#2: [06-Sep-08]

05-Jan-2006 -- I had thought about this Confluence for a long time! It's out in the middle of nowhere, approximately 80 km north of Kalbarri, 60 km west of the main North West Coastal highway, about 85 km south of Denham and about 21 km east of the rugged coastline . In all of this area, there are no formed roads!

A study of Google Earth, 1:250,000 topos and other maps showed that the most likely way in was via the Vermin Proof Fence track from the NW Coastal highway to the coast (60 km), then north via a fairly clearly defined track (30 km), then east on a less well-defined track (11 km), then finally, north along a track that you really needed some imagination to see (3 km).

So, I applied for and was faxed a permit to travel along the Vermin Proof Fence, issued by the Agriculture Protection Board (State Barrier Fence, Invasive Species Central Ag Region).

My wife, Sandra and I had originally planned a week's camping holiday at Cape Arid National Park (120 km east of Esperance, on the south coast of WA) but on arrival there, it immediately started to rain. The forecast was rain and max. temperatures of around 20°C for the next week, so we decided to bail and head north to attempt 27S 114E and to defrost!

And defrost we did! The further north we went, the hotter it got! We camped near the Vermin Proof Fence (VPF) and NW Coastal HWay in 41°C heat with that night's minimum of 26°C. An early morning start saw us on our way by 6 am, heading west along the track next to the VPF. We encountered some patches of deep sand requiring tyre deflation, but in general the track was good through to the coast, except for the last few kms where outcropping limestone made the progress very slow.

As we turned north, I began to realise that although the track was very well defined, I had failed to take into account the extensive limestone outcrops over the whole coastal area of this part of WA. The track varied from sandy areas (20 kph) to solid, sharp, jagged limestone outcrop (1 kph). I could feel the tyres complaining as we lurched over each boulder. We had taken about 2 hrs to reach the coast along the VPF (55 km), then another 1.5 hrs to travel just 14 km along the north track. That's where we stopped and decided to review our plans. Assuming similar topography for the next 30 km, it could take us about 4 hrs to reach the DCP, not to mention a further 8 hrs to return to our camp. In a direct line, we were only 17.2 km from the confluence, but that was way too far to hike over the dense low scrub in the heat of the day (40°C again!).

So, mostly out of respect for our tyres, we reluctantly turned around and headed back to our camp, deciding that we needed to tackle this DCP from the east rather than the west, and to wait for cooler weather!