the aerial pictures on GoogleEarth at 20.18493°S 26.17939°E and progressed through the mixed mopani shrub and thorn bush, initially along a powerline servitude in a westerly direction. Our planned track veered in a north-westerly direction at 20.18130°S 26.16620°E and continued straight in the direction of the Confluence. After 9.2 km, at 20.11169°S 26.11838°E our progress was halted suddenly by the newly erected fence around the Nkati Ranch. We chose to turn east and follow the fire break around the ranch to meet up with our originally planned track on the northern side of the ranch, which we reached at 20.03025°S 26.02111°E.

We stopped our convoy on the track as close as possible to the confluence point, and hiked the last 1 km or so through the thorny bush to the confluence point. Fortunately, the bush wasn't as thick here as earlier along our journey along the track, but all of us picked up some scratches from the thorny bush so prevalent in the area. Being August (late winter) in Botswana, this normally arid area was extremely dry and quite hot in the midday sun.

After the obligatory photographs, we turned our convoy around to track back on our route and found a shorter track to the Nata-Kasane tarred road, and continued to Planet Baobab, our camp for the night.


 All pictures
#1: View of Confluence
#2: View to the North from Confluence
#3: View to the East from Confluence
#4: View to the South from Confluence
#5: View to the West from Confluence
#6: GPS
#7: Visiting group at 20S 26E
ALL: All pictures on one page