Nauro to Menari

Day 5

Woke up this morning before 6 to the crowing of the 7 roosters in the village.  Was a pretty good wake up call actually, even if one did stand right beside my tent :) Slowly packed things into the bag again, I think I am getting better at it.  The moon was still high in the sky when I came out of my tent and it looked like something out of a movie.  The sleep last night was not the best as I was restless and took a while to go to sleep as I was thinking about home.

After breakfast David told us that we were going to have a short day today and make camp early.  This was for 2 reasons. The first was to give the Green Machine a chance to rest and then 2nd reason was to give us some time in a village.  We also had to tackle "The Wall" today, so it might be a hard climb.

When they call it "The Wall" they are not joking.  It was very steep and just kept going up and up.  We started with a little creek crossing before hitting the wall and we all managed to keep dry.

Everyone made it, but it was pretty hard going.  After that was done the rest of the day was pretty easy.  We made it to camp about 12.  As we arrived at the village the locals had setup little stalls selling things.  They had things like bananas, pineapples, paw paw and even some cans of soft drink.

The rest of the time today we spent around camp.  We went for an amazing swim in the creek where we had a natural massage from the running water and we also managed to wash our clothes again.

We then went for a walk back to the stalls and I bought a coke.  It was an interesting treat to have in the middle of the Kokoda track.  Steve also bought a pineapple to share and it was beautiful!

During the afternoon David showed us some 2 and 3 inch mortars that were on display in the village.  There was also some other little items like a food tin and some grenades. Amazing to think these items are still around after all this time.  While looking at it all, my mind often wonders away to think about the people who it use to belong to and how much of a different time we would be having if I was one of them

After dinner just before bed the sky cleared out and the universe turned on her lights. It was amazing. I have seen stars when camping before, but the milky way was so so clear.  I had never seen anything like it.  I have to be able to share this with my family.  We will have to go some place you can see it together.  So worth it!

Ofi Creek to Nauro

Day 4

Woke up to a beautiful morning at camp.  Was so wonderful sticking my head out of the tent this morning and looking around.  Hard to believe where I am sometimes.

After breakfast, we were told we were doing in the morning what we did all of yesterday.  That sounded like a challenge to me.

David is very happy with how our group is going.  The 3 brothers are all smashing it out so far, lets hope they can all hang in there.

We started the day with a creek crossing which was pretty hard on the rocks cause they were so slippery, but the porters all helped us over, if you needed it. It was a hard slog up some pretty tough hills, but we all made it together as group.  We just get into it, no one complains, we know what needs to be done, and we do it.  The hardest part is to make sure you are looking around an enjoy things as you are doing the hard work.

We got all the way to the top and David told us a story about some diggers that got lost on the wrong ridge line.  After a short break we got stuck back into it and headed to our lunch stop.

Four hours of hard work but we made it to lunch.  We were able to eat, rest a little, hand out wet clothes.  The lunch stop location was amazing.  As we were coming into it, it just transformed into some amazing open views, instead of the dense jungle we had been tracking through. Hard to believe how much it changes sometimes.

The hard stuff was over for the day, except this meant we had to go back down the hills, which is pretty hard on the knees.  After a while of heading down, the landscape changed as we reached an area called the swamp.  The name said it all and the it did not disappoint us as it looked and felt just like one.  Took about 40 mins to get through it.  A few more mud and creek crossing bought us to a massive river crossing.  Previous trekker and porters had fallen a few big trees that were now being used as a bridge.  The green Machine quickly set up some ropes up to help us over the log without falling into the river.(they are very thoughtful)

Was not far form here where we reached tonight camp, which was a little village that had been created just for trekkers.  It had a creek running through it which we had a great bath in.  It was again cold, but so refreshing.  It is a great way of cooling down and relaxing the body.

The village is looked after by 3 families and there are a few kids around. Once the sun had gone down, I bought out some glow sticks for the kids.  The loved them!  As it was already dark, the kids were in their huts, but one of the green machine walked me over to the village and one brave little kid come out.  I cracked the glow stick and the smile on his face was amazing. Once the other saw what was going on, they came from everywhere.  They were all dancing around with them and having fun.  No photos though as it was so dark.

The green machine cooked again, looks like they will be doing it every dinner time.   It was then story time.  We were all pretty tired tonight and only managed 8:30 before we hit the sack.

I have so many stories to share, would be great to be able to talk on the phone :D

Dump 66 to Ofi Creek

Day 3

Woke up after a pretty good sleep at around 6am.  Poked my head out the tent to see what was going on and a few people were already up so I thought I better get a move on and all my stuff packed back away.  It was even harder to fit the stuff in this time, maybe I found more stuff while walking.

Just got done when Name Sake headed over to start packing my tent away.  Had a little chat to him about the track.  Very nice guy, very quiet, but very nice.

We had porridge for breakfast cooked with hot water, which the guys have had on boil well before anyone was awake. Also got to have a coffee, which made me feel good about things.  Just before leaving I had to take my first pit stop in the local toilet that the village had provided.  We have been given a tip about the best way to use the.  Still pretty hard work on the legs :D

David told us and showed us on the map where we were headed today.  Looking up I could see the ridge he was talking about and it was a pretty sleep incline.  I could not wait to get stuck into it.

We headed off about 8am and climbed up for about an hour until we reached Imita Ridge.  This was the furthest point the Aussies got push back too during the war.  We had come a long way, but when you are back in Australia, looking at a map, it looks very close to Port Moresby.  David told us about the person in charge had to call up from the previous position and tell them he could not hold it and had to withdraw back to Imita Ridge as it was a better position to hold on from.  They told him he could move back to there, but that was it.  He would hold it or die there.  Pretty blunt way of letting them know.


We headed down the hill again and it was very slippery and hard to keep your footing.  The porters cut us all a walking pole out of the bush and trimmed it up so it was nice on the hand.  This would help to stop slipping over....well attempt to help us.  (It turned out that we kept the sticks for the entire trip, it just felt right walking with it.) The little bit of rain from last night made the roots and rocks very slippery, I started to think about what it would be like after weeks or month of rain and the threat of enemy contact at any moment.

We had to cross the Ua-Ule creek 9 times today so it looked like we would be getting wet feet today.

David had told us that he had not had a group this year go as well and as far sticking together while walking.  He was pretty exited that we were all going to have a great trip together and so was I.

We got to do a little side trek.  We left our bags and walked off the track to see some foxholes and supply pits.  He told us about a story where during the withdrawal on Aussie was left behind in his foxhole and became separated from the rest.  He stayed there from 10am till night fall by himself picking off any enemy that went past. Once it was dark, he headed back to find the troops, 

We stopped by a creek for lunch today and the guys boiled us up some water so we could have some noodles and coffee.  The also cooked us some donuts which were amazing!

After lunch we headed up hill towards Ioribaiwa Ridge which was the actual furthest point the Japanese advanced to.  From the point at Imita Rodge to there they call no mans land.  From this point on we were going to see evidence of the battle that took place.  A little bit further on we reached the camp site for today at Ofi Creek.  David told us a story about Ofi Creek where the Aussie put cans of bully beef in the creek.  They waited for some Japanese soldiers to come down and get the free meal.  They did not pick off the first guy, they waited till they thought it was safe and lots of them came into the water to get the free meal.  Which turned out to be a mistake for them.

The village was in an amazing, beautiful picture perfect spot.  The rain started to fall hard, which made it hard to get sorted, so instead we went for a bath in the creek.  We just walked in fully clothed and washed the clothes and washed ourselves.  It was so cold, but so nice at the same time.

Namesake did a great job setting my tent up again and all my things stayed dry.

The green machine have their own hut which they all sleep in and this is usually where they boil the water and cook food.  The cooked us dinner again.  This time we put all our dehydrated meals in together and they cooked it up.  We like to call this train smash.  We also got some rice which was really nice.

We stayed awake as long as we could talking again.  We managed to make it to 9pm.

Missing everyone a lot.  Would be great if I could send a message.

Ower's Corner to Dump 66

Day 2

Woke up in the morning after a pretty good sleep ready to go. Started with packing my bag, trying to fit all the things in there.  The hardest part was all the food rations.  Did not work, so I had to pack again, and again, until I got it all in there, well except a few things I decided not to take :D.



Had a warm breakfast and the we packed all our gear and us into the bus and headed for Ower's Corner.  When there we got to meet all the porters who are called "The Green Machine".  We also got to meet our personal porter who will carry our bag the entire trip, and help us out in general, including setting and packing away the tent.  David, my guy is very shy.  The don't like to call him David as the tour guide's name is David so they call him "Name Sake" :D  He had completed the track 32 times.  Pretty amazing in my book!

Steve has Nathan, Allan has Noel and Peter has Dora. Steve is already giving it to Peter about letting a girl carry his bag.

We got a group shot under the start and we headed off.

First mission was to cross the Goldie River.  To get there it was all down hill.  We took it pretty slow as we all got use to our footing and bags.  I found myself constantly turning to check on Steve and Peter.  The introduction to downhill was pretty hard on the legs and was interesting to think about what I might feel like in a few days time.

At the river we took our shoes off and wadded across.  The water was so clear and cold, it felt great.  Once on the other side we put the shoes back on and headed up to Dump 66.  This was not the wartime location but it was close by.  Dump 66 was a supply dump during the war for the Aussies.  We stopped for a bit of a chat about the area and what it would have been like during the war.

A little further on we reach base for the day.  It was not very hard today, but more of an introduction into it.  On arrival at camp there was another group just coming into the village for a stop for lunch.  There was around 30-40 people and they were trekking with Kokoda Spirit.  Already I knew that the size group we had was a way better way to go. 

Our tent was setup by our porter and Name Sake did a great job.  Lucky as later that day, it started to pour down.  So much for the dry time they have been having.  It was nice to see the rain fall, it just felt right. The clouds coming over the mountain and rain starting, looked beautiful.

Spent a great afternoon around the camp, getting to know people more.  Even for sometime to fit in a kick the footy with Steve for a while.

Later in the afternoon we saw a local coming back with a pig on his shoulder.  He told us that he had just been out hunting and caught it, with his dog and machete.  He told us he was going to sell it to people that would be walking past.  They were very happy to tell us about it and let us have a look.

The Green Machine cooked us dinner and then we spend the night around the fire hearing more adventures people had been on.  Allan (Robbo) had a lot of stories about things he had done including competing in the Dakar on a bike, sounded amazing and scary .

Freddy and Dave have heaps of stories about the war and army life in general.  Everyone is getting on really well.  Seems like we have a great bunch of people doing a life adventure together.

Just before sleep we spotted some fire flys flying around.  I have never seen one before.  They were amazing.

Great spot to camp for the night, that's for sure!!!!

Brisbane to Port Moresby

Day 1

Adventure of a lifetime.  This is how this trip was being sold, and this is how it was feeling.  It was a long time in the planning and many many hours spent running around the streets of Keperra and walking the hills of Brisbane.

The day had finally come, it was time to leave for PNG with my two brothers and my mate.

Got a great send off from Nicole, Harrison, Amelia, Marcus, Mum, Dad and Shoshana. Was a bit tough leaving as I was worried about what was coming and how I was going to do it with out my number 1 supporters. I had never been apart from them anywhere near this duration and I had never been in a place were I could not even call to talk.  This was a part of the journey that had not really sunk in, until that moment.

The plane ride was pretty fast and we made it there without any dramas after a quick meal onboard.  On arrival we met David (tour guide) and we hit it off straight away.  We got to have a little tour around Port Moresby to check out what it all looked like before heading to the lodge where we would be staying that night. 

Right away it was clear I had never been to a country quite like PNG. There seemed to be people everywhere, little stalls everywhere selling things from beattlenut to diesel fuel.  There was lots of rubbish, things on fire and people carrying machetes.  That said, everyone seemed happy to see us.  Waving and saying hello as we drove past.

Just before heading to the Lodge, we stopped by the Bomana War Cemetery.  There is around 3000 souls buried there, including unknown graves, like in Europe. We were shown a few ones in particular which David shared stories about.  The place was both saddening and inspiring at the same time.

He told us about 2 VC winners and their battles and a 16 year old that had lied about his age and they gave the ultimate sacrifice.  He also told us about Kensington's guys and how they were the most decorated troops and they were all in the one squad.

David's last words were.
"They gave their today for our tomorrow"


We have a few people with us.  Jim and Penny (Father and Daugher),  Freddy (Daves friend), Allan and Tip.  Along with those people we have the other who I like to call The Kokoda Brothers.  My mate Allan and my brothers Peter and Steve.  We all enjoyed a dinner back at the lodge together and shared a few stories about other things we have done in our lives.

My back seems on the edge, it hasn't quite decided if it wants me to do the trip yet or not..  Fingers are crossed that the sleep helps, not makes it worse.  Either way, there is no real stopping me now.

Cant stop thinking about home already.  Lucky I have a few letters that the kids have written and a nice picture of the family to keep with me.

Tomorrow, the work starts.