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BY ALISON ANIS
On September 28th, a fateful trip on the De Havilland Twin Otter operated by Airlines PNG took us to the remote inland area of Papua New Guinea which is mercilessly surpassed and encompassed by huge and violent mountains.
Our plane was bound for Kokoda station where our journey on a nine-day trek along the war-renowned Kokoda Trail would seemingly begin.
So there were five of us travelling, myself a journalist travelling on behalf of Richard Thompson, his brother John Thompson, Steve Ovett the former British Olympian and Gold Medalist, Ross Eason a professional Photographer and of course who would forget the fun-filled and energetic Geoff Campbell, proud owner of Raw Energy, a coffee and fruit juice bar in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast.
Accompanying us were Justus Baupo, a Detective Senior Constable – Fraud Investigator with National Fraud and Anti Corruption Squad and Eric Uwea an assistant guide.
Team_about_to_board.jpgAt the exact time of 7:45 am we touched down at the abandoned Kokoda Terminal and at the presence of few locals who were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the aircraft.
Being over enthusiastic I was the first one out of the plane trying effortlessly to capture Steve, John, Ross and Geoff?s entrance out the aircraft onto my roll of film.
The porters and guides of the local trekking company – PNG Trekking Limited and their General Manager and trek master Russel Eroro were there to meet us.
_LWF0053.jpgWe had five personal porters and four food/group porters. There were 11 porters and guides and five of us with Justice as our security escort. All in all there were 17 of us in the group. We then left the airport for Kokoda station and so began our fateful journey. None of us knew what lay ahead but there was no turning back now.
As promised, below is a diary I kept for you Richard while on the trek for nine days. It was quite hard keeping up with time and events along the way and at times I felt I just couldn?t write anymore but had to curse silently before putting pen to paper.
Please Read On!
_LWF0060.jpgDAY ONE ? KOKODA TO HOI
Sunday 28th September 2003 ? A WELCOME SURPRISE
?Today is a day full of fun and surprises!?
It is 5.00 am, I am up early getting prepared for the flight out of Port Moresby to Kokoda. I packed the necessary items I needed on the trail into my day pack a day before. John, Steve, Ross and Jeff are probably getting ready ? they booked in at the Airways Motel on Friday. JT and Steve were in one room while Geoff and Ross are sharing the other. Today I?m in my pair of runners, (very light), floral shorts and my White T -Shirt. (I have decided to leave the pair boot behind ? proved too heavy during the training plus caused a lot of blisters.)
Mural / Banner which was prepared in anticipation of their arrival from Australia.
DCP_3783.jpg5.16 ? I find myself in a car heading towards Port Moresby Jackson?s Airport. We check in at the Airlines PNG counter and are waiting for the Airways guys to turn up. Gail is starting to worry as it?s going towards 5.30. At 5.30 they arrived. Steve first, followed by John, Ross and then Geoff. We all start to laugh our heads off as John relates a funny incident that happened last night. His telling us Steve got a scare last night and started to scream his head off when he spotted him in the dark thinking he was a burglar.
Book_In.jpg6.00 ? We started weighing ourselves on the scale. The guys jokingly starts getting on about the ?heavy?weight champion? thing. I figure they were trying to check out who weigh the most in kilograms. (I think Geoff was, Ha! Ha!)
Team_Book_In.jpg6.15 – Gail is wishing all of us luck. She starts to hug me and tells me I could curse her later while out in the wilderness. (We?ll see about that?.looks like I will have to include you in my curses too)
Justus__Eric___Alison.jpg6.30 – We proceed into the Departure lounge where we wait for the boarding call. While waiting Steve, Ross and Jeff opt for a cup of coffee. John is busy writing. I ask him and he?s telling me that he is writing a post card to you. Steve followed by Geoff and Ross starts signing it as well.
_LWF0051.jpg7.05 Finally the long awaited call??we are kindly reminded to board the flight to Kokoda. One after the other, our names are called and we start to board the plane.
_LWF0057.jpg7:35 ? Flying High?..We passed the Central province border and are venturing into Oro territory. In ten minutes we will reach Kokoda Station. Geoff is trying to get a picture of Ross, Steve and John on the plane. The guys are laughing as he positioned himself in the cockpit almost between the two pilots. One of the pilot turns to see what?s happening and got an apologetic look from Geoff who mumbled ?sorry?.
kokoda_map.jpg7:45 ? A safe landing at Kokoda Airport. I took out my notepad and starts to jot down the time of our arrival??Steve sees me and pipes in?.?so far so good.? Yeah well I have to agree with him. From here we walk for almost 45 minutes before we reach the Kokoda Station.
_LWF0062.jpg9:30 ? A surprise welcome??For anyone who hasn?t experienced a traditional welcome before, Steve, Ross, John and Geoff were definitely in for a surprise. The village dancers beautifully dressed in their traditional finery, with swaying headdresses and grass-skirts jumped out of hiding as soon as they spotted Steve and his team and starts beating their drums energetically and jumping to towards them. (Honestly I don?t know what to make of the expressions on the guys? faces! You should have seen them Rich)
_LWF0034.jpgSteve was wide-eyed and speechless, so as John and Ross who like Steve, are probably captivated by the dancers. Geoff is putting on a smile of approval and nods appreciatively towards the crowd mimicking what Steve did some minutes ago.
Finally, in two straight lines the dancers makes way for the guys to walk in the middle. With Steve leading the way, they slowly made their way towards the reception area ? a small stadium built especially for this occasion and nicely decorated with hibiscus flowers, sweet-smelling frangifanis, and coconut leaves.
_LWF0036.jpgAs we are approaching, shouts of welcome filled the air: ?ORO, ORO, ORO.? The shouts came from a crowd of women, men and children.
All the time the dancers or the ?singsing? group as it commonly known in PNG are dancing, the men beating the ?kundu? drums and accompanied by the ladies in their high-pitched voice are singing in their language: ?Welcome, Welcome to our Land?Thank you for coming?and we wish you a safe journey!?
Dancing2.jpgThere are four chairs ready for the gentlemen, a table of locally baked cake with lemon juice plus trays of fresh fruits; bananas, water melon, cucumbers, pineapple and passion fruits which proved very tasty and delicious after almost an hour?s walk in the sweltering sun from the airport.
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