#2: [10-Jun-17] (incomplete)

03-May-2001 -- Whilst my confluence may have been easier than some, it still had it's own set of challenges. My brother Brett had opted for a rest and stayed at home after spending most of the night travelling back from a school trip at North West Island. Thus Mum, Dad (Aileen and Warwick) and I set out from Gladstone around 2:30pm in the car, and I promised adventure and glory for all. It wasn't quite to be.

After finding a spot around 2.5km from the magic point, I set out on a beeline - over a large hill and soon encountered large bovine livestock. The cows didn't hang around long, and they in turn scared a few lazy kangaroos lying in the shade. Only 500 meters into my treck I was stopped short by a deep creek, and had to backtrack to the highway and try again.

A couple of kilometers down the road we found access to a shallower part of the creek, and from here a second solo expedition was mounted. This was far more successful.

After a short reconnaissance through the creek to check the depth I was on my way with a little over 2.5km each way ahead. After beating through the vines surrounding the creek the rest of the going was fairly straight forward. Chasing away a few 'roos, the greatest obstacle was the constant spear grass eating through the socks and into the legs. A little more than a half-hour later I had reached the holy grail - a completely insignificant point on the side of a hill.

The pictures show the landscape - somewhat barren with rolling plains holding a few grazing cattle. The trip back was uneventful save for a short struggle finding the car. It was a talking point for the rest of the evening, but that was about it...