#2: [28-Sep-07]

27-Feb-2002 -- This is my first confluence visit. I'm currently on a bicycle trip of Australia and Tasmania. I knew there were some confluences that have not been visited around Tasmania. This one on Flinders Island looked like it would be the only one I might be able to visit during my trip.

On February 27th, 2002 I visisited the confluence at 40S 148E. The confluence itself was easy to visit, but getting to the confluence area was a lot harder.

I looked into traveling to Flinders Island and the Ferry run by the Southern Shipping Company seemed like the easiest option. I biked up to Bridport, Tasmania and spent a few days waiting for the Ferry. It left at 7am and it was a 20 hour ride to Flinders Island, since the Ferry had to first go to Georgetown. The next morning we arrived in Lady Baron. It was still dark when we were going through the channel, the Ferries' spotlight was on and the Mutton Birds were flying all around the Ferry (and into it every once and awhile).

I spent the night at Walkers Lookout and the next morning had a nice tailwind (which later became a strong headwind) as I biked towards the confluence area. The road near the confluence is unsealed, but I only saw about three cars that day so dust was not a problem.

The map showed the confluence as being just south of the C803 road. When I bisected the 148E meridan crossing the road, my GPS was showing me a couple tenths below 40 degrees south. I thought that maybe the maps/gps were a little off and for some reason the confluence was falling to the north side of the road. I went to the house on the north side of the road but nobody was home. On my way back to my bike I noticed that I was now about 4 tenths of a minute below 39 degrees south. Then I heard Mr. Overman, my 7th grade Geography teacher hitting me in the head with a geography book. In the Southern Hemisphere latitude DECREASES as you travel north, not like back home in the United States. Laughing at myself I looked across the road and saw another house. As I biked up the road near the house I crossed the 40S parallel, and it looked like the conflunece landed somewhere in the pasture to the north of the house. I biked up the road and the owner and his two children came out. I explained what I was doing and he chuckled and told me to go ahead and go out there. He invited me in for coffee and we had a nice chat about Australia and the United States.

I went outside around 3pm and found the confluence. Pictures included are of the general area, of the GPS, and views to the North, South, East, and West.

Flinders Island is a great place, I'm glad the confluence helped "sidetrack" me to this island.