30-Dec-2000 -- This confluence was destined to be mine - everything about it
had significance for me - it had to be mine. It was here in the heart of
the North Island during my awakening years (7 to 12 years old) that my
heart had been turned to the outdoors in the little town of Mangaweka
lying some 28km to the NW of the confluence. My mother had even
delivered fresh fish along these roads through those years. Here, as
parental restrictions had started to relax, I had grown to love the
hills and bush that surrounded the area. So when I had completed my
first confluence exactly 2 degrees North of there and started to look
around for others, I knew that this one was mine.
Well it is a few hours drive from my home so it was not going to be a
Sunday afternoon jaunt and needed some planning. Earlier in 2000 while
returning from a visit to my parents in Palmerston North I'd been drawn
to approach the confluence along the lovely back roads of the area and
had encountered magic frosts that had lingered late into the afternoon
in the deep valleys. Frosts that made the road slippery and the grass at
the side so white. This further enhanced my resolve. On that excursion
I had driven to a point 0.76km South of the confluence, but even with
the farmers permission I would have had to walk over too much of the
personal space of that outback family. Another point about 1km due W of
the confluence looked like it headed through swamp so I moved on. The
next point had a similar altitude to the confluence and was now NNW of
the point and only just a tad more than a km away from it. This would
be the point to depart from, I decided, but not on that day. I took a
photo to sustain my memory and headed off with more resolve than
ever.
Well the day came on the 30th December 2000, again returning from my
folks where I had spent Xmas. This time I had my trusty 12 year old
German Shepherd Oslo with me but he didn't know that he would not be
attending the rites of confluence discovery. I decided to do the
driving part of the journey by GPS alone. On leaving my folks house
(some 50km away) I did the 'GOTO S40E176' command on my Garmin 12XL and
just let the GPS decide which direction I should turn at each and every
intersection. OK, I had a bit of an idea where I was heading but that
was the rule I set, and this actually this did me well. On a couple of
occasions I was starting to wonder if this was the best strategy, but
only twice did I need to backtrack when the road curved too far away
from the intended direction. I finally got to the jump off point by the
wool-shed on Tunipo road that I had identified so many months before and
tied my unhappy dog up to the fence in the shelter of the car and with
plenty of water and headed off. He didn't accept my plea about sheep
farmers with low humour and high powered rifles.
Distance 1.04km and bearing about 170? - shouldn't take too long?
The first part of the journey was across open farmland with plenty of
sheep and cattle noting my progress but more noteworthy was the
plaintive cry of my dog thinking he had been abandoned. Ahead lay a
gorge that looked deep and had a rather steep cliff on the far side (see
photo). I continually reassessed in my mind as I approached it whether
the confluence would be at the top or bottom of that cliff - my hope
said bottom - reality said top. Reality won on the day and after
wandering up a lovely mountain stream surrounded by cliffs I spent a few
anxious moments wondering how long they would take to find my body if I
fell as I swung up those steep tree roots on soft sedimentary 'papa'
cliffs. That fear does focus one a little and the top was soon reached
and the confluence was found a short distance away. It was fairly
typical hill country farmland just under the wonderful bush country of
the Ruahine ranges where I had spent a week deer stalking as a youth and
where my brother had spent so much time as a professional hunter. I
must confess that, although the area was magic and the approach up the
stream had been lovely, the confluence was not a point one would rush
back to. I took the necessary photos and headed back to car and dog who
had now given up his wailing and was out of sight till I climbed the
last fence. For a moment I thought he had done a runner on me. So
S40E176 was finally under my belt and a worthy little excursion it was
too. I had now been to 5 of the 12 New Zealand North Island confluences
(two of these alone and first), and to within 1km of two others. That
is some sort of half way?