26-Jan-2001 -- Taking advantage of the Australia Day public holiday, I
decided to head south on an overnight camping trip to try for three
confluences. My three children decided against camping in favour of
parties and fireworks, so it was to be a solo weekend. I had printed
out detailed maps of my goals and bought a new compass, as I wasn't sure
of the terrain around the two most southerly points.
Driving south on Albany Highway, I reached Kojonup, then headed west
and south on the Kojonup Frankland Road, and onto Hillier Road, which is
a good dirt road. The IntraGIS maps came in handy again, as I turned
onto Mobrup North Road and watched the GPS count down, reaching the
closest point only 88 metres away from the road.
The GPS was indicating a point underneath a couple of trees in the
paddock. It's all farming country around here - mainly sheep and
cattle. This paddock was used for sheep and visiting rabbits, as
evidenced by their droppings everywhere. Still, I didn't bother
changing into my Blundies (boots), as I would have if it had been
cattle!
After dealing with a barbed wire fence, it was a leisurely stroll
across to the spot, where I took a series of pics for a panorama, and
the GPS shot for verification. Pic3 shows the farmhouse (which I later
found was the landowner's) in the middle of the shot. Another
photograph from the road verge shows the actual confluence marked in red
(Pic1).
As I got back to the car, a passing farmer in a ute (utility truck
for non-Australians :*)) gave me the owner's name, so I went up to the
farm to let them know what I was doing. There was nobody home, but the
property is called Mininiup Farm, owned by Chris Owen.
It was a good start to the weekend - one for one, and back on the
road in plenty of time to reach Albany by mid-afternoon.