THE KOKODA TRACK IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA – FINAL REFLECTIONS

Southern Sea Horizons drove us back to the Holiday Inn from Bomana Cemetery where we collected our locked-up luggage. A very moving ceremony was held at the poolside bar in which the porters gave us a bamboo carved baton proving our conquest of the Kokoda. We also reciprocated with our tips and gifted camping items in what was the final feather in the cap of a very moving trek of treks. South Sea Horizons is owned and run by a local PNG and employs local people from all the Kokoda villages. One of the senior managers is Saii who is the son of the last Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel to pass away in 2016 at age 105 !!! This was special for us – having met a direct living relative of the Angels that played such a pivotal role in helping the Ozzies get through that unforgiving jungle and catch the Japanese by surprise. The porters then drove us to the Stanley Hotel – the number one hotel in Port Moresby. This was the brainchild of James to celebrate our journey. We each walked into our room showers fully dressed in mud and smell and walked out smelling like roses and returning to a world of wine, cheese and olives – BLISS BLISS BLISS !!!

 

For me, The Kokoda Track is easily the hardest, the most epic, the most draining, the most painful and the most rewarding trek I have ever done in my life so far. It is not a trek but a mountain climb. This is not a 7-day bush walk but a 7-day mountain climb and back down again !!! What makes it hard is not the distance but the constant ups and downs. We did 12,597 metres of ups and downs added together – Mount Everest is 8,849 metres from the sea to its summit !!! And the mud. That is what made it 100 times tougher and harder and shitter !!! The mud defines Kokoda. That is the one word I identify with Kokoda – MUD !!!

 

This is not a trip for the faint hearted or social media fans. It is hard. It is tough. It is painful. It is relentless with rain. There is no reception and no electricity for 7 days !!! You WILL smell and be EXHAUSTED for 7 days. You need strong knees and back and heart. Do not attempt this if you have problems with any of these three. Being overweight is not an issue if you have OK knees, back and heart. Best way to prep for this is not just to walk long distances on flat surfaces but to go UP and DOWN – stairs or local walks that have HEAPS of ups and downs.

 

I trekked Kokoda to THANK those troops who gave up their lives on the track. I trekked Kokoda to PUSH myself to new heights of physical and mental toughness and endurance. I trekked Kokoda to BOND beyond blood relations with my brother Nick and nephew Sam – this experience will unite us just as it did the troops of Kokoda.

 

I cannot help thinking that these young troops got the rough end of a very bad stick but that is not the truth – they proved themselves beyond any measure of humanity – they were unequivocally “heroes” in every sense of the word. They suffered but pressed on. They never gave up. They were laden with doubts but replaced them with firm resolve.

 

I do not believe in War. I do not support War. But I honour the fallen in War for what they did. I am free. The best thing I can do to thank them is to live my life to the fullest –living the life they never got to live or enjoy.

Good Bless and Save the souls of The Kokoda – Papuan, Australian and Japanese.

THE KOKODA TRACK IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA – DAY 7 - TUESDAY 30 MAY 2023

VILLAGES: None.

SITES: Imita Ridge, Goldie Campsite, Ower's Corner

DISTANCE: 9.6km

UPS & DOWNS: 854m + 550m = 1404m

ELEVATION GAIN: 352m to 629m

TREKKING TIME: 3hrs 44min

ELAPSED TIME: 5hrs 30min

AVERAGE SPEED: 2.6km/h

 

We woke up to wet clothes and wet shoes and socks but did not care. The end was near. We could hear Ower’s calling us !!! Our departure was slightly delayed due to the darkness of being in a densely tree covered valley – the sun took a little longer to cut through and show us the way down to 11 more river crossings in our shoes and socks since they would end up wet anyway due to the huge mud piles waiting for us after these crossings. Today was uphill but not the gradients of previous days. The ascent to Imita was steep but short. Gibson gave us the wartime briefing on Imita Ridge, which is quite small and has direct line of sight to Ioribaiwa Ridge where the Japanese were hold-up and firing mortars with range enough to hit the ozzies. The Imita-Ioribaiwa Ridges arrangement was the final stand of the Kokoda Campaign – it was either win or loose here. The ozzie commander literally gave the order – win here or loose here. Without a single denial of ozzie or Japanese fortitude, the American victory at Guadalcanal was the catalyst for the Japanese withdrawal from Ioribaiwa Ridge on 23 September 1942 and the subsequent saving of Port Moresby, PNG and Australia !!! Despite Guadalcanal it is the ozzies and local Papuans who pushed and shoved and did not allow the Japanese to advance at a pace that would have seen them in Port Moresby BEFORE the recall of the Japanese at Kokoda were recalled to Guadalcanal to reinforce the decimated Japanese forces there. This Ozzie-Papuan victory was the result of incredible Ozzie-Papuan heroism with a well timed Guadalcanal American defeat of the Japanese. The descent to Goldie Creek was short but the river there was gushing. Our bags were carried across high above the heads of the porters. I skipped lunch so that I could trek ahead of the others and get to the end at Ower’s Corner to set up the drone and film the expressions of relief and gladness as the team walked across the finish line. I was up to my neck in the Goldie River and then simply decided to freestyle swim to the other side much to the shock of my porter who did not realise how strong a swimmer we ozzies are !!! As I trekked from the Goldie River to Ower’s Corner I tried to imagine those ravaged, tired, injured, weary ozzies returning with the taste of victory on their tongues to justify the misery of this campaign. The final climb up to Ower’s was under sunshine. Thank goodness after a rainy muddy daily slog. The sight of the Kokoda Arches emerged from the grassy hilltop and marked the finishing line just like the last bend in Central Park gave way to the finish line for the New York Marathon. I had the same pain and the same fantastic feeling of achievement. There is no doubt in my mind that The Kokoda is the Marathon of all Treks !!! I took the photos you will see below with no one else and shot plenty of lone footage on that glorious finish line that took 7 days and 6 nights of pain to reach. Ower was an engineer that built the road from Port Moresby to this point so they named it in his honour. 30min later the porters came across the line followed by James, Cristan, Sam, Nick and Jacob with smiles across their faces like I have never seen. Relief, joy and a sense of enormous accomplishment. After several photos, hand-shaking, screams of relief we concluded with a huge drone filming of a tribe of Papuans and Ozzies dag dancing their way into history !!!

 

We all climbed into a 20-seater van and cracked opened several cold can of local SP Lager – wow – our first real drink after 7 days !!! The drink of victory and accomplishment. Boy did that van stink. 20 wet smelly sweaty people but happy as Larry – whoever that was or is. Out final commitment was to visit the fallen at Bomana Cemetery. It is 67min 38km drive from Owers to Bomana with terrific lush green hills, escarpments, waterfalls along the way. Walking into Bomana War Cemetery was very moving for all of us. This place is set on land owned by the Australian Government and cared for by them. It is immaculate. 625 whit marble tombstones grace this place and reminded me so much of the US War Cemetery at Normandy near the D-Day landing beach of Omaha. It was not hard to shed tears for these souls. This was the right place and the best place to finish our epic trek – next to those heroic bodies that felt pain and misery well beyond what we had experienced. To walk in their footsteps was an honour well undeserved. We never could come close to what they experienced but at the very least we could appreciate the scale of their sacrifice because of the personal anguish of walking this mighty track under rain and mud. This is why I am glad it rained. This is why I am glad I lost it on the morning of Day 6. This is why I came. To honour those young souls who gave everything to keep us free and the best way I can thank them is to live my life to the fullest…

THE KOKODA TRACK IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA – DAY 6 - MONDAY 29 MAY 2023

VILLAGES: Naoro, Offi, Ioribaiwa

SITES: Ioribaiwa Ridge, Japanese Ladder (Maguli Ridge)

DISTANCE: 20.3km

UPS & DOWNS: 1295m + 1621m = 2916m

ELEVATION GAIN: 733m to 352m

TREKKING TIME: 7hrs 40min

ELAPSED TIME: 11hrs

AVERAGE SPEED: 2.6km/h

 

Today was easily the worst day of the trek so far and in the end !!! An inverse hell on earth – why ? Because instead of fire, water - it rained the entire day. Instead of brimstone, mud everywhere - so much so that we took our shoes and socks off and walk bare foot for a few kilometres. Now we knew what it was like for some of the porters who also went barefoot the whole trip !!! The first few kilometres were unrelenting - constant rain and mud everywhere. The only high point was two river crossings, which were a lot of fun. This morning's trek was highlighted by the nine false peaks - a very gradual uphill climb and just when you think you're at the top there's even more uphill hence the name !!! This torturous teasing climb ends at the village of Naoro where I let up my 4WD drone Ava and got some pretty good shots of the surrounding valleys. I also did a few low sweeps over the village with many happy and screaming locals waving at Ava. After this a very long to descent down to the Offi Creek where we were supposed to stay tonight but we wanted to press on in order to get a half day back in Port Moresby tomorrow to celebrate. We faced a steep uphill trek to Ioribaiwa Ridge, which is the furthest point that the Japanese advanced before being recalled back to Guadalcanal. Another short climb to Maguli Ridge where the Japanese had built a ladder to be able to carry munitions backwards and forwards. From here it was all downhill to the Manama River, which we had to cross eleven times before reaching our final campsite for the night. We all decided to keep our boots and shoes on since they were now totally wet and full of mud. The upside was that we had clean boots and clean socks by the time we got to our campsite - a site for sore eyes in  the failing light !!! Tonight was the only night that we had all six tents pitched under the same hut. The roaring Waule River would take care of any snoring so no blue-tak tonight. Our last meal together on the Track was mashed potato and specks of spam. Suffice to say everyone retired to sleep quickly given how wet we had become and how much we were looking forward to a nice dry sleeping bag and a monster celebration tomorrow night back at Port Moresby !!!

THE KOKODA TRACK IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA – DAY FIVE - SUNDAY 28 MAY 2023

VILLAGES: Efogi 2, Manari, Agulogo

SITES: Efogi War Museum, Mission Hill, Brigade Hill

DISTANCE: 16.7km

UPS & DOWNS: 833m + 1490m = 2323m

ELEAVTION GAIN: 1378m to 733m

TREKKING TIME: 5hrs 37min

ELASPED TIME: 10hrs

AVERAGE SPEED: 3.0km/h

 

It absolutely poured last night. Non-stop. By the time we woke up at 5am there was still light rain and cloud and mist everywhere. Disappointing, since our porters were expecting a blue cloudless morning so that I could send up my drone and get spectacular views of the surrounding valleys and villages through which the Kokoda track cuts. Efogi 2 village is close but it takes a very steep descent down followed by a small rise up to reach it. The town itself is very neat and tidy - most houses are on stilts to avoid the floods and it has a terrific little museum like Aloli but with many more artefacts in it. Efogi is significant because nearby is Mission Hill and Brigade Hill. Mission Hill is the site of the first Seventh Day Adventist mission, which came to PNG in the early 1920s. That mission was also used as a headquarters by the Australians in order to mount the attack at Brigade Hill. Mission Hill is very close to Efogi and Brigade Hill is not too far after. Brigade Hill is the sight of the fiercest battle between the Australians and Japanese, which took place 6-9 September 1942. It is where the Japanese suffered the most deaths and injuries in any single battle of the Kokoda Campaign. 100+ Australians and locals died during that battle and were buried on Brigade Hill with a stick marking their grave. Shortly after World War 2 their bones were moved to the Bomana War Cemetery that we visited on our last day. Our historian Gibson led us in a service dedicated to the memory of the fallen, which you shall see in the film. The low cloud and mist robbed us of the beautiful and spectacular views from Brigade Hill but the mist just created the right mood for the memorial service. The trek to Manari from here is a long and steep - a descent full of mud from the continuous rain the night before. The forest is thick with vegetation almost like a tropical jungle and we realised the only animals here are birds and insects. There are very few land animals here apart from the occasional wild pig. Manari is nestled in a valley on the other side of Brigade Hill and is also a very tidy and neat town. We had lunch in what looked like a public park - full of local people and children. After lunch, I taught all the children the famous bag dance - they picked it up instantly and loved it !!! The trek to Agulogo involved a steep but short uphill climb followed by a very long and muddy and slippery descent and finished off with a very long flat walk through thick forest and a final river crossing up to our waists. Our campsite here was clearly the best - large huts with plenty of space for our mosquito net tents and the rapid running brown river to wash up in. We also had the best kitchen and dining huts - set up with a fantastic fire dedicated to us so that we could dry our clothes. After our fettuccini Napolitana dinner we listened to our two usual choir songs and retired early. It was also warm enough tonight to sleep on top of our sleeping bags instead of inside them. A good day of trekking history and a great camping spot to boot.