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 2 on Kokoda (Day 3 in Papua New Guinea)

Sorry it is taking me so long to get these out! It's just hard trying to find the time with all my procrastinating. You know how it is. Today was our first day waking up on the Kokoda track and our view was incredible. As you can see in the picture below we were above the clouds and when we woke up it was like we were above a sea of white with little islands (mountain tops) peeking up over the top. It was amazing and was one of the sights that made our trip even more worth while. This morning was also the first time we got to hear our trekking guide Pam say "Good morning. Time to get up." This was something we would come to 'love' over the coming days as we waited in our tents having been woken by her awaking others. I think the phrase "Just 5 more minutes" became very popular and people just turned their headlights on and went back to sleep for a little bit longer. As a group, we could take some time to get ready in the morning and often would leave after our 6:30 deadline (we woke up at 5am every day).

After we had 'enjoyed' our ration pack breakfasts (though the porridge we had that morning wasn't so bad) we were told to head up the hill a little bit for a memorial service at the Isurava war memorial. It was an amazing and moving time and the pictures below show some of what we saw. We had about five to ten minutes to look around beforehand and then we began our service with Pam reading a bit of the background of the place as well as one of our sponsors reading a poem. It was really emotional and it all struck home what we were actually doing right now and how the soldiers before us must have struggled. It said a lot about the endurance and courage our Aussie diggers had to withstand during the Kokoda campaign.

After Pam's speech and the poem we all stood around in a circle while our Police members talked more about the soldier's side and then handed each of us a dog tag with a necklace. This dog tag I still wear today and it has our name on it, the date (April 2014) and the Kokoda trail. We were told that we would get our second dog tag when we finished the trail which was something that motivated us as well as made it very special. After this ceremony, the Porters (pictured below, some had already gone ahead to set up our camp for that night) gathered on the steps and sang their national anthem which was both amazing and humbling. Then Silus, the head porter, (who was really a very very nice and amazing person) gave us our morning briefing on the day's trekking which set us up to start our day knowing where we were going (in a general sense, it was still a mystery to us).

When we began our trek we had not been trekking for long (probably just under an hour or so) before we reached a part of the track that used to home Surgeon's Rock where they would perform amputations that could not wait until they were evacuated from the track (which could take weeks). It was a little disappointing not be able to see it (it had been washed down the side of the track a few years ago) but just to be able to stand on that spot and see where it used to be was again a very humbling experience. It was also scary to think of the horrifying conditions that the Australian soldiers had to go through. Today was very much a reflective day. We then continued our trek through some of the beautiful landscapes you see below.

We were then able to stop after a while at a village where we had our morning tea. They were selling bananas and soft drink there but I only had the banana (wasn't feeling up to the coke yet) which was sooo good! It was nice just to sit down and, again, take in our surroundings. Also, the villagers were again so nice! It was an amazing experience everywhere you look. After about ten to fifteen minutes we continued on our journey.

The above photo shows us walking through a small river (we thought those were river crossings, wait until Day 6 (Day 7 in Papua New Guinea)) and below we walked over a bridge. These bridge crossings caused a lot of nerves in themselves as below us was raging rivers and all that was to stop us falling in were some of these bridges. Still, we crossed one a t a time with the help of a porter and a rope (some only had porters to hold on to and boy, did I hold on tight during these ones). The best part was when you walk on a log the whole way across only to find out at the last little bit that it was the only log not secured to the bridge (which explained why it rolled over so much).

We were almost at our lunch break when we came to a part off the track near Eora Creek where we could walk up for a bit and then come to the remnants of some Japanese war materials (like empty shells and some weapons) as well as some of their 'rabbit hole' things they would use to get under and around the mountains as well as to hide at times. It was pretty high up but there was a lot to see.

It was a little entertaining (if not a bit worrying) to see one of our police men trip on something and fall on the old Japanese ammo shells spreading the pile everywhere. It was sort of funny when he had to put it back together again but still, he should have been a little more careful (coming from the person who fell over the most on the track).

These (below) are some of the amazing bridges we got to cross over on our journey and they were actually quite beautiful in an abstract kind of way. It was a lot of fun to walk over these as you felt safer as there were arm rails (of sorts) along the sides and it seemed more stable than some of the ones we had previously walked over. At times it humbled us to think of all the bridges we crossed that the soldiers before us had not.

This is where we stopped for Lunch on the banks of Eora Creek before we continued on our last three to four hour trek up a hill and then down the other side to our camp site at Templeton's Crossing (I think it was Templeton's Crossing 1 [there were 2]). Some of us managed to arrive before dark but those of us who had fallen behind (due to Gastro or falling over a lot [both categories for me]) arrived just after dark so it was fun to cross the bridge you can see below at this time. It was times like these that I was glad for the porters (also as I fell down a lot on the way down the hill [don't blame me, it was muddy. It was bound to happen]) help throughout it all.

The sight of our camp site was definitely a great sight and that night we were able to have our dinner and talk for a bit and just enjoy ourselves. It was also nice to finally have a toilet to go to (even though it was still a drop hole it had a hut over it) and a place to rest our legs for longer than thirty minutes. Today was a great day and we were glad to have put two of some of the hardest days on the track behind us (Days 1, 2 and 6 were the hardest for us but each trekking company has a different itinerary and spread out the days differently). We were able to reflect on our journey and enjoy and appreciate where we were. Plus, it was the first night we were able to go in the river and wash some of the gunk and stuff of us (which was nice as I went to bed with a little less mud on my legs [hooray!]).

I hope to have Day 3 on Kokoda up in a few days, thank you for waiting. See you soon!