Sunday April 1st Marks my 50th

Submitted: Sunday, Apr 01, 2012 at 22:52
ThreadID: 92952 Views:2880 Replies:11 FollowUps:14
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I know what you are thinking, you did not see my name in today's Birthday list.

It is not my Birthday I am proud of, it is Fiona's and I 50 th successful Degree Confluence visit. We left Renmark early this morning and got back in the evening, what a great day we had and drove hundred's of kilometres.

We headed out throuth the Danggali Conservation Park before heading into New South Wales to get to the Confluence.

The only down side is that Langman's luck was with us, I ruined a back tyre, many of the remote back tracks that appear on the Natmap Series of Topographical Maps are no longer drivable tracks, they do not exist, meaning a very big detour back through New South Wales.

I am doing a full Blog of todays drive, but here are a couple of speak preview photos.

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If you are looking for great fun and a chance to visit many out of the way places that you would never think og visiting and have a GPS, then join in the Confluence fun.



Cheers



Stephen



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Reply By: Member - Graham N (SA) - Sunday, Apr 01, 2012 at 23:29

Sunday, Apr 01, 2012 at 23:29
Congratulations Stephen and Fiona sounds like a really great pass time the Confluence fun, not changing the tyre.
Cheers
Graham
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 00:00

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 00:00
Hi Graham

Thanks for that and yes for me it is something different. Fiona has different thoughts though, calling them ABC......."Another Bloody Confluence"...LOL

In their pursuit, it has taken us to many out of the way places,with manyplaces that you would never ever think of going to.

There are some easy ones up your way Graham, so give it a go and see what fun you can have.



Cheers



Stephen
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Reply By: equinox - Sunday, Apr 01, 2012 at 23:49

Sunday, Apr 01, 2012 at 23:49
Hi Stephen,

Congratulations, I was just thinking of you today when I was studying up on my next confluence attempt.

This one will hopefully really have my name on it by this time next week.

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What you say about the Natmaps, and undrivable tracks will probably be applicable in this case too - though I hope not.

Cheers
Alan

Looking for adventure.
In whatever comes our way.



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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 00:17

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 00:17
Hi Alan

It has taken 6 years to achieve our "50th" and it has been fun. I know a man like you will stop at nothing, so all the best for your next upcoming Confluence visit.

As for the Natmaps, we could not believe it. The tracks should have been well defined tracks or roads according to Ozi. At least 3 ended in thick scrub and with no extra spare to have as back up, we did not want to try our luck in searching for the missing track.


All the Best for your next visit.



Cheers



Stephen
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Reply By: Member - Ruth D (QLD) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 07:18

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 07:18
Hi Stephen and Fiona, what great fun yesterday. I'm surprised that some of the tracks you took weren't still wet.
Ian is busy building in Birdsville and I'm busy between here and Canberra.
The Diamantina is on the rise and should be at about 4 metres today at the old crossing - thanks to rain in Winton area a couple of weeks ago.
Nights are cooling off - yesterday it was 36 though.
Keep up the good work!!! Ruth and Ian.
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 08:02

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 08:02
Hi Ian and Ruth

Great to hear from you and all the best with the building work at Birdsville. The tyre was not ruined from this drive, but an old "War Wound" from the Birdsville Track and finally decided to say enough was enough yesterday.

You and Ian would have been equally been at home out there yesterday, with all that red sand and unreal scenery, you could have been anywhere out in the bush - which we were anyway.

Being predominantly red sand country, the water has been soaked up but there were a number of very large bodies of water, in placed where they should be just big dry depressions.



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Keep an eye out for when I get the Blog up, as it will have dozens of great images from the day, and all I can say is to anyone what would like to visit the true "Outback" yet within a very short drive of the Riverland, the Danggalli Conservation Park would be an unreal place to camp and to think that the Members here on OE from the Riverland have it all in their own "Backyard" - you lucky buggers.




Cheers and Best Regards



Stephen and Fiona
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Follow Up By: Member - Des Lexic - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 14:08

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 14:08
Stephen,
"all I can say is to anyone what would like to visit the true "Outback" yet within a very short drive of the Riverland, the Danggalli Conservation Park would be an unreal place to camp and to think that the Members here on OE from the Riverland have it all in their own "Backyard" - you lucky buggers."


Shhhhhhhhhhh

The river is up tp 60,000megs atm and I just came back from Loxton, the water is starting to overflow the river now. Spoke to a bloke working at Lake Victoria on Saturday and he recons that the flow will climb another 10-20k's and then hold that flow for some time.
All of Ned's is either closed or about to get closed probably by the end of the week.


G'day GG
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 21:51

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 21:51
Hi Al

Is that why you never have told me about it before....LOL

We have not had the kayaks in the water yet, but hopefully we will be doing Monoman Creek on Wednesday.


Cheers


Stephen
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Follow Up By: Member - Ruth D (QLD) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 22:48

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 22:48
Lovely photographs - wish we'd been travelling with you - think we'd have enjoyed that trip.

Hello DL!
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Reply By: Member - Howard (ACT) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 08:14

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 08:14
Hi Stephen,
a milestone definitely worth celebrating by yourself and Fiona.
May the next 50 come quicker
cheers
Howard
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 08:33

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 08:33
Hi Howard

The first few years did not take long to clock them up quickly, but for various reasons, they have slowed down, but we did mark the half century at long last.

Some have been very easy to reach and others have been remote. We have reached them various ways, including an 8 kilometre return kayak paddle to access from the Murray River, a 15 kilometre return hike to get to one out on Lake Torrens and our most remote, one confluence north east from Geosurvey Hill in the remote Northern Simpson Desert, plus many thousands of kilometres travelling while getting to others.

This is still a very low visit rate compared to many people that live overseas, but then again ours are all within Australia only and access is not as easy as many Confluences compared to other countries around the world. Every time now that I mention to Fiona those three magic letters....ABC I get that "Look" and sometime if looks could kill, I would have been dead a long time ago.....LOL



Thanks for the Best Wishes.....LOL





Cheers




Stephen and Fiona
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Reply By: Member - cuffs (SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 09:15

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 09:15
I think I am missing something What is " Degree Confluence visit' ????

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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 09:37

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 09:37
Hi Cuffs

To put it in a nut shell, approximately every 80 kilometres on the earths surface, not including the poles, you get the exact meeting points of Latitude and Longitude, giving you the all "00.00"

You have to stand in the exact location, as even 1 step in either direction will through out the GPS from all zeros and for this reason it is called the Confluence Dance.

To read all about the Degree Confluence Project, log onto this site Degree Confluence Project Site

There are some easy ones close to you in Adelaide and this great fun.



Read all about it Cuffs and you to will get hooked.



Cheers



Stephen

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Reply By: Member - John and Val - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 09:36

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 09:36
Good one Stephen, hope you enjoy finding the next 50. And would have to agree about Natmaps - there are so many old roads/racks shown that are no longer useable.

There could be a whole new competition based on natmaps just finding the unuseable tracks. Mind you we use natmaps as our preferred mapset on OziExplorer, but at times they have been dubbed "Matthew Flinders maps" because they are a bit out of date. The upside is that often an old barely used track will lead to a really good campsite, and a check on Google Earth can help to confirm the idea - always provided that there is not a fence across the track.

Re confluence hunting though - I might agree with Fiona!!

Cheers,

Val
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 09:44

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 09:44
Hi John and Val

It is great fun and we have been to many places that we would have never thought of going to, to be honest, just to track down as Fiona would say "ABC"

Who knows, there may be one in store for you next year....LOL



Cheers



Stephen
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Reply By: Fred G NSW - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 10:45

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 10:45
G'day Stephen.

Enough of all this chit chat mate, LOL ...hurry up and get that blog done LOL.

Looking forward to it.
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 13:31

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 13:31
Hi Fred

I am working on it. One thing is for sure, there is so much to see along the way and the Danggali Conservation Park was fantastic. Another special thing that I had to do was check out the old Morgan Vale Station ruins.

One local from Clare that I have known from our school days (Now that was a million years ago) grandparents owned it and he spent a lot of his younger days out there when it was still a working sheep station.

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Cheers



Stephen
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Reply By: Mick O - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 12:31

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 12:31
Only one bloody tyre, stop your whinging and consider yourself lucky ;-)

Good effort mate. A nice day for it as well.


Cheers Mick
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trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 13:35

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 13:35
Hi Mick

It was a fantastic day with nearly a 600 kilometre round trip. It was our first time out in Danggali and will be our last, that is for sure.

As for the tyre, it was just very bad luck.


Cheers



Stephen
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Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 17:12

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 17:12
50! Crikey Steven :-)
How many of those are first visits??


We only have 2 visits (both in 2005), but they are both firsts. :-)
22S 123E http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?visitid=10782
22S 122E http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?visitid=10783

Cheers,
Peter
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 21:48

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 21:48
Hi Peter

A couple have been 3rd visits, while the majority have been second visits.

We have had 3 1st visits:

S25 E136, S31 E138, S25 E130, but feel disappointed with S25 E128 on the Old Gunbarrel.

Before setting off on the that trip, it still remained un visited and felt sure it would have been our 4th 1st visit. When we returned from the trip and submitted the visit, we were pitted to the post by a German couple by 1 month....bugger.



Cheers



Stephen
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Reply By: GREENDOG ! - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 20:42

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 20:42
Sounds like you have been havin a ball,enjoy cheer's GD
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 21:40

Monday, Apr 02, 2012 at 21:40
Hi Pete

It was a fantastic day, with more still to come.

You have a great time in the Flinders.



Cheers




Stephen
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Reply By: Member - Min (NSW) - Thursday, Apr 05, 2012 at 22:10

Thursday, Apr 05, 2012 at 22:10
Hi Stephen,

GGRRROOOOAAAN! Here was I thinking that's a good idea, find all the river confluences in, say, the eastern states, that'd take you to some interesting places! But then as the thread went on I thought that can't be right - then the explanation. Now I know. And I've been game enough to admit my ignorance, once again. Congratulations. It does sound like fun.

Fiona sounds like a very patient lady (or she secretly enjoys it too).

Cheers,

Min
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Thursday, Apr 05, 2012 at 22:36

Thursday, Apr 05, 2012 at 22:36
Hi Min

Even if I say so myself, I don't think its a bad achievement. What makes it even better, I have been told by the Confluence Co-ordinater, our achievements put us in the top 60 Confluence loggers in the world, not bad considering all my visits have been in Australia only.

As for Fiona, she makes no hiding the fact that when I tell her about another Confluence visits, she sighs and calls it another ABC visit (Another Bloody Confluence.....LOL)


Thanks for that.



Have a Great Easter.



Stephen and Fiona
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