Shows To Watch (June 2016)

First off apologies for my long absence, as you may know from my blog procrastination is my thing. So in some ways writing this is a bit of a procrastination from uni exams but hey, it's still a post. I thought I'd start something off a bit easy and hope that there will be more posts to come.

Here are some of the shows I'm currently watching. For the show to be listed it must currently be airing or recently ended (or between series if it is still going). It can be from TV and online streaming services (such as Netflix, Stan, or Hulu [for all you Americans]).

Once Upon a Time (2011 - )

(Source: http://www.playbuzz.com/lilyanna10/can-you-match-the-once-upon-a-time-character-with-the-disney-name)

Once Upon a Time just finished it's fifth season and has already being confirmed for a sixth! Although this show hasn't been everyone's cup of tea it is still really good. After the whole 'curse' premise of the show ended in season 1, season 2 was definitely a bit Lost (haha, forgive me, if you know a bit about the show you will get the joke). However things did start to pick up from the third season and the show finally found a flow with it's half-season major plot points as well as story arches throughout the whole show. Plus there are some pretty amazing scenes in the show and plenty of emotion. If you love fairy tales give this show a try.

Wentworth (2013 - )

(Source: https://www.foxtel.com.au/watch/wentworth.html)

Wentworth is an example of great Australian television recognised around the world. It is the contemporary remake of the Australian classic drama series "Prisoner". It is absolutely amazing. So good in fact that despite its young age it has broken the glass ceiling of Australian television and become a worldwide phenomenon which has already sparked off multiple spin-offs in other languages and countries. The greatest thing about these is that they use a lot of the same cinematography and scripts (after translation of course) which really is a testament to how great this show was already. It really is filmed like a movie for the television and the characters are all so well-written (guards and prisoners alike) that you really feel for them all.

The Real O'Neals (2016 - )

(Source: http://www.citytv.com/toronto/shows/the-real-oneals/)

This hilarious new show with an amazing (and perfectly cast) cast is all about a seemingly perfect Irish-catholic family. The mother (Eileen) is practically head of the church committee, her husband (Pat) is a police officer, her eldest son (Jimmy) is a high-school wrestler, her middle son (Kenny) is a star pupil with a girlfriend and her daughter (Shannon) is a socially aware child who is always raising money for the church or other charities. Their family is the pride of the church. All this is turned upside down when Eileen and Pat decide to get divorced, Jimmy reveals he is anorexic, Shannon reveals that she keeps all the money she raises and Kenny decides to come-out as gay. All this is made all the more awkward by the fact that the whole church finds out at a charity event. With the help of Eileen's hilariously unaware sister Jodi the family try to navigate their new lives with all their secrets out in the open. It is a really great show that is equal parts funny and touching. The way they handle Kenny's coming out and subsequent coming to terms with his sexuality is also refreshing and realistic. It is a great show and I'm glad that it's being renewed for a second season.

UnREAL (2015 - )

(Source: http://blitz.arc.unsw.edu.au/2016/review-unreal-tv-show/)

UnREAL is the amazing new drama show about the producers behind a Bachelor-like show called "Everlasting". It's all about the manipulation and truth behind shows like The Bachelor. It is really well-written and has some really amazing scenes. The second season starts Monday in the United States and it has already being renewed for a third season (before the second even airs!). It was created by someone who used to work as a producer on The Bachelor and it's actually really interesting viewing. You will be amazed and everyone will be exposed.

Of course these are just some of the amazing shows out there right now. There are many more shows that I do watch that do also deserve to be on this list but maybe another time.

Silence

The world is a very scary place full of very scary things. It's also full of some amazing and wonderful moments that, sometimes, balance out all the negativity. However, sometimes it is what we don't hear or do that hurts the most. Sometimes it's not the people we see or the things we do but rather the things we don't that can ruin an otherwise perfect day, week, month, whatever. At the end of the day the silence is by far the worst.

Source: https://merefina.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/silence-can-be-telling/

 Silence, though the quietest, is by far the most deafening. When we have been hurt in such a way that there is nothing that we can do or say to feel better, that is when the silence hurts most. It is the silence of others when you know someone should speak up. It's the silence of ourselves when someone asks us if we are alright and for the umpteenth time we reply "I'm fine" when really, we're dying inside. It's the silence of those around us when someone makes you feel any less of a person for some arbitrary reason. It's the silence you feel that closes in around you, suffocating you. The sounds eventually stop but silence is always waiting. Silence is always lurking around the corner, waiting to strike. Silence is the force waiting for you at home every night, no matter how happy and full of laughter your day has been. Silence is the silent killer and it has to be stopped. We need to stand up for each other. We need to show others that it does get better because no one else is going to do it for us. We need to stop standing around while others are made to feel worthless and as though they somehow, in some way, deserve less than anybody else. We need to be able to talk openly about our feelings. We need to avoid judging those fortunate few who are able to speak openly about their feelings for they, in the end, are the best prepared in life. They are the healthy who do not bottle up feelings inside so that they explode on the innocent. We need to be able to accept to ourselves that everything is not "fine" and that maybe, just maybe, things are not "all good." We need to push further than a simple "I'm fine." We need to read between the lines. We need to listen. We need to hear the silence. We need to speak out. We need to fight back. In short, we need to stop the silence for at the end of the day it is not the words of our enemies that we remember, but rather the silence of our friends. The injuries inflicted by sound heal in time while those forged in silence stick with us forever.

Silence is dangerous. It has to be stopped.

The Struggles of Being in a Relationship*

*as told by someone who is not in a relationship

Can we all just please spare a thought for all the people in the world who are in relationships? I know this post may really hit home with a lot of you so be prepared to have tissues nearby (and maybe a bucket, you never know). Being in a relationship you miss out on so much and so this post is dedicated to you. So now, as this paragraph comes to an end, I ask that you bow your head as a sign of respect before we move on.

Source: http://pickcute.com/view/5427/sad-hug-couple-on-beach-sand-alone-lonely

First and foremost, couples are all alone, well, alone outside of each other. No one wants to be the third wheel to a couple so expect to hear more of the word 'no' when you ask someone to go out with you and your bae. Being in a relationship is just so entirely lonely. Not to mention how boring it would be to wake up next to the same person for a very long period of time. The mere thought of that amount of banality is just terrifying. Plus, when you try to get out of the house with your significant other you just end up annoying the people around you with your 'happiness'. Ugh, see, this is why I warned you about the buckets. Speaking of friends can we talk about social media? Well, yes, this is my blog, I do what I want, deal with it. When you are in a relationship you basically need to stay away from social media so as to resist the urge to share what you and your pal are doing or to resist posting that cute pic that took you thirty minutes to get last night. You know the one, where the two of you were kissing and there were party lights in the background. It made a cool effect but you are yet to notice the fact that everyone is giving you a wide birth. The struggles are most certainly real. Not to mention that you left the party early because hardly anyone came up to you two. Plus, your parents were not about to let you stay out late with your special friend in case anything untoward were to happen to their 'innocent' child. This is actually a great segue to my next point about sex. Yeah, I deliberately put this towards the end of this post so that you can stop reading right now. So, anyway, sex. When you are in a relationship you generally only have sex with that one person. Of course, if you are in an open relationship then it is different, as are threesomes. If you cheat it is also different but not good at all. People in relationships miss out on all the casual sex they could be having. It must suck (*big wink*) to have to know the person your having sex with and to have an emotional attachment with them. It is just so exhausting to have to care about who you fool around with. Plus, they miss out on all the after-sex awkwardness, that must suck. Not to mention they dramatically lessen their risk of contracting STDs/STIs. Geez, sex is no fun without a little danger.

We really should feel very sorry for those in relationships, it really does suck. See you soon.

It's Not Just Gay Marriage

If you have been living under a rock recently (I would not blame you if you have, there are some pretty nice rocks out there) you may not have heard that the Supreme Court of the United States of America (SCOTUS) legalised same-sex marriage in all 50 states. That is a really awesome step towards equality and it sends a message to the new generations that same-sex relationships are normal and deserve the same treatment as heterosexual ones. However, there has been one large oversight by many who report on this milestone in LGBT+ history.

Source: https://secularpolicyinstitute.net/oklahoma-house-oks-bill-for-ministers-to-refuse-gay-marriage/

A lot of the headlines have contained some variation of the following: "Gay Marriage Legalised". While it may be true that gay couples can now marry it does not mean that only gay people can get married. The legalisation of same-sex marriage opens up the door for people of all sexual orientations to get married. While it may be 'gay marriage' it is also "bisexual marriage", "pansexual mariage", "queer marriage", "skoliosexual marriage" (people attracted to those who are not cisgendered [someone who is cisgendered identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth]) or, as I like to put it "Marriage". Really, it is just widening the definition of the term "marriage". It is not like people have gay breakfasts (though they are really fun) or bisexual luncheons (again, an interesting concept), people just have breakfast or attend luncheons. By referring to something simply as "gay" or "bi" it really narrows the definition of the thing it describes. It really is just a new definition of marriage where same-sex couples can now have more of the same rights that heterosexual couples have (we are still working on some aspects (such as adoption in Victoria which a same-sex couple can not do)). To be perfectly honest, in Australia at least it is not even a new definition of marriage but rather, if Tony Abbott decides to do his job and support the majority view of Australians, returning the definition to what it originally was. Until August of 2004 same-sex marriage was not illegal in Australia. In August the Liberal Government of the time led by John Howard passed a bill that made same-sex marriages illegal. I am seeing a bit of trend with the Liberal Government which, given its name, is a very ironic party.

The message of this post is really that we should not narrow the definition of something by labeling it as "gay" for example because it really excludes a lot of people to which it also should refer to. Hopefully when it comes time for Tony Abbott to decide whether or not to allow his party a free vote (where they do not have to vote along party lines) on the same-sex marriage bill next month he has the strength to make the right decision for Australia. Not the right decision based on his own minority beliefs. I could have a whole post full of my disappointment for Tony Abbott but it doesn't take long to find if you Google his name (although I have already done this for you so just click here to see it). 

It's time our Prime Minister finally did his job. See you soon.

My Problem with Jurassic World

Source: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/exclusive-spoilery-details-on-jurassic-world-the-park-the-dinos-more

Again, I am going to preface this post by saying that I did enjoy Jurassic World a lot, so much so that I have seen it twice. It has already grossed more than the original movie has since it first came out in 1993 (that's a staggering $1.26 billion for Jurassic World as of June 30 2015, less than a month after its release). Yes, I did just Wikipedia that, I put a lot of work into this obviously. While I admire all the acting, especially Bryce Dallas Howard's portrayal of Claire, the female heroine (as in female hero, not the drug, that is spelt differently [not that I would know of course]) of the story who saves her nephews and the park all the while in heels. I can't even walk in heels [again, not that I've tried] and yet she runs from dinosaurs, walks through mud and dirt, treks the forest, runs from pterodactyls all the while looking like hell on high heels (literally on heels). However, my gripe is not with those heels but we will come back to Claire in a little while. Michael Giacchino's score again adds to the spectacle of Jurassic World (a score completely at odds with his work on Inside Out also released last month). All in all it is an amazing film that definitely stands up to the original and makes up for its two rather disappointing predecessors. However, despite all this and Bryce Dallas Howard's performance I do have one bone to pick with the character of Claire Dearing.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJJrkyHas78

As you can see there is just so much wrong with this scene right now. First of all, HANG UP THAT DAMN PHONE CLAIRE! Seriously, she is not even driving on a normal road yet here she is speeding and on her phone. To top it all off, Claire is also full of adrenaline at this moment because of the fear of discovering that the Indominus Rex may have escaped its enclosure. As Claire puts it: "We have an asset out of containment!" Below you can view the trailer where this scene is shown (yes, I did pause the video and take a screenshot to get the picture above). It starts at 1:02 and only goes for a few seconds.

First of all, Claire, slow down. Wipe off five and save lives. I know you are in a rush to tell the control center that there is, and I quote, "an asset out of containment" but you are already talking to them on the phone. You getting there quicker will not change anything other than perhaps slowing them down if you interfere. In fact, when you do finally arrive they all just stop and stare at you after they have witnessed the Indominus Rex kill a few people (as one of Michael Giacchino's songs from the soundtrack is titled; the "Indominus Wrecks"). So yeah, speed all you like Claire but no matter how fast you go, you are powerless. Secondly, hang up the damn phone or at least put it on speaker. Before, when your sister called to check on her sons (your nephews) you were able to answer the phone using the hands free system that most modern cars now have, especially the modern cars that Masrani Global would provide to one of their highest employees. Yet here you found that you had to hold the phone while driving with one hand on the wheel at high speeds. I realise that Isla Nublar probably does not have a speed limit or any explicit road rules but you are setting a very bad example for all the viewers of this movie. Finally, Claire, why is that window down? I know Owen (played by Chris Pratt) was just in the car with you and that he stunk but still, it would probably be more effective to put your window down so that you would get the fresh air first. But no, the only window open is the one opposite for you. Spielberg, I know this made it easier to get this shot since her car windows are tinted but seriously, where is the sense in that? Not to mention the fact that Claire is on an island with prehistoric DINOSAURS. I kind of feel like having a window down may not be the smartest thing to do anywhere on that island, particularly not when you are driving alone in the middle of nowhere. Claire does seem to have a bad track record with windows though because when she is driving the truck later she has the window down and a velociraptor tries to jump inside. Granted, only its head made it through but still, the dinosaur was trying to eat you. I feel like that was a message to you so that you would learn to WIND UP YOUR BLOODY WINDOW WHEN YOU ARE ON AN ISLAND FULL OF DINOSAURS. However, here is a picture of Claire being the Claire that we come to love in this movie, and not the Claire that has no sense when it comes to driving vehicles on an island full of dinosaurs out to kill you.

Source: http://www.hypable.com/jurassic-world-claire-dearing-defense/

Just look at that face, Claire, you go girl (I feel like I have regressed a few decades). See you soon (as in the readers, not Claire, she's fictional).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STASHA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STASHA!

So Stasha, you're finally 18. Happy birthday! It's been a long time since Legal last year but you're still whipping all our asses. Hope you have a great day, you deserve it! HAPPY BIRTHDAY STASHA!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR STASHA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

(BTW, this post is obviously dedicated to Stasha)

My Problem with Disney's Cinderella

Source: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/roadsfromemmaus/2015/03/23/happily-ever-after-yes-really-movie-review-cinderella-2015/

I am going to preface this post by saying that I actually really liked Disney's new live-action remake of Cinderella. Although the story remained very much unchanged the costumes, music and acting made this film the wonder it is. Lily James played her role as the down-trodden yet kind Cinderella magnificently and Helena Bonham Carter yet again shone through her role as the Fairy God Mother and Narrator. My favourite actress of all in this was Cate Blanchett. While I may be biased as an Australian, her portrayal of the evil step-mother was done with such grace and subtlety. She was a vile woman, but you loved her for it. The music was one thing that really pulled this movie together. When Cinderella's mother died (not a spoiler, it happens in the first ten minutes) you really do feel for Cinderella even though you've only had a connection to her for less than ten minutes. This had to be owed to Patrick Doyle's moving score which, again, was a hero of this film. However, despite all this my gripe with this film has to do with the Prince (well portrayed by Richard Madden).

Source: http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/388635-ella-finds-her-prince-on-a-new-cinderella-poster#/slide/1

I will again preface this post by saying that this gripe with Cinderella's Prince extends to all versions of this text. My problem is the message the prince sends. To be perfectly honest, the prince is a bloody idiot. His whole plan on finding Cinderella relies on the fact that no one in the entire kingdom has the same shoe size as Cinderella. His plan is literally reliant on a glass slipper. Now the film does make somewhat of an effort to explain this by saying that the shoe is magical and will only fit Cinderella. That is all well and good for the audience to know but the prince doesn't! The Prince has no idea that the shoe is magical, in fact there is no evidence to even suggest that he even knows that magic exists. Even Cinderella had lost her belief in it until the eccentric Fairy God Mother appeared. Therefore the Prince is an idiot. There is no getting past the fact that the Prince's plan relied solely on Cinderella's shoe size being unique to her in the entire kingdom. The Prince had no idea that the shoe was magical and therefore only fitted Cinderella. The worse part comes when Cinderella, after seeing him try the shoe with everyone in the entire kingdom, decides to marry that man. What kind of message does that send? Not only is she marrying a complete fool, but she does so having only met him twice. Once was in the woods where she had only a few minutes with him and the second was at the actual ball. I'm starting to get an Anna and Hans (Frozen) vibe from this and we all know how that turned out. All I'm saying is that the Prince is an idiot and that Cinderella is an even bigger idiot for agreeing to marry him prematurely. That is my problem with Disney's 2015 live-action Cinderella.

This post is dedicated to my friend Malavika, you asked for one and here it is. See you all soon.

#IllRideWithYou

Yesterday saw one of the darkest days in Australian history in recent years. It saw the siege of the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place Sydney. A place central to the large city of Sydney and close to Government Authorities and broadcasters. It was also very close to famous landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/siege-at-sydneys-lindt-cafe-martin-place-long-identified-as-a-terrorist-target/story-fncynjr2-1227156454320

It was something that captured the attention of all Australians. This siege, done in the name of ISIS, finally came to an end just after 2 this morning, more than 16 hours after the siege began. This end came at the cost of three lives. One was the gunman himself who was holding the hostages. The other two were poor innocent people who had just gone out for a quick bite at the cafe. They were the 38 year-old barrister and mother of three Katrina Dawson and the 34 year-old manager of the cafe, Tori Johnson. Our thoughts go out to their friends and families at this troubled time.

[from top] Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson 

Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/martin-place-siege-victims-were-katrina-dawson-38-and-tori-johnson-34/story-fncynjr2-1227157794423

However, if there was one thing good to come out of this it was the sense of community that came out of it all. Despite the fact that the act was done in the name of ISIS many Australians stood up for the Muslims they knew had no support for the group who were destroying their reputation. In the face of adversity and immense suffering our country pulled together despite the ISIS plan to separate the Muslims from the rest of Australia. This was embodied through the hashtag "I'll ride with you".

Source: http://descrier.co.uk/news/world/illridewithyou-australians-show-solidarity-sydneys-muslims-siege/

It continues to trend on Twitter with thousands of people showing their support for their fellow Muslim Australians. It is a promise to show solidarity when you are with a Muslim, or anyone, and they could fear racial backlash from connotations regarding their faith. The following picture shows the Facebook post that started it all by Rachael Jacobs.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/martin-place-siege-illridewithyou-hashtag-goes-viral-20141216-127rm1.html

Since this many posts have come to show their supports and most Australians would have found at least one mention of the hashtag on Facebook or Twitter. This response to the attack by a person on Facebook which has since been shared by many people and pages sums up Australia's response to this incident perfectly.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/DanAndMaz

Nothing more needs to be said. See you soon.

Don't be a Phony

If you get one thing out of this post it is this (three guesses for what it is): don't be a phony. I can not make this any clearer. No one likes a phony. While you have friends who do not know the real you then you do not really have any friends because they like the version of you that you let them see, not the real you. Also, once they find out who you really are they may no longer be your friends as they feel betrayed that you lied to them for so long. However, as I said before, be they your friends or not, no one likes a phony.

As a high school student I have known and still know a lot of phonies. Of course, you might be asking yourselves "Luke, how do you know they're phonies?" Though really I know you're not thinking that but for the sake of the argument, you are. You can easily tell a phony when you notice that they are actually two separate people. I'm not talking about clones, I'm talking about them being different people when they are with their 'friends' and when they are talking to you. This is really annoying because you have to ask yourself which one is real? Some of the nicest people you will talk to can be total dicks (if you'll pardon my anatomy) when they are around their 'friends'. I put the 'friends' in quotation marks because can you really call them your friends if they do not actually know the real person? That is actually an important question. Another is how much can you really trust someone who is not able to even be themselves? That is why my message to all you phonies out there is to stop. Seriously, take a look at yourself and finally be true to who you are.

Sorry for the short post, see you soon.

Blog Update

So I've decided with this blog that I will no longer post updates regularly but rather whenever I feel like posting about something. I have decided this for a few reasons. First because I do not have the time anymore to keep daily posts on this blog (hence the extended hiatus) and secondly so I can deliver quality posts to you goes. What I noticed when I was doing daily writing is that my posts became kind of strained and not very good quality because I did not really have a topic that I particularly cared about. At least this way I can post about something when it comes to my head or write it down for later.

Stay tuned for my next post "Don't be a Phoney" which will be released shortly. See you then

Life Update

The last post I wrote that was not related to Kokoda was on the 14th of April which makes the fact that it was only 19 posts ago one of the reasons I jokingly changed the title of this blog to "The Not-so-Daily Lukey" which I will change back to "Daily Lukey" once I get back into the swing of things again. Anyway, the point of that little fact was to show how long it has been (almost 6 months ago [that's half a year!]) since I wrote a regular post. In that time a lot has happened (I think, we'll see when I get down to it) and so today's post is a little bit of an update on what has been going on.

So I wrote that introduction two days ago and now I am here, writing the rest of the post. Welcome to the world of procrastination. Except, I procrastinated by doing other work so it was not entirely wasteful procrastination. Could it even be called procrastination then? Anyway, school has been busy lately, especially since it is VCE, and with my 3/4 Methods exam just four weeks away the work is becoming more real as I get through more and more practice papers. I have done well in my SACs so I have that but I also need to do well in the exam if I want to get a good score so there comes that. The plus side is that in four weeks, I will no longer be doing Methods. Although I will miss it because I like mathematics, it will be nice to not have that as one of my hardest subjects anymore so I can focus more equally on my subjects, particularly the ones I am struggling with. I guess nothing much really has happened though since Kokoda, though I do feel I could use a random thought Friday post right now (wait, I moved that to Saturdays but anyway) because, as you can tell, my mind is all over the place right now. Nothing much really has happened though. We've had a catch-up with the Kokoda group, a presentation night for the whole leadership program plus some minor Rotary events we help out at but it has been a while since we have all been together again, I think we need to organise something. It is sad how people drift apart some times but hopefully we can organise another Relay for Life next year which can act as our reunion of sorts. I'm on my school's first SRC (this is only the school's fourth year) which was a great experience but is sadly drawing to a close as the new SRC representatives are elected for next year. One of the best things about being in a new school (aside from the new facilities) is the new traditions you get to create as well as the community feel you get from it. So, we may have only been around for almost a semester but it was great to set some of the grounding and actually have some input into things at the school and inputting student ideas. I had better finish now as I think you are all pretty much up to speed. Of course there are always the personal moments that occur but that is why this is the internet, and not my real life.

Hope to get another post out soon, see you soon!

My Kokoda Journey: Day 10 in Papua New Guinea (ANZAC Day and Final Day in PNG)

Today was our final day in Papua New Guinea and it was also ANZAC Day (25th of April 2014) so it was going to be an exciting end to our journey in Papua New Guinea. We woke up at 3am so that we would be ready to leave on a bus to get to Bomana War Cemetery in time for the dawn service. My room mate and I actually slept in a little so when it came to 3:30 and we were leaving, we were still in our room but luckily we woke up and answered the phone and pretended we were running late but still coming. Truth was we had just woken up. Still, we managed to get changed and down to the lobby in two minutes which included an elevator trip so we were pretty quick. It was dark out but there were already plenty of people moving around and there was a fair amount of road traffic heading to the war cemetery.

When we arrived we exited the bus and were handed a glow stick and a program for the event which I still have at home (for the memories). There were a lot of people around and we all sat on the grass aside from the sea of graves that were before us. It was a moving ceremony where Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea were all represented in both the dignitaries involved in the ceremony and the spectators. The most moving part however came later.

By far the most moving and emotional part of the war cemetery was all the graves that merely had "known unto God" marked on them as their inhabitants' identities were unknown. As we used the directory to search through names and then find their grave it was sad to see so many name-less graves and we had poppies to put down so some of them did go to some of the unmarked graves while the majority did go to the graves of the men we were looking for you. There were many nationalities presented and after experiencing Kokoda for ourselves, this became more important as we had experienced just a small fraction of what the Kokoda Campaign was like for the soldiers involved.

When we returned the hotel we had breakfast (again, nice not to have to add hot water to food to eat it) and then we spent the rest of the morning finalising our packing as well as relaxing and watching some television in our rooms. A few of us napped for a bit but I also found myself drawn to some Regular Show and Adventure Time that was on Cartoon Network at the time. It had started raining outside which reflected our feelings on leaving the beautiful country of Papua New Guinea. However, the upside was that we would be reunited with our families when we landed back in Melbourne that night. We all gathered down at the lobby before catching buses to the airport. We spent some time at the check-in desk before making us way through their duty free store and into the main airport where we waited for our flight to Brisbane (we then caught a connecting flight to Melbourne).

Arriving in Brisbane was an interesting experience as it was a beautiful sun set and it felt nice to be back in Australia again. We then bought ourselves dinner before waiting at the gate for our flight to Melbourne. The final stint of our journey was at night and, luckily, I had a section of seating to myself so I managed to spread out with another person who decided to share with me and actually got some nice sleep before landing in Melbourne and being reunited with our families.

Kokoda was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I will treasure and be forever grateful with the friendships that I have made through this experience.

Back to regular posts from tomorrow! See you then.

My Kokoda Journey: Day 8 on Kokoda (Day 9 in Papua New Guinea)

We had made it! There was only three hours ahead of us before we could say that we had completed the Kokoda track. It was a bitter-sweet realisation as it would also mean saying goodbye to our porters with whom we had formed a connection with over our experience. We woke up to the usual "Good morning, turn your torches on please" from our guide from PNG Trekking Adventures which was a big moment in itself but I think it was more a moment of relief more than anything. Still, it made for some great memories that we still refer to today. After we had packed up our tents for the final time and had eaten our final breakfast (our ration pack only consisted of breakfast that day which meant less weight in our bags for the big climb out) we listened to the head porter give us a run-down on what was going to happen and what the terrain was going to be like before we had our last morning chant. We then took a group photo of our porters and began our final bit of the journey.

After about ninety minutes of hiking (in which I only fell down a few times in the mud) we came to this river which was not too deep but deep enough that the water was over our waists. The porters went through first to take some of the packs and other materials across and to prepare for our crossing. They then formed a line, sort of like a guard of honour, and they guided each of us across.

You can see in the picture above how some of the porters have their hands in the water, that is because as we went past they would splash us with water. So while the water was not deep, we came out the other side drenched. Luckily though it was sunny and none of us really cared if we were wet anymore. There was a massive water fight when everyone had gotten across and we even chased down our head porter and dumped him in the river too (he was also splashing us before and dunking some of us in). We had a short break on the other side before we started the last forty-five minute climb to Owers Corner which was very steep. The worst part was the end because once you came to the sunlight it was a further while of criss-crossing before we reached the top and even when we saw the arches we were to pass through it was a while until we reached the top. We all formed a guard of honour before entering the arches and let our porters go through first. Then the rest of us went through and it was an amazing feeling. We had done it. It was hard to believe but we had done it. I still cannot believe it as I look back now.

We were greeted with cold cans and salad rolls (after 8 days of ration packs, they were amazing) which we all happily feasted on before we took hundreds of photos under the arches and then gathered in a circle with our porters. We made a few presentations to them and they also made some to us. Some of them even carved a few of us sticks with our name on it. I was surprised when one of the porters had made one for me but I held on to it the whole way back to the hotel (except when I gave it to others to look at) and I still treasure it to this day. It was an amazing gift that was so intricate. It had my name on it, the name of the trekking company (PNG Trekking Adventures), the name of the trek (Kokoda) and also the year. I was so grateful to him.

  

Before long though we had to say our final goodbyes and get on the buses that would drive us back to the hotel (it was about a two to three hour bus drive) in Port Moresby. On the way we saw a lot of Papua New Guinea which was amazing and down below you can see a ferris wheel at their Adventure Park which we drove past on our way back. It was so nice to be able to sit down and be driven somewhere after eight days of hiking.

  

When we arrived at the hotel we took our bags up to our rooms and had a long-awaited and well-deserved shower. I basically felt sorry for everyone else in the hotel at the time because we must have stunk. We couldn't tell because we had all grown used to it over our time on the trek but it must have been pretty bad. There is not much river water and eco-friendly soap can do in the long run. Especially after splashing around in a river and hiking in the sun. After the shower we had a buffet lunch (more real food!) as it was only around 1pm and everyone was so excited and there was a lot of chatter. It felt refreshing to finally be able to relax. After that, a few of us lounged around the pool area for a bit (it was still a beautiful sunny day) and then after that sat on our beds and watched some television.

That night when we had dinner we also had some presentations where all the students/young leaders went around and talked about what they had learnt about themselves on the trek. I am not going to discuss that though as it was a very emotional and deep moment. It was something special that we will all share. After that we were handed a certificate from PNG Trekking Adventures with our name and the dates of our trek as well as a PNG Trekking Adventures shirt that also had "Kokoda" on it which I still wear today (I actually wore it today to be honest). We were then given the second dog tag to go on the necklace with the one we had received on the morning of the second day at the Isurava War Memorial (click here for that day's post). It had "Courage", "Endurance", "Mateship" and "Sacrifice" written on it which were the four words/values that were on the pillars at the Isurava war memorial as they are the key values associated with the Kokoda campaign. I still wear those dog tags to this day and will cherish them for the rest of my life. After more chatting it was then time to head to bed as we had to be up at 3am the next morning so we could get to the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Bomana War Cemetery in Papua New Guinea.

This may have been my last day on the Kokoda trek but I still have one more day to post about before this Kokoda series is over. I hope to have this one out tomorrow but usually when I get a run of two posts in a row it stops but I will try.

Hope you are well, see you soon!

My Kokoda Journey: Day 7 on Kokoda (Day 8 in Papua New Guinea)

Finally, we are back! You may have noticed that I have changed the title of this blog for now to the "Not-So-Daily-Lukey" (however, the URL still remains the same) until I get back on track with these posts. It has been a while but as this is the second-last post in this series that I will resume regular posting soon. Anyway, on to Day 7 of our trek on Kokoda (day 8 in Papua New Guinea) which was our second-last day. Waking up and having to put on wet boots (they did not dry) was far from the best way to start the day but the knowledge that we were almost done, while sad, also provided us with the motivation to trek onwards and, literally, upwards. Today was a day of a lot of ups and then a very long down. There were also a lot of river crossings (around 12 to 17) today and we did not take our boots off this time. Although, they were nothing like the river we crossed the day before (click here for pictures) they were above our ankles which meant the water was always getting into our boots.

It was still a beautiful day though with a lot of amazing scenery all around us. When we woke up in the morning we could see our surroundings fully where we appeared to be in a valley of sorts surrounded by mountains covered in trees. It was an amazing sight, especially as the sun was rising. Our day began with an immediate uphill which was but a mere beacon of what was to come that day as we climbed Imita Ridge and then descended to our last camp site. Before I continue, I would like to apologise for the lack of photos in this post. I do remove the photos that clearly show a person's face but even with those photos there was only eleven in total (excluding the top picture above).

After we had reached the top of our first climbing for the day, we managed a bit of a descent before we reached this area (see above picture) after our morning break. It was a few hours of this where we were winding our way around (and through) several rivers and navigating dense forests. Then we came to our lunch break in a village just outside of this area. It was a sunny day and so everyone had taken off their shoes and socks in the false hope that they would dry just a little bit. It did help however in ridding ourselves of the excess water that was sloshing around our boots but aside from that, it did not do much. It did let our feet breath though which was something. It felt relaxing, it was nice. Before long it was over and we found ourselves continuing with an upward hike which, after about an hour, led us to the bottom of Imita Ridge. It was a further hour and a half to two hours before we finally reached the top of Imita Ridge having climbed some of the steepest and hardest terrains of the Kokoda track. It was kind of fun though to pull yourself up some parts as it made it feel more rough.

At the top of the ridge we were greeted by these plaques to commemorate what was a very important place on the Kokoda track for Australian troops. It was a key defensive position in the Kokoda campaign and it could have been an entirely different outcome without it. We had a break of about fifteen minutes up here where our guide talked to us about Imita Ridge and where we also heard a poem read by one of our sponsors. It was a moving experience to hear these stories and learn about the struggles of the soldiers who had come before us and had trekked, and died, on the very land that we were standing on. It was a humbling experience to say the least.

It was another two-hour long hike all the way down Imita Ridge to our final campsite. The best part was that we arrived before dark and so we had some time in the light to go down to the river and just sit there and chat as we did the best we could to clean ourselves. It was relaxing to just sit back with your feet in the water and talk to other people. It felt like a nice holiday (we obviously were not trekking at that exact moment in time) and personally I felt grateful to be there (as incredibly corny as that sounds).

That night there was a more festive mood around the camp as people were excited to finish the track with only two to three hours of trekking left to go in the morning. We had another sing-a-long with the porters and everyone was really getting into it and so when we went to sleep that night there were still a few tents abuzz with people chatting excitedly.

I hope to get the next day out to you very soon! Hope you are well, see you soon.

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!