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!
