roslyn43

Last week I arrived in Darwin, my last capital city – and here I will remain, for a while at least!

So that means I’ve now been in every (official) state and territory.

A fortunate confluence of events led me to Adelaide for a few days – mainly, the need to transit for my next relocation, and a good friend who insisted I visit. So we have been drinking at trendy pubs, poking through quaint shops, and soon will be sipping coffee by the beach. Hooray for Adelaide!

On Saturday, I set out on a trek across Kolombangara Island in the Solomon Islands. Visiting, in part, for a conservation festival, and in large part to try and record the confluence point at 8°S 157°E (apparently at 5.8 km (3.6 miles) ENE of Kukundu, Kolombangara Island, Western Province).

With a group of 8 – including two guides and an actual ent – our crew were brought together by a serious CP collector. When I discovered this guy had an interest in the project, I demanded to be brought along.

We set out on two very solid days of bushwalking across a volcano with a surprising amount of wading through strong rivers, passing through waterfalls, climbing up and down almost vertical slopes. The days were followed by nights of meagre dinners and sleeping in tents nestled in twisted piles of tree roots.

By the third day, we were exhausted and struggling with morale. There was some more steep climbing, several long walks through canyons, and the clawing fear that we might be lost. We did find a path, but then found it overgrown with short, thick bushes – logging regrowth, which had to be sliced through by our guide, step by step.

A very long walk later, we were faced with a choice between pursuing the CP and reaching the village in time to sleep at the lodge. Given our lack of food and tattered state, we opted for the certainty of a full meal and warm bed.

The CP remains to be recorded. But it was a worthy adventure!