THE KOKODA TRACK IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA – DAY FOUR - SATURDAY 27 MAY 2023

VILLAGES: Naduru (Nadunumu), Kagi (View Only), Efogi 1 (Launumu)

SITES: None

DISTANCE: 14.1km

UPS & DOWNS: 658m + 1332m = 1990m

ELEVATION GAIN: 2005m to 1378m

TREKKING TIME: 5hrs 10min

ELAPSED TIME: 7hrs 45min

AVERAGE SPEED: 2.7km/h

 

Sam, Nick and I were woken up at 5:45am instead of 4:30am - our leader had forgotten to wake us up - no matter because outside we were greeted by a cloudless blue sky - bliss first time on the trek. The overnight temperature had fallen to close to 10C. This is because we camped at the rim of Mount Bellamy, which is 2005 metres above sea level. Our trek today was heaps easier than yesterday. We started with quite an uphill climb for 30 minutes to reach the summit of Mount Bellamy at 2249 metres – the highest point in all the Kokoda Track. It really isn't a single summit but a ridge with trees and heavy vegetation. Then it was easy going. Ridge line trekking. Along the way I took some Mini drone shots given the sunshine through the trees and the fact that we weren't rushed today. I used the rest breaks to race ahead with my fill-in porter Newton to find a good position to let the drone up and film the rest of the party as they came by afterwards - this way I did not affect our timetable. I timed it well because close to noon the clouds rolled in. My porter was the leader Ezra but he and Gibson and two others left us to trek ahead to Manari where they would attend church and not walk during the Seventh Day Adventist Sabbath or Saturday. Everyone on the Kokoda Track is Seventh Day Adventist. No booze is allowed along the track or in any village and there a re signs coming into and out of each village that remind you of this fact !!! Newton was my age but looked like he was 65 – people here do not look their age given the harsh conditions and even harsher work they do to earn a living. Newton was a humble gentle soul who was working as a porter to put his son through college with four other young kids in school !!! How does he do it. I had great respect for him. To top it off – Newton has no Identification Papers whatsoever – he literally does not exist – not in PNG and not on Planet Earth – amazing. We had lunch in Naduru. Opposite Naduro you could see Kagi village and both were nestled on their own hills covered in dense vegetation with cloud skimming the mountaintops. Lunch usually comprised noodles, tuna or spam, processed cheese and very thin pita bread. Today our cooks had rolled up all of these ingredients in the pita bread and pan fried them to create something that resembled a large spring roll - it was delicious !!! There were three separate porters carrying only food and cooking utensils. As we munched on these delicious “spring rolls” the rain came pouring down !!! We waited until the rain eased and then set off on the final leg of today's trek. Even though it was a short 2.5 kilometre segment it took one and a half hours because it had the steepest descent down to Efoge River and the steepest accent up to the village of Efogi 1 or Launumu where our campsite was located. During the ascent you literally climb up a waterfall !!! Once again we were greeted by several villagers including lots of children - quite a fantastic way to finish a long hard trek. Shortly after settling down and washing up it started to rain again - fantastic timing !!! Dinner was local fare sweet potato mash with more spam in it. We were reunited with Ezra and Gibson and enjoyed two more choir songs before bed.