VILLAGES: None
SITES: Eora Creek Crossings 3, 2 and 1 (Templeton's Crossing)
DISTANCE: 13.8km
UPS & DOWNS: 1310m + 779m = 2089m
ELEVATION CHANGE: 1410m to 2005m
TREKKING TIME: 6hrs 15min
ELAPSED TIME: 9hrs 30min
AVERAGE SPEED: 2.2km/h
Another great night's sleep was interrupted by another 4:30am rise but this time no rain today. Today was D-Day or should I say M-Day for Mud Day !!! Today would see us hike the most amount of ascends (ups). We set off at 6:30am and headed straight for the Eora river under a very steep descent lasting one kilometre. The river here has a rapid flow and deep, so you need to take your shoes off to cross it. From here there was a very steep rise and nothing but mud, tree roots and the odd boulder to climb. The track then levels off and then descends down again towards Eora river crossing number two. Here there is a bridge to cross the river. The good news up until this point was no rain. The bad news was that there was even more mud due to last night’s fall. The trek from river crossing two to river crossing three was like groundhog day - more steep uphills and steep dives down to the river and once again even more mud. By this time we realised that if you like mud then you will love the Kokoda track. We also realised just how much - mud can slow you down. By this time, everyone had given up on clean boots and dry socks !!! Everything was covered in mud !!! Eora crossing three was a site for sore eyes - a wonderful flowing river with huts and green lawns perfect for our lunch stop. None of us wasted any time cleaning shoes, socks and clothes - some of us simply walking into the river to wash. We were close to the end leaving here and saw another long and hard rise once again full of mud. Just how did these soldiers cope especially with heavy rifles. We were dreaming of a shower and hot dinner and the soldiers were dreaming about getting home alive !!! Eora Crossing 3 is also known as Templeton's crossing, a soldier who took a stand here and caused the Japanese to stop advancing. It started to rain after we left Templeton's crossing but the target was closer - another short steep rise with more mud. One final descent and we were glad to see the manicured area of the campsite underneath Mount Bellamy. The creek water here came out of a pipe but was freezing cold. Short-term pain for luxurious gain of feeling clean and sleeping well. This time the Porters lit us a fire in a separate small hut where we could dry our boots and clothes - perfect !!! Dinner was macaroni and tiny specs of beef mince. Even though it was had to find the beef we all enjoyed it given how much mud we ate today !!! After dinner we relaxed by the fire and heard the strangest sound so far - a local cricket that sounded like my drone Ava buzzing away backward and forward. Given how hard today was we all looked forward to going to sleep more than a little kid looks forward to going to bed on Christmas Eve in order to wake up on Christmas Day and open up all those presents…
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