Trekkers' Progress - daily updates

Day1

Owers

Good Water 

Our plane inbound from Brisbane to Port Moresby was delayed which arrived in Port Moresby 2 hours late.

Both Craig and Trish cleared customs as quickly as possible and we were on our way out to Owers Corner by 3 15 pm.

Our tour started from Owers Corner at 430 pm and due to the lack of time we have decided to camp at Goldie River.

All the trekkers are doing well, and are looking forward to the first big climb up Imita Ridge tomorrow morning.

Day2

Good Water 

Offi Creek

Banabas our tour guide has reported from Imita Ridge at 955 am this morning.  The group are going at a steady rate so far and are all looking well.

Trish has a minor knee complaint however her personal porter is confident that she will be able to complete the entire trek allt he way to Kokoda. He has mentioned that she is a very strong minded lady and has the mental toughness to finish Kokoda.

The group will be heading toward Offi Creek today. This is a long day due to the plane delay and lack of distance covered yesterday.

Banabas ( tour Guide ) : "The group have  made camp at offi creek this evening. This has been a challenging day. Very long and has really tested the legs and lungs of our trekkers. We are all weary and have all decided to go to sleep very early."" Trish is looking like she has a sore knee,but she is tough and determined to make it to the end. Ian ( her porter) and I will make sure she finishes"

Day 3

Offi Creek

Menari

Day 4

Menari

Naduri

 An Early Rise this morning the temp was very fresh this morning. After a quick breakfast the group have a very long day consisting of plenty of long climbs onward to Effogi and then up to one of the most spectacular scenic views at Naduri Camp site. 

Day 5

Naduri

TC 2

Day 6

TC 2

Isuravua Battlefield

 The group Camped last night at Isuravua Battle Field. 

Everyone is doing will and the group is moving at a steady pace. Today's Walk from Templeton's Crossing to Battlefield was a long walk. 

Dana , Criag,  Kristain, Trish and Andrew are all doing well. 

One more sleep and they have completed the Kokoda track.  

Day 7 

Isuravua Battlefield

Kokoda

Congratulations to 

Dana Rich , Criag Gulliley,  Kristain Demski, Trish Gullilley  and Andrew Elborne for competing the Kokoda Track 2011.

The group will enjoy their final meal on the kokoda tonight and the personal porters have a few special presentations for the 5 Kokoda Trekkers.

Kokoda

POM

Strong winds warnings have delayed the pick up from Kokoda Airstrip this morning for the Group. Once the weather has died down a little our chartered flight will set off to pick up the group to complete the round loop from Port Moresby - Kokoda - Port Moresby.

Day 

Location

 Report

Port Moresby - 

Owers Corner to Good Water

The team has made it to "Good Water" and all is well...Message from the boys, "Go the Tigers!!"

Was the toughest day on the trek as we mostly did up hill climbing, it was a mental aswell as a physical challenge.

Craig's inspiration to keep pushing on was Joe Hockey.

We got into Offi Creek and set up camp at 3pm. Dinner was chicken rissotto, which Renee said was the best meal she ha shad so far.

Started off trekking at 6am and got into Banana Camp at 9am. We were welcomed with some fresh Banana's. 

Haydon added a glucose tablet with it and said that will boost his energy for the final part of the walk for today.

9.45am - We are now trekking down hill from Banana Camp and up to Menari, where we set camp for the night.

Renee loves the theme song the porters are singing, and is getting everyone of us to learn the song as well. Practising ready for our singing presentation this evening.

Message - they all said they are well and are enjoying it very much! 

.  

Menari Village- Naduri

We started slow and struggled a bit today. We got into Efogii at 12pm, had our lunch and started off for Naduri at 12.30pm and got there around 3.30pm.

Not even the days hard walk diminished our hope, especially Craig and Haydon who are hoping that the Tigers would win in tonights game so they play Canberra in the semi-finals. 

 We set off today at 7am from Naduri and hoping to reach TC2 at around 3pm...We are well and settling into the pace and routine for the remaining Days ahead.

It was raining as we started off today from TC2 to Isurava. Alan Warned us that this would happen even though the sun was out and not a cloud in the Sky. Yet once we got over Mount Belami Peak, sur eenough it poured.

We are tired but we pushed on to the Battle Field. We saw the Battle Field at Eora Creek, the Australian and Japanese Battle Field sights. Also, on the way we passed the "surgeon's rock" where Australian soldiers were operated on when injured.

Message from Craig and Haydon who are still hopeful that Tigers won on Friday nights game and want to know what the outcome is. 

We got up early for the dawn service, the boys (porters) choir also sang songs as we looked on into the quiet plains covered with the morning mist and fog.

Its tough to imagine what exactly happened on the track over 60 years ago. Carig Haydon and Renee spent a few moments alone on at the Memorial quietly enjoying each others company in Silence. 

We are well and happy. Looking forward to finishing the trek today.

We will have lunch at Deniki and head into Kokoda.

Checked int o our hotel. 

We have a trip to Bomana War cemetary. This is a site to see. Craig Renee and Haydon look at the heroes laid to rest here with great admiration. 

 Renee and Haydon say farewell Craig at the international airport. 

Arrive in Rabaul and check into the beautiful Rapopo Plantation resort. 

" this is going to be a great treat, its exactly what we need after the trek" Renee

Haydon is a little worried after getting his "SP on" with Craig last night he might have a 3 day cold and this might stop him from diving tomorrow.

One Word "Amazing". the Vis was over 40 m and Renee and Haydon dive to about 30 m. Officially the deepest dive they have done so far. We see shark, turtles and amazing Corals. To think under 30 hours ago we were on the Kokoda now in the clearest water 30 m down. 

2 dives today and back to resort to relax by the pool having a beer. 

Dinner at the Famous Ralum Country Club. Haydon's precious Tigers whip the Canberra Raiders..... Enough said. 

 Happy BirthdayRabaul

100 years old

Morning dive. Again water calm vis 40 m and amazing marine Life. 

Al picks the guys up as well as some diving buddies we met on our moring dive. 

We have a tour of the Rabaul Town where we are met by 1000's of celebrating locals Rabaul's 100th birhtday.  We visit Japanese barge tunnels, Under ground Japanese bunnkers and best of all the Volcanoes. 

 What a day. 

Day 

Location

 Report

Port Moresby - 

After a slow transit through PNG customs the Guys were greeted at the airport by our BHMT team. 

The Guys are whisked straight on the bus where they are introduced the porters and guides. The Group will be lead by our top guides Tom and Ezzra.

Afetr a few happy snaps the Sly Group took their first steps on the track at 4:10 pm  on their way down to Goldie River.  Good luck Guys. 

The  team made it to Good water and have set up camp. Early nights sleep onward to Ioribaiwa tomorrow. A big climb ahead. 

Tom and the boys are progressing well today. An early wake up call was a shock to the system. 

The team are travelling at a very quick rate. 

Bob has slowed down a little but Tom reports that its not Bob who is slow its just his two two sons are too quick. 

The Sly men have reached their camp site at Ioribaiwa. The team reached camp with about half and hour of sunlight left. An early night looks on the cards. 

The sly team are in Noaro Village. 

Everything is going well. Bob has his second wind and is leading the way after getting acclimatised to the temperature and humidity of the first day. 

 The mountains were a bit of a challenge today.

No messages to be sent back home from the Sly men.  

Naoro to

Menari Village

Quick breakfast this morning the Sly team left Naoro camp site at 7 am. Onward to Menari. 

The Sly have decided against sending any messages. 

The team have reached camp at Menari Village at 11.35 am. A short walk today.

They will be visiting  the Bokoi Foele one of the last remaining Fuzzy Wuzzy's for a cup of hot chocolate and Buscuit. 

Toms's Group left Naduri at 6 am after an early light breakfast. 

Both Toddy and Jordon are doing well and offering alot of support to Father Rob who is going well but finding it a little harder going than the two young boys. 

The Group are covering good ground today and will have the option push further than the scheduled camp site if time/light permits.

The Sly men have decided to push  longer distance today to make the final day a shorter walk into Kokoda. 

Our team have made camp at TC 2. They have covered a more ground than expected today. And early Dinner was shared at 530 pm. 

Day 

Location

 Report

Puffins arrived in to Port Moresby from Sydney just after midday and were greeted by SSH-BHMT's Stephanie Manning and Sai Faole.

Group were transferred to the Ela Beach Hotel and checked in to the rooms. Immediately after checking in, puffins were located by the poolside and enjoying PNG's finest SP Lager.

Tour brief: At 5:30PM Puffins met with the trek team for the tour brief. Tour guide Jack and Tom were introduced to the team. Puffin Magic Foundation and cause is explained to the team. 

Wake up: 4:00AM and departed Port Moresby for Ower's Corner. Girls were all a little sleep eyed but all were very excited.....

Arrived at Ower's Corner at 6AM. and trekkers were introduced to their porter team.

1. Jacko and Bob
2. Fash and Tom Sui
3. Penny and Rex
4. Ella and Hiksy
5. Emma and Ouda

Team trekked down to Goldie River and were served breakfast. Team then continued their climb up to Imita Ridge which was covered by a blanket of fog.

At the top of Imita Ridge and after completing the Golden staircase, the girls soon realised that what they have embarked on wasnt going to be easy. But in saying that, Tom (Guide) was very impressed with the Puffin's effort in their first climb of the day.

Lunch: We arrived in to Va'Ule Creek at 11:30AM and the porters cooked up the billy and prepared lunch for the team. Puffins decided to jum into the river for a well deserved swim.

Afternoon/Evening: After lunch, we commenced our afternoon trek towards Ioribaiwa. This was a tough climb with alot of up's and to add to it the rain decided to come down heavily on the team. Penny had a few comments to share to Kori after she asked him how far up Ioribaiwa ridge they were...... she did not get the answer she was looking for. Arrived in to Ioribaiwa at 2:45PM. After an hour of trying to secure a suitable spot to setup camp, the porters setup the tents and soon after dinner was served. Tonight on the menu was curry chicken with rice.

Camp Fire: That night, our BHMT team porters provided some delightful entertainment for our puffin team, singing a number of gospel hyms and teaching the puffins the SSH-BHMT team song "It's not an easy road!"

Wake up: Puffins were up at 5:00AM and breakfast was served at 5:45AM. Team set off from Ioribaiwa at 06:20AM.

First stop was at Ofi Creek (2 hours from Ioribaiwa). Puffins were feeling a little stiff this morning (to be expected) but the first climb of the day, up to Ioribaiwa (top) was the perfect heart starter for the puffins and by the first hour they were warmed up and excited about the big trek up Maguli Ridge.

Destination tonight? There was talk about the group trekking to Menari today but by lunchtime (11AM) at Jap's ladder, the team decided to change the campsite for the night and instead stay at Agulogo campsite (inside the Nauro valley).

The trek down Maguli ridge (post lunch), passing through New Nauro village and into Nauro valley was a very challenging one for the Puffins. Known as the 9 false peaks, trekking down it is just as hard (as trekking up) especially when a torrential rain storm hits you. Slippery, wet and muddy is probably the best way to describe this afternoons trek. But Puffins were embracing the elements and even Emma still had time to prance across rocky river crossings. Something she apparently learnt from the good old days at Cargo bar..... so she says!?

The Rest Day

After 2 pretty full on days, the puffins were gifted today with a more relaxing trek from Agulogo to Menari (circa 3 1/2 hours). Mind you the trek up Menari Ridge was no walk in the park for the group, taking up to 1 1/2 hours to get to the top.

By 10:00AM the group had reached Menari and were warmly greeted by smiling faces and loads of happy local village kids. Emma thought that she was in paradise!

Puffins settled in to the village guest haus then after an hour of laying in the sun, the girls went for a swim down at the nearby river. They were led down to the river by a group of local women and young girls who were intrigued by the group of "white girls and their blonde straight hair."

Lunch was served around 12noon and as Menari is the head village for SSH-BHMT, the local women were constantly appearing with fresh fruit (pineapples and bananas) and some delectable banana cake.

Afternoon:  Upon the arrival of one of our Peregrine groups, both teams were officially welcomed by Menari village and presented with flower necklaces. It was a great moment for both groups and one which I am sure they will remember for a very long time.

In the Vault: Puffins did make a pact to keep certain on-tour details inside the vault.... but this certain detail that was leaked, whether true or not is definitley worth disclosing. Apparently their SSH faclitator was seen inside the guest house being given a facial mask by Jacko. This person cant be named but his initials start with K and end with Chan....??

Morning Send off: After an early morning rise (4:45AM), the Puffins set off for another biggish day, bound for Naduri village. But before departing from Menari, our guide's (Jack) wife, Wendy presented to the Puffins a bilum bag each as our porters and Puffins sang the team song "It's not an easy road!"

This mornings trek started with a steep but short descent down to the Emugi river. Then the trek really commenced when we started our climb up towards Brigade Hill, taking us up to 2 1/2 hours.

TBC 

Date

Location

Progress Update

Early start this morning with the team boarding the bus from the hotel at 0430 hrs.
After a 2.5 hr bus ride the trekking party arrives at Owers Corner the start of the infamous Kokoda Track.
The team took their first of many steps on the Kokoda officially at 0745.
The team walked for an hour before breakfast down at the Goldy River.
Conditions on the track were humid and wet, which proved to be very trying for all trekkers.

Geoff in Particular was in a spot of bother with an upset stomach. Geoff made it to the first camp site, in a little discomfort but safely.  He is ok and is not too bad but we will keep and eye on him over night. We will assess him in the morning before we walk onto the next site.

It was in fact Richard who suffered the stomach pains not Geoff

Early night sleep was had by all after a trying and exhausting first day.

Richard (not Geoff) felt ok this morning with his stomach subsiding and feeling a lot better. The guides are putting it all down to the heat and acclimatizing to the surroundings.

The team leader has decided not to push onto the final camp site and allow Richard to rest at Japs Ladder. The team will over night at Japs Ladder tonight.  Although the team are slightly behind schedule, team Leader James is confident by tomorrow they will make up for lost time and reach Menari. All Other trekkers are ok and the moral is still very high. 

Trekkers are all a little stiff this morning after two solid days of walking. The team left a little earlier this morning to make up for lost time yesterday.  

Trek up Menari Ridge was tough but the guys have implemented a startegy of the front mob "singing out" to the slow ones to get up the hills.

From all report Richard is starting to bounce back today and the group are on their final decent into Menari. They should be reaching Menari Camp by 1600 hrs.  

The Men spent the afternoon in Menari having a cup of tea and talking to one of the three remaining Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels Faole Bokoi .

Darren the newly wed wants to finish the trek in a hurry so that he can get back to his wife and finish off his honeymoon.

Menari to Effogi

Rest Day May 16

Group set off early this morning, bound for Brigade Hill. ETA 1100

THe group reached Effogi safely and enjoyed a lovely rest day. They attend morning Lotu ( church) with the locals and enjoyed it so much that they returned for evening Lotu before dinner. 

Gaksi a director of BHMT and owner of the guest house has reported the group to be n happy spirits and in good health.

Diggers to TCII

 The group left TCII this morning toward Deniki. Everyone was a little sore but in good spirits as they have broken the back of the track and on their way home. 

 Lunch was had as Alola. 

The trekkers have reached battle field. Report from the guys- "this is the most rewarding thing we have done."  The trekkers will overnight at Battle Field.

They are on cloud nine as they are now looking down from the hills onto Kokoda and can see the finish. Tomorrow is just a slow walk down to Kokoda.

Date

Location

Progress Update

Team departed Sydney at 0800hrs from Sydney international airport on board Air Niugini flight. First stop was in Brisbane for a quick transit stop. Flight departed Brisbane and arrived in Port Moresby at 1400hrs. SSH-BHMT team were at the airport to meet the team. They were then transferred to Ela Beach Hotel but outside the airport they were greeted by their personal porters who presented them with a cap.

Checked in to the hotel, relaxing by the poolside and then at 1730hrs team had their tour brief by SSH-BHMT operation staff - Saii Faole and Alex Siosi; Al Manning and Stephanie Manning. They covered all areas regarding risk and safety on the track, history of the Kokoda track, the local indigenous people and their culture and goal setting.

Team retired to rooms after an early dinner as the wake up call was set for 4:30AM.

Wake up was nice an early at around 0420hrs. Team were collected from the Ela Beach Hotel at 0530hrs by their bus driver jackson. The BHMT team - porters and Guide (Note - Tom Mado replaced Gaksy Siosi) shared the bus ride up to Ower's Corner.

Bus arrived at ower's Corner at 0830hrs, the team had a quick warm up and then set off with their personal porters with them down the first steep and rocky descent towards Goldie River (30-40 mins away).

Today's goal was to reach Va'Ule Creek with the exception of conituning on towards Ioribaiwa if the conditions were kind to us and if the team were feeling fit and mentally enough to continue on day 1.

Weather was kind in the morning.... Did not rain until after being dropped off at Ower's Corner. Heat was evidently making the journey difficult to start with on day 1 but something which the group slowly became accustomed to as the day continued on and as they gradually climbed in altitude towards the beautiful hilltop campsite on Ioribaiwa ridge.

Team are informed about the significance of Ioribaiwa as it was the closest point that the japanese troops came to reaching Port Moresby. Dinner tonight is bangers and mash! 

Early morning start from Ioribaiwa. Goal is to reach the nauro valley within 8-9hours of trekking (ETA 3:30PM).

First rest point/water hole is at Ofi Creek. Team refills water bladders. They then continue on trekking towards Japs ladder about 3 1/2 to 4 hours away from Ofi Creek.

Maguli ridge is always a challenging section along the track but upon reaching the summit the team then descend down towards New Nauro village and into the Nauro valley.

Campsite tonight is at Hanueveuli campsite located between Avulogo and Nauro village. campsite reached in good time; Porter team setup dinner for the night - Tonight on the menu is curry chicken and rice.

Soreness expressed this morning..... commence trek through the Nauro valley and then commence the sharp steep ascent up the back of Menari ridge (2 1/2 hrs to climb to summit). team reach Menari village by mid morning and stop for a short break. The majority of the BHMT porter team are from the next three villages so porters are introducing the trekking team members to their family's etc.

Trek continues towards Brigade Hill lookout. This takes just under 3 hours to reach from Menari village. Involved a steep climb up Brigade Hill. Team are briefed on the significance of the battle of Brigade Hill by guide Tom Mado. Team purchase some fresh organic fruit from village women selling their produce on the top of Brigade Hill.

Following on from lunch, the team are led along the whindy path on Brigade Hill. After mendering down this path for 45minutes - they reach the northern face of Mission Hill. This looks out across to Mt Bellamy with Efogi village, Naduri and kagi now in full view. They are shared the story about the night of lanterns when 20,000 Japanese troops were seen to be marching down Mt Bellamy and their lanterns lit up the entire face of Mt Bellamy.

The descent towards Efogi takes approximately 1 hour. The team reached the campsite at 1700hrs and a report is sent back to base in Port Moresby at 1800hrs by guide Tom Mado. Dinner tonight is Pasta and sauce.  Birthday wishes are sent to Geoff Kay from the team!

Isurava village to Kokoda

1) Depart to Sydney

2) Rubio: 15-20th March

Date

Location

Progress Update

Arrived in to Port Moresby at 1330hrs, on time and on board Air Niugini - PNG's national airline. Kori Chan and Noel Gumaba (SSH-BHMT Op's manager) greeted us at the airport and arranged our transfer to the Ela Beach Hotel (10 mins from the airport). Kori and Noel got us checked in and then we set off for a land tour around Port Moresby.

First stop was Bomana War memorial where 3600 Australian soldiers lay to rest. We spent just over an hour at this truly memorable place. It set the precedence for what we were in PNG to do and for the trek ahead of us.

We later returned to the hotel after a brief stop at Boroko Foodworld where were able to stock up on snacks for the trek.

6PM: Kori and Noel conducted a very thorough briefing session that cover all important aspects relating to the 7 day trek.

Last Supper: We sat at Ozzie's Bar, ate pizza, drank a couple of beers and watched the Wallaboes fall short to the All Blacks in Brisbane. Damn it!

Rise: All up and checked out by 4:15AM. Kori was ready outside with our 25 seater bus. We set off for Sogeri-Ower's Corner arriving at about 6:00AM.

Introduced to our SSH-BHMT team which was great.

• Kate with Ezra (Menari)
• Stephen with Seile (Nauro)
• Josh with Francis (Nauro)
• Mikey with Wumpy (Menari/Sogeri)
• Sarah with Sibido (Lamagi)

We set off at 6:30AM and it took 30minutes to walk to Goldie River (our first river crossing). We had lunch on the other side of the river at 07:00AM.

08:00AM we set off to climb the Golden Staircase up to Imita Ridge. All were feeling it early on but fortunately the gods were kind to us and provided some shade for us under a cloudy and overcast day.

We arrived at Va'Ule Creek campsite for lunch at approx 11:30AM. We set off for Ioribaiwa at 1:30PM and arrived by 3:30PM. What a beautiful campsite!

Comment of the day (If not the trip): Mikey upon climbing the final ascent to Ioribaiwa...."I think I am going to have a stroke, the left side of my face, i think, is going numb" Later that night at dinner, his left side of his face didn't look that numb as he ploughed into the bangers and mash!

Kori was up at 4:30AM (This would be a regular occurence). Early breakfast was had and then we set off for Ofi Creek.

We made good time to Ofi Creek which was the perfect warm up for the morning. We continued on for another 3 hours to Jap's Ladder where we had lunch at the village campsite. Lunch was always a very rewarding meal for the group - Warm baked beans and spaghetti, corn beef, noodles, hard biscuits (the kind that diggers ate... I love Wopa by the way!), confectionary and milo, coffee and tea.

Following lunch we continued our trek along Maguli Ridge and then proceeded down the 9 false peaks to Old Nauro village to the guest haus operated and owned by our personal porter and BHMT coop partner Francis. This afternoon it rained all afternoon so it was testing times when descending down the 9 false peaks.... fortunately out PP's were right behind us to catch us before we fell.

Up nice an early this morning and set off from Old Nauro village for what would be our shortest day of trekking to nearby Menari village (Approx 5 hours).

On the way through the Nauro valley we came across a local villager who had caught a huge eel (Maliau in tok pisin). Kori decided to purchase the eel from the villager and said that lunch today would be BBQ'd eel.

The climb up to Menari Ridge was tough (Approx 1 1/2 hours to the top) and this was followed by a relatively quick descent to Menuari village (45 miuntes).

We settled into Saii Faole's guest haus at Menari village. We had lunch at about 1PM and then by 2 PM the eel had been prepared on Kori's BBQ plate that he donated to the village in June 2008. Josh will never say another bad word about eel again!

In the afternoon the group had free time to relax, wash their clothes and walk around the village. By 3PM the afternoon showers set in over the mountains.... this would be the norm for the entire trip.

Faole Bokoi: Saii's father who is one of the last remaining fuzzy wuzzy angels along the track, joined us for the afternoon and shared many interesting stories about the war. A very simple and interesting old man who enjoyed having a good yarn with us.

We started the morning with our team song "It's not an easy Road"  and then set off down the Menari airstrip on course to Brigade Hill (Approx 3 hours away).

The good thing about this trail is that there are no warm up points in the morning.... its just staright into the ups and downs.

We arrived at Brigade Hill at around 9AM and Soloman our local historian provided a very insightful account of the battle of Brigade Hill. We spent a good 45minutes up on the ridge admiriing the spectacular views across to Mt Bellamy, back to Menari and Nauro and even catching glimpses of Mt Victoria.

As Brigade Hill is the name shared by our our operator, we decided to take a team photo (which is apparently tradition) with all trekkers positioned on their stomachs with the view of Nauro and Menari in the background. Following this we set off for Efogi village.

Arrived in to Efogi village at 10:45AM and to our surprise we were greeted not by local Efogi villagers but instead a sea of Aussie Defence Force soldiers who had been in Efogi for the last week to secure and protect a fallen RAAF supplies plane who's engine had dropped whilst flying over the village.

We continued on to Naduri village after a short break at Efogi. This took approximately 3 hours to trek to from Efogi. We were greeted by Andy the local councillor of Naduri village who is in charge of the tourism benefit scheme for the village. He greeted us in a very professional manner, explained where all facilities were located around the village and offered the group locally prepared food (kai kai) which included freshly baked bread.... an absolute treat!

Today the sund got the better of Sarah who was also suffering from a minor bout of gastro. The Doc (Steve Ahern) provided some gastro tablets and sound advice "Sleep" of which Sarah had no quams in accepting. 

Big day today - We set off from Naduri at about day break (6AM). First trudging up Mt Bellamy on course to Diggers Camp. We planned to visit Myola today which is about 40minutes away from Digger's Camp. We got their by mid morning and it was surely worth the detour.

Sarah wasn't feeling the best today. Still suffering from gastro but also fatigue. Kori and Sibidor monitored Sarah's physical state but she was found to be a fighter and made it to our lunch destination at Templeton's Crossing I. By afternoon Sarah had fully recovered and back on track.

We made it to Sibidor's guest haus at Templeton's Crossing II by mid afternoon. It was a big day indeed and a well deserved wash in the Eora Creek was had by all! 

TCII to Deniki

Another big day was planned for today.... the porters were not sure whether we could do it but Kori was confident that the group was capable of the trek.

We departed TCII again at day break and set off for our first destination being Eora Creek (Approx 2 hours away). From Eora we progressed around several ridges and then down to the last river crossing at the bottom of the hill that leads up to Alola village. We made it to Alola from Eora Creek in 2 hours.

We had a short break at Alola village, enjoyed some tasty local passion fruit and then set off for our lunch time destination at Isurava battlefield. It took us approximately 1 1/2 hours to get to the memorial ground.

Isurava Memorial:  A truly memorable experience and wonderful location to commemorate our fallen diggers. Soloman once again explained the battle that took place here and courageous effort displayed by Private Bruce Kingsbury.

Afternoon trek: We didn't think we could do i, especially after feasting on a plethora of food at lunch but Kori insisted that we continue our trek to Deniki campsite. Boy was it worth the trek - Stunning views over Kokoda station and from here we finally knew that we had a short distance to travel to our final destination.

This evening we relaxed by the guest haus, had a game of cards and then were attacked by a flurry of little insects who were attracted to our head torches. I think all nearby villages could hear Kate's scream across the valley. 

This morning we had a sleep in... that's right, a sleep in to 7AM (WOW!). We had breakfast and then set off for Kokoda at 8AM. It was only a short two hour walk from Deniki (mainly flat).

We passed through Hoi village and Kovelo village on the way to Kokoda.

At Kokoda we quickly settled into Henry's guest haus (a local Kokoda villager who was also vying for a position in local politics). A very nice place with spacious sleeping quarters and a relaxing haus win where we set up our dining area.

Mikey and Kori were quick to head down to the shop and grabbed a case of SP Beer - SP stands for "Stop Pain" I was told by Kori and did it surely do that!

We spent the morning down by the river washing clothes and refreshig our sore bodies.

It was a great trek to be a part off. The group were exceptionally fit and enjoyed the company of the SSH-Brigade Hill Mission Tour team. 

This morning we flew back to Port Moresby on board Airlines PNG's Twin otter plane. It took us 30 minutes to fly from Kokoda to Port Moresby and we were able to catch glimpses on villages that we trekked through during the week.

We left Kori at the airport as he had to make a quick transit across to the International airport and fly back to Sydney.

TREK END!

From here Josh, Sarah and Mikey travelled to Rabaul for a few days of R&R in SSH's hometown.

Kate and Steve travelled to Lae to spend some time with our good friends the King family. 

Date

Location

Progress Update

Arrived in to Port Moresby at 1330hrs, on time and on board Air Niugini - PNG's national airline. Noel Gumaba (SSH-BHMT Op's manager) greeted us at the airport and arranged our transfer to the Ela Beach Hotel (10 mins from the airport). We checked in and then had a few hours to kill by the poolside before our briefing session with our Brigade Hill Mission Tours team (6PM).

We are all a little nervous but after meeting our team leader "Tom Mado" along with the SSH-BHMT team (Sai Faole, Noel Gumaba and Gaksy Siosi) we were made to feel more confident about the 6 day "Power trek" in front of us.

Briefing session was comprehensive and we are confident that we have packed effeciently for the trek.

Early morning rise and transfer to the APNG terminal where we boarded our flight to Kokoda - 25 mins.

Arrived into Kokoda.... quick look around the station - visited the memorial and museum. Commenced our trek up to Isurava village circa 5 1/2 hours. A nice warm up.

Mark: The three of us are progressing very well on the first day of the trek. We are all ok! 1st night was Isurava village. Food is good and guide and porters were very good.

Early morning start from TCI and now bound for Naduri village.

Arrived in to Naduri at 4:30PM. Spoke to Noel on the 2 way VHF radio - He has assured a 12 pack of SP "Stop Pain" Beer for us with our BBQ (SSH-BHMT sausage sizzle) at Menari village. Can't Wait!!

Ioribaiwa to Ower's Corner

Port Moresby

Early morning start after a night of heavy rainfall.

Arrived in to Ower's Corner mid afternoon. Greeted by Noel and Saii. Road trip back to Port Moresby was slowed due to rainfall. Trekkers and porters were all on the dirt road assisting the bus driver to overcome some muddy points on the road.

Arrived in to Port Moresby at 06:30PM and checked in to the Ela Beach Hotel. Boys very satisfied with the effort put in on the track.

Date

Location

Progress Update

28/6/2008

Group arrived safely to Kokoda after a 25minute plane ride from Port Moresby to Kokoda.

A few minor delays were endured in the morning due to fog and cloud covering the Kokoda airstrip. After an early morning rise (6:20AM) the group were checked in at the APNG terminal by 7:30AM but did not leave for Kokoda until 10:45AM. Charades was a hit for those couple of hours in the waiting lounge.

Upon arrival into Kokoda the group were greeted by their BHMT trekking team and introduced to their porters. Shirts/uniforms were exchanged from trekkers to porters. Also performed was a welcome singsing to initiate the BHMT's first ever Kokoda group tour.

1:30PM - Started trekking from Kokoda Station. First campsite at Hoi village.

Track condition - Generally good

Trekkers' condition - Good

Weather - Slightly overcast. No rain

29/6/2008

Weather today was clear. Blue skyes.

Trekkers condition - Psyched, physically fit and able.

Day started with the first climb (1000m) up to Deniki village. Continuing on to Isurava battlefield and then on to Alola village.

"This is really a wonderful perhaps lifechanging experience, the village life we have been fortunate to experience with is just awesome" Sandie Downes

30/6/2008

This morning was covered with heavy mist/fog. Trekkers made good progress to TCII and were accommodated at Sibidors guest house.

Traditional welcome was performed by Sibi's family and relatives.