#2: [21-Jun-01]

20-Dec-2000 -- This confluence point looks like it would be an interesting walk and next time I'll plan to have more time to get there. I woke early for a very long drive to Emerald to catch my flight home from central Queensland and thought why not leave now and explore that confluence 70 kilometres south of the airport. I knew that the point was about 12 kilometres west of the Gregory Highway a bit north of Springsure. My map even showed a track in about the right place, which is sometimes a good omen. Minerva Hills Road is a narrow dirt track through cattle grazing properties leading to the foothills of the picturesque Minerva Hills. It was rough and narrow but gratifyingly kept pointing in the right direction.

I reached the gate of the Minerva Hills homestead 4.2 kilometres from the point at 6.30 AM but decided that it was a bit too early to try explaining to the owners why I wanted to find a particular point on the property. Besides, the point lies over the hills south of the house and probably would involve quite a walk and I only had 20 minutes to spare before I had to dash back for the plane.