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3rd November – 9th November
The first to arrive was the two guys on a flight from Cairns which touched down at 8am. Mid afternoon Aaron Butler and his mother Maureen arrived from Brisbane and met up with the other two trekkers before settling for the night in readiness for their trek the following day.
At 6am, we called to pick them up and they were prepared and ready to move off. Trekkers on this trek include :
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[*]Aaron Butler
[*]Maureen Butler
[*]Patrick Moore
[*]Daniel StoneThe photographs below are of them minutes before we drove off from the Wellness Lodge.
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IMG_2243 1280×768.JPGOn the way up to Sogeri, we paid a visit to the Bomana War Cemetery.
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IMG_2246 1280×768.JPGOn the way out to the drop off point at Owers' Corner we stopped at McDonald's Corner where another photograph opportunity presented itself.
IMG_2250 1280×768.JPGOn arrival at Owers' Corner, Maureen Butler met her personal porter Jessie Aire from Ajeka Village near Kokoda who would walk alongside her every step of the way to Kokoda. Jessie is one of our most popular porters. He has always entered our Kokoda Challenge races and is never out of the top 10. His best effort has been to finish 3rd from Owers' Cnr to Kokoda.
IMG_2251 1280×768.JPGAt Owers' trekkers trekkers sat under the shade whilst the boys on their trek prepared the gear and not too long afterwards it was time to move off.
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IMG_2252 1280×768 800×600 640×480.jpgBut not before having their photographs taken under the archway:
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IMG_2263 1280×768 800×600 640×480.jpgThe guide for this trek is HORACE YAUGA who comes from Kokoda but who has been schooling in Port Moresby throughout 2012. In August Horace came 2nd in our annual Kokoda Challenge Race in just under 19 hours from Kokoda to Owers' Corner.
Horace collected K2500 ($1250) for his win which helped towards a lawn mower for his family in Kokoda and the remainder went to pay for his school fees. He promises not to take them as fast across the track!
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IMG_2269 1280×768 800×600 640×480.jpgIt was soon time to bid our farewell and to wave goodbye to trek 870:
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IMG_2271 1280×768 800×600 640×480.jpgFood porters on this trek include two guys from Pirive village in Kokoda by the name of Samson Hauje and Prichard Fovoe
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IMG_2255 1280×768 640×480.JPGYesterday they stopped at Ua'Ule Creek for the night. Today I received an update from Ofi Creek to say plan a) was Agulogo and plan <img src='http://www.kokodatrail.com.au/forums/public/style_emoticons//cool.png’ class=’bbc_emoticon’ alt=’B)’ /> was Naoro.
Everyone is doing ok with Maureen toughing it out more than the other three but Horace is confident they will all reach Kokoda in a few days time.
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Naoro1.jpgTrekkers have now reached the half way point of Efogi so they are going along really well. If you would like to follow their progress using our GPS system, please click on the link below.
http://www.kokodatrail.com.au/trakka.html?tripid=KTR02-12-065
Last night was spent at Agulogo.
Picture them crossing Brown River as they made their way to Efogi:
IMGP2199 640×480.JPGTrekkers have now reached Templeton's I and continue to do well. Tomorrow they will head to Isurava Memorial to spend the night.
According to Horace, no-one has any problems and the trek is progressing according to plan.
Day 6-Templeton's Crossing 2 640×480.jpgTrekkers are now at Isurava Memorial area and tomorrow will walk off the track into Kokoda. This is the place where the Australian 39th Battalion, average age of 18, fought desperately to slow the southward Japanese advance in August 1942. Private Bruce Kingsbury was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in this action. Now the site of the Isurava Memorial. Its is one of the highlights of walking the track especially when you commence your trek at Owers' Corner.
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Isurava (7) 640×480.JPGCongratulations are in order as this group walked out in Kokoda and are presently relaxing at Orohaven. Well done everyone! Also a big THANK YOU to their guide Horace Yauga (pictured below) taken on another of his treks; Jessie Aire a personal porter and the two food porters, Prichard Fovoe and Samson Hauje.
Trek 748 Arriving at Kokoda (11) 640×480.JPG
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