KOKODA IS COMING

So welcome back to the first post in ages! As the school term has come to a close there should be some more time for me to get more posts out. I also have to start writing my Kokoda series which will come out while I am over there in just over 10 days!! As Kokoda is drawing ever-closer there has been so much to do which is why this weeks 'the week that was' segment is mostly about Kokoda. However, before I continue with this I am just going to finish the introductory paragraph with something a little less related to Kokoda. Aside from all the Kokoda stuff which has taken up a lot of time recently, I have also had my first 3/4 Methods SAC which for those of you unfamiliar with VCE, counts towards my study score for the subject and, as a result, my ATAR which determines whether or not I get into my desired University Course. I was pretty happy with the result as I received 94% (and A+) which put me at Rank 3 out of the 166 students doing Unit 3/4 Methods at my school. It was quite the surprising (and exhilarating) moment which put me in a positive mindset for the rest of the year (hopefully, I am not from the future so I can not tell). Now, onto the Kokoda stuff.

Source: http://www.kokodatrackfoundation.org/history-of-the-kokoda-track.aspx

Since it has been so long since I have written a post updating you all on my Kokoda journey I am actually not sure where to start so if things are a little out of chronological order or a little random, I am very sorry. Vaccinations were this week. After many weeks of planning the time finally arrived. It was not exactly significant but it was still one of those things that made everything seem so much more real. If you were wondering what vaccinations we were getting for Kokoda, it was Flu, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and Japanese Encephalitis (which was optional). It would have also been tetanus but we got those in Year 10. In the past week Mum and I have also been packing and repacking my pack as well as testing out my sleeping mattress and sleeping mat so I know how to effectively get the sleeping bag and mat back in their respective bags. It has been a lot of hard work trying to get everything all together and fitting it in but it is great to get it ready and sorted this far out from the trek. When we go there, we will be packing our empty packs in suitcases so that the straps do not get damaged in transit but we still need to know how to pack it (and that everything fits and is not too heavy). Still, I am pretty sure that there are some things in my pack that I am going to donate to my Porter so I do not have to carry it after the first day. Aside from this, we were also put in groups and had to make a presentation on a portion of the Kokoda track. I was with two others and our task was to research Efogi to Myola, Myola to Templeton's Crossing and Templeton's Crossing to Eora Creek while making reference to Captain Sam Templeton. We had to show through our presentation how the soldiers who fought in the Kokoda campaign experienced Kokoda. Our presentation was a story which I actually might post as one of the days that I am away in Kokoda. It was actually a very interesting task and how presentations, dare I say it (I do by the way), was one of the best. Also on that night we had a presentation from one of the last surviving members of the 39th Battalion who fought in the Kokoda campaign. He was such a great character and he had some really interesting stories to tell. Plus it was also very interesting that it was the Malaria he contracted that saved him from the fate of many of his comrades who died along with the majority of the 39th Battalion.

Less than two weeks to Kokoda and the excitement and nervous energy is growing! See you tomorrow.