My Kokoda Journey: Day 6 on Kokoda (Day 7 in Papua New Guinea)

Day 6 was the longest day on the trek and it just seemed to last forever. We passed some amazing scenery on our way but in the end there was a lot of downhill that never seemed to finish. Still, it was a pretty good day as it only rained towards the end (which made going downhill that much more fun [and slippery]). I was actually in a group that left about thirty minutes before the rest of the trekking group so we were already a little bit ahead before our first break at a river crossing (which you will see below). Today was also an emotional time as one of our members had to withdraw and be evacuated from the track via helicopter due to an infection in his foot. This was the result of not properly breaking in the boots pre-Kokoda and also for not taking proper care of their feet but it did not make the moment any less emotional. We had started as a team and we had hoped to finish as one. We just held hopes that he would meet us at the finish line (he was not going to die but we hoped he was not stuck in hospital or bed rest).

Today was going to be really muddy and right from the start as we left Menari behind us and entered the forest we were immediately greeted by a whole lot of mud. After climbing up hill for a bit we proceeded to begin a downward descent that would have lasted for a little over an hour. It was fun at times to try not to fall or to laugh at myself when I did fall but after a while the mud started to really annoy me. At the bottom of our descent we reached a little river (not the one pictured below [that was far from little]) where we could refill our water as well as get some of the mud off our boots so we could walk with some level of certainty. We then continued through a whole lot of mud patches that reminded us of a swamp but we had yet to reach that part yet. After about another hour and a bit (though it may have been longer, I did not have the time on me) we reached our first major river crossing of the track. We had to wait for about five to ten minutes before we could cross as there was another trekking group ahead of us that had to go. We also had to wait as the current was so strong they had to keep repositioning the rope that we were using to guide ourselves across.  

  

 Crossing the river was definitely an experience. The current was strong and you could not see where you put your feet as the water was far from clear. It made those little drops that much more exhilarating. To give you an idea of how strong the current was, one of the locals was trying to swim across and was making as much headway as a seagull in strong winds that seems to be staying in the same spot. Plus, as we were walking across we were getting pulled by the current and if we had not had the rope we would have easily been dragged away. It was times like these that we had a new appreciation for the porters who were helping us.

We had a break on the other side of the river as people cooled down on the banks of the river by putting their feet in. After this break we continued through some pretty thick and slippery mud which we got through some tall grass that was above our heads. It was like walking in through some other land through to the land of the swamp. It was really muddy so our boots were quickly covered in mud. After about an hour or two we finally reached the end of this muddy mess and came to a hill. For me, it was exciting to be back on more solid ground with less mud. It was refreshing. This was also part of the walk where every now and again there would be the faintest breeze which felt like heaven. It was amazing! 

After a while we finally managed to reach a village where we stopped for lunch. It was a great village as it had some spectacular views of the mountains behind us (as it was on the edge of a mountain itself) and when we heard the clap of thunder and the dark clouds rolling over the mountains it gave us the push we needed to get back on our way. The thing about this part of the track was that it was the day of the nine false peaks. This means that as you are climbing the mountain it looks like you have reached the top right until you actually do and see that there is still more to climb. It was quite the spirit-breaker for some but I was glad when it was over. At the top we began our long descent down. It was literally three to four hours of climbing downhill non stop. It seemed like it was never going to finish and when it finally did we were greeted with another river crossing. It was not a great mental game to finish the day with soaking boots (you did not take your boots off for some of the river crossings because you could not or because there was no time). 

Today was a long day and so it was nice to be able to relax at the end of it knowing that the next day was our last full day on the track. It was both sad and exciting to know that our journey was going to be at an end and to know that we had completed the Kokoda track. It was going to be a great day.

It is so much fun reliving these as I write it. Sorry it takes so long to get these out. See you soon!

My Kokoda Journey: Day 5 on Kokoda (Day 6 in Papua New Guinea)

So hey guys, new layout! Did you notice? I had to do it because the old template took way too long to load and would not even load on some devices so I changed it. Today was going to be a good day as we would reach the village of Menari where we were donating over AU$13,000 to their medical centre. We were all really excited and it was another short day today which was going to be amazing also as we would have more time to rest and enjoy our surroundings at the end of the day.

The mornings on Kokoda were always so beautiful as you can see in these pictures. Everything looks so amazing and it is almost hard to believe that we were there (but I still have some damaged toe nails to prove it). This morning started out right away with a steep incline but it was still an amazing experience (we probably were not thinking that all the time back then but looking back it was).

We were actually travelling on some pretty dangerous parts of the track again as we again scaled the sides of mountains. In the next picture if you looked to the right with the camera you would see open air as the mountain just drops away. If you fell, you were done. It was another one of those exhilarating moments.

Still, there was a part that was particularly dangerous that had a small section of fence to stop the majority of people falling. It was the only piece of fencing on the side of the track so it was probably the most perilous part or something like that. It was really high though and to get up you had to basically rock climb and shift your weight around a lot to jump up to parts so if you got up there and swung too far without the porter you would have fallen without the fence (though you may still have fallen through the fence).

Here we are pictured on brigade hill which was the sight of a place where a lot of Australian soldiers were killed by the Japanese. We had a moments of silence and also heard from our trekking guide about what happened. We also had one of our sponsors read out a poem that was appropriate to the place. It was fairly emotional but we also had our police officers wearing colourful tutus (I won't post them here as it will show who they are and I do not think they want those pictures floating around the internet). They were wearing the tutus as part of a bet. They had bet at the start of the program that if we could raise over $10,000 that they would wear tutus for a day on the track. We did pass that goal and so they chose the most fitting day to wear them (the day we would be reaching the village where the money would be donated to).

Before long we again continued on our way which seemed to go forever and was slippery and muddy (amazingly I did not fall as much as I expected to). We went through a lot of forest and it was great when we arrived at the river and dropped our packs. It was only a further 20 minutes to Menari up a hill but we decided to have a break and cool off in the river. After a long day it was nice to get in the water and cool off. It was actually pretty nice water too and I managed to wash off a lot of the mud that had gathered on my legs from my falls between Brigade Hill and this river.

After our river break we dried ourselves and headed up towards Menari. We actually passed some local villagers from Menari who were harvesting some fruit and vegetables. When we arrived at Menari we were greeted with some fresh avocado as well as popcorn. They were both amazing and even their bananas tasted like they had come from out of this world. The rest of that day was spent playing with balloons and the local children (they were so excited when they saw the bag of balloons, it was such a humbling experience), as well as popping a giant blister that had been growing on one of our sponsors for most of our trek. We had named it El Louise (I have mentioned it on a previous day I think) and even filmed the encounter. It was disgusting but to us it seemed more exciting than our favourite television show starting again, or the next big block-buster being released at the movies.

With dinner that night we were also treated to some sweet potato and other veggies which was yummy and also gave us more excitement about our ration pack meals. After dinner the local villagers came to thank us for our kind donation. They sang a few songs to us and it was an amazing experience and they were all so happy and excited. It was one of our fondest memories on the track.

I'm trying to get these out more often so I actually wrote this right after I finished on Day 4 and scheduled it to come out on Saturday so that they were spread out. See you soon!

My Kokoda Journey: Day 4 on Kokoda (Day 5 in Papua New Guinea)

First of all, I am super dooper sorry for falling behind on these posts, school has become hectic and procrastination is also growing at an alarmingly exponential rate. Anyway, today was actually a pretty good day on the track and not only because it was one of our shortest days on the track (for some reason we did all the long days at the start and then one right near the end [Days 1, 2 and 6]). It was amazing because we were able to play with the village children and the weather was great (for our hike at least, when we arrived it poured) and the awesome sun set you will see below was one of our most memorable experiences on the track.

Those photos were from the Naduri Community health outpost where we had our morning rest before continuing on. We were able to try some of their local bread as well as refill our energy levels with cans, twisties and fruit (some of the best fruit around mind you) before we continued on our journey. We also met some local children who enjoyed playing with our hiking sticks. It was an amazing view as we were on the side of one of the mountains in the Owen Stanley Ranges and the sun was shining but it was not oppressively hot as it was still relatively early (I think it was around 8 or 9 so three or so hours into our trek).

This was a tree-house that was behind where we were resting and enjoying some of the local fruits. Below you have our group lying around in the sun just soaking up where we were. Kokoda really was a beautiful place and I would do it again just to be able to see this beauty again. It was hard, but the rewards were everywhere you looked.

They lay our tents out so they would dry as they had not really had a chance to dry after some of the rainy nights we had recently witnessed.

After about thirty minutes we continued our trek and quickly descended towards a river. The worst part was that the river seemed to be teasing us as we could hear it for at least an hour before we finally finished our descent down to it. There are a lot of winding paths on the track and so patience is greatly needed from time to time (well, most of it). It really is a mental challenge in having to find distractions so that you don't focus on anything that might be hurting you and ensure that you can continue on.

When we reached the river we were taken one by one across where we then began probably the most beautiful ascent on the track. We were literally climbing up a waterfall as the path we were using to get up actually was the waterfall for parts and when we weren't in the waterfall we were winding our way around it. Once we passed the waterfall there was a bit of a further climb before we reached Efogi 1 (we were camping at Efogi 2 so after a bit of a climb it was a bit of a tease when the porter told me were at Efogi. Still, I feel our porters enjoyed teasing us sometimes with what they would tell us [only ten more minutes, two hours later we would arrive]).

We were able to break at Efogi 1 before we continued on and during our break we were able to play with the local children. It was so fun to see them enjoy themselves so much. It was wildly entertaining to see some of their sneaky tactics (they knew how to use their height to their advantage) to ensure they maintained control of the ball. They were quite the opposition!

However, as Efogi 2 was just thirty minutes away and it was not even lunch yet (well, we arrived at Efogi around 1 or 2pm and sometimes that would be when we would have our lunch) and we continued on. We had to descend to a river before we climbed back out the other side. It was wonderful and I only fell a few times (and that was because one of the police officers was behind me because they needed 'entertainment' and knew I would fall [thanks for the confidence vote Tommo (nickname, not his real name)]. It was still an amazing view though.

This was our first glimpse of where we would be staying that night and it was actually quite the first view. The only catch was we still had to go down further, across a river, and then back up the other side. Still, it was an amazing incentive. Especially since we had never arrived at camp so early before.

We were again welcomed by some village children as we arrived at Efogi 2. They were all so welcoming and amazing. "Oro" [meaning welcome] was a phrase commonly thrown around on our trek [even though some were unaware of its meaning] and it just showed our welcome the local Papua New Guineans were.

This is the famous sun set we were talking about. There are other shots but this was the best and did not have anyone in the photos.

Once again I am sorry for taking so long to get these out but still, it is fun to relive these experiences so many months later. See you soon!