04-May-2003 -- Returning back home to Pretoria from Port Elizabeth where my children Fraser and Catherine and a friend, Stephan Talma, participated in a mountain bike race, the route we followed would pass quite close by 33S 23E. On a journey of 1200 kilometres, a 60 km detour is insignificant, so I turned off the R75 onto the R400 towards Waterford, with my son Fraser as navigator.

Just past Waterford, an almost deserted village that lies 9 km south of the Confluence, we turned north on a gravel road, which headed for Pearston for a few kilos, and then left again on the road leading to Jansenville. We followed this until we got to a point where we were 1100 meters north of the CP and realised that the final leg had to be completed on foot. I spotted a house to the west, and drove there to find out who the landowner was. A farm worker informed me that the owner was a Mr. Nel, and gave me directions to his homestead.

Back on the road we met Mr. Nel on his way somewhere, and I explained what we were looking for. I parked my vehicle next to the road, which was not much more than a faint dirt track, and reflected that the fact that it was indicated on a national roadmap was an undeserved compliment. We walked through some tall thorny succulents, and saw plenty of vingerpol (Euphorbia esculenta), a quaint succulent that is unique to this area of the Eastern Cape. We crossed an almost dry dam, which made the going easier. At the CP Stephan can be seen holding the GPS, excited, as this was his first confluence visit.