28-Mar-2005 -- This was Day 4 (Monday) of our Easter weekend trip to attempt 4 confluences along 24 South latitude, working westwards from 118°E through to 115°E. The party consisted of my wife Sandy and I, and my brother John.

The previous evening we had arrived at Williambury Station, and had followed a rather overgrown track heading south-west from the homestead. I had phoned Rachel and John Percy the week before to request permission to use the station tracks, and John had suggested the track down to Kurrakootarrow Hill, about 2km from the confluence. Having arrived at the station around sunset, we had proceeded down the track using the vehicle headlights. Near the river the track disappeared in the broad flood plain of the Manilya River, but to my surprise, the eMap GPS showed the actual track we were using and enabled us to pick up the track again about a kilometer away near some hills. We eventually camped about 1km north east of the hill.

Early the next morning (Monday) we continued on the track past Kurrakootarrow Hill (see photo) to an abandoned well on the banks of the Minilya River. We drove down on to the river bed and were able to drive a further 1.4km along the sandy watercourse until the way was blocked by trees and debris. The final walk (850m) was a pleasant stroll along the river bank to the confluence. I completed the photos and we returned to the vehicle, drove back to our camp and proceeded back to Williambury Station. We then turned south to begin the trek back to Perth via Moogooree Station, Gascoyne Junction and Carnarvon - a total distance for the (very long) day of 1280km.

This had turned out to be a very successful confluence-visiting break, with 4 new confluences and a grand total of 2,966 km travelled over the 4 days. Many thanks to the various Stations for their valuable assistance and cooperation.

In the bed of Minilya River.