- This topic has 9,010 voices and 70 replies.
- Posts
Trek 808: As planned trekkers are now in Menari where they will spend the night. This trek remains on target to reach Isurava on the 24th April to overnight so they wake up on the 25th April for the Isurava Memorial Anzac Day service.
272977_10150304930505971_374403025970_9916436_5467860_o__640x480_.jpgTrek 807: It would appear we have two treks in Lanununu Village – Efogi as its showing up on the GPS that this trek has reached there as well. So far so good as they have now passed the half way point and on target to be at Isurava Memorial for Anzac Day on the 25th.
Efogi_Village_2__640x480_.jpgTrek 859: Shane called in today but it was hard to hear him so I am not too sure if Wayne is camping with them again tonight at Eora Creek or if his group moved onto Alola. I did hear however, that Wayne is now ok again so thats good news for us and I am sure his trekkers.
Shane's group 790 are walking off the track tomorrow so Wayne's trekkers could decide to follow suit and have two nights at Orohaven Kokoda Retreat instead of the one night per plan.
Day_6_Placque_at_Eora_Creek__640x480_.jpgTrek 840: Trekkers have now reached Ioraiwba Village where they are spending the night. Tomorrow night will mark their last night on the track. Traffic is now starting to get heavier and a lot of people are heading in the same direction to come off the track on the 24th so the track this side is getting really busy with over 100 in the same area as our trekking company.
More than likely our group will send off a runner and will try to overnight at Goldie River but it will depend on the availability of campsites and they may decide to pull up at Goodwater. Either way, they are on plan to walk off the track come the 24th April.
Ioribawa_2__640x480_.jpgTrel 859: Congratulations are in order for the first of our Anzac treks to walk off the track when trek 859 passed under the Kokoda archway around 3:30pm today.
Trekkers and our staff are in celebration mode at Orohaven Kokoda Retreat as I type this enjoying some cold cold beers.
Huts.jpg
Kokoda_Wantok_Tavern.jpgTrek 790:Congratulations are also in order for the 2nd of our Anzac treks to walk off the track. This time trek 790 who walked under the Kokoda archway this afternoon and who are now heading down to Orohaven Kokoda Retreat where they will now spend two nights instead of one as they have walked off the track one day ahead of schedule.
http://www.kokodatrail.com.au/trakka.html?…id=KTR02-12-008
P1070928__640x480___640x480_.JPGQUOTE(Boss Meri @ 22 Apr 2012, 05:21 PM) [snapback]13921[/snapback]Trek 840: Trekkers have now reached Ioraiwba Village where they are spending the night. Tomorrow night will mark their last night on the track. Traffic is now starting to get heavier and a lot of people are heading in the same direction to come off the track on the 24th so the track this side is getting really busy with over 100 in the same area as our trekking company.More than likely our group will send off a runner and will try to overnight at Goldie River but it will depend on the availability of campsites and they may decide to pull up at Goodwater. Either way, they are on plan to walk off the track come the 24th April.
Trek 807 have now reached Naduri where they will sleep tonight. They remain on target to reach Isurava Memorial in time to spend the night there before Anzac Day on the 25th. No doubt tomorrow they will push on down to Templeton's area and will walk into Isurava sometime on the 24th.
Naduri_foreground_and_Kagi___640x480___640x480___640x480_.jpgTrek 808: Our GPS tracking system is showing them up at Efogi 2 but I am thinking they would have moved on down to Naduri but have not heard from them so am relying at the moment on what the system is showing.
If still at Efogi 2, they will have a big day tomorrow as they make up ground to try and reach 1900/Myola Junction for the night of the 22nd. The following day will also be a big day as they will need to reach Templeton's or Eora Creek.
However they are still on target to be at Isurava Memorial come the night of the 24th April along with our other trek a day ahead of them, trek 807.
Naduri_to_Efogi__640x480___640x480___640x480_.jpgTrek 840: On the morning of the 22nd April Brad Lahey decided he could not continue so him and his mate Michael Lobb stayed put at Agulogo and we went into immediate action to get him airlifted off the track by helicopter. Around 10:30am we were at the Helifix waiting for the pilot to do up his flight plan. Around 11am the chopper took off with Russell Eroro on board to pin point the exact location of where to pick Brad, Mike and Brad's personal porter Noel Idau up from.
At the same time I had their guide Arnold who had moved ahead with the rest of the group talking to me on the phone from Maguli Range. He informed me he had heard the chopper and that he would report back once he knew it was heading back to Port Moresby. At that point in time he was hanging at the back with Marg who was taking her time handling the tough terrain. Once I heard that the chopper was on its way back it was then waiting time to see if in fact they were able to land and pick them up.
Some 15 minutes later the chopper arrived and a very weak Brad appeared. He was helped into our vehicle and taken to the Pacific International Hospital and later given medication and placed on a drip. His mate Mike waited by his side.
Late in the afternoon Brad phoned to say they were admitting him. Another phone call later and he had decided to return to Australia so changed around his flight booking. We picked them both up and booked them into a hotel and this morning Brad was up early for his flight back to Australia and as for Mike, well he is heading back out on the track with Noel Idau to meet the other trekkers in their group walking towards the finish line at Owers' Corner.
Mike will spend tonight with them and will walk off the track tomorrow as planned at Owers' Corner.
Whilst we feel sorry for Brad having to pull out, we are happy he is ok and that nothing serious happened to him whilst under our care. Take care Brad, all the best from all of us here at Kokoda Trekking.
Trek 840: Michael Lobb is back on the track – walking in with Brad Lahey's personal porter Noel Idau. I think the last few words Brad spoke to me yesterday was that he has been married for 20 years and in the few days on the track he held this guys hand more than he has his wife so that shows just how much he relied on the services of his now PNG mate, Noel Idau from Kokoda.
This is not the first time I have heard such a comment from a trekker who has needed assistance along the way. One guy remarked to me once that if I had told him before he left that he would have been holding his porters hand as much as he did he would have not believed me. When he came back into town he was so proud of our modern fuzzy wuzzy angels and said he could never had completed his trek without him.
In the photograph below, Mike and Noel are just leaving Owers' Corner around 8:30am this morning to walk in to catch up with the other trekkers, spend the night and walk off with them tomorrow at Owers' Corner. Mike missed the tough terrain around Maguli Range yesterday as the majority of trekkers often remark that its the hardest day.
The plus for this group is that we were able to send in with Noel, some meat for their dinner tonight instead of what was previously planned. So now they can make the others at the same campsite jealous when they smell the onions etc drifting their way. Only joking, but its the least we can do to make their last night on the track hopefully more enjoyable.
No doubt tonight Sione will play music and others like Hobert, Horace will join in and make the night a special one for them all to remember for years to come.
Just take a look at Noel, he has not even bothered to put on any shoes, believe me I think these guys could walk on glass and not even feel it!
IMGP1054__640x480_.JPG
IMGP1055__640x480_.JPGTrek 806: Hot on the heels of trek 840 is our FAST CRAZY trekkers walking the track carrying their own packs in 5 nights, 6 days. At 9:30am this morning they had already reached Maguli Range and were planning on heading down to Ua'Ule Creek to spend the night. Their plan is to walk off the track around 10am tomorrow morning. Well done guys keep up the good work. On their trek is the Kokoda hero, the most famous porter in these parts, Brendan Buka who holds the record for the fastest crossings in both directions. Kokoda to Owers' Cnr. 17hours 20 minutes, so this is a stroll in the park for Brendan!
IMGP1841__50____640x480___640x480_.JPG
IMGP1844__50____640x480_.JPGMy apology, do not ask me why, but due to a technical problem, now fixed, I could not log onto this forum. Our facebook page was updated daily so anyone that missed out here hopefully you followed the result of all treks on the go using that method.
We still have two of our Anzac treks not back in Port Moresby as yet but by tomorrow 4th May all trekkers will have completed their trek and the few extra days doing various different things.
Trek 841 is at Sanananda/Buna/Gona area taking in a bit more of the war history, I should say 3 brothers plus Shane their guide. Bree the other member of the team flew in yesterday and is relaxing at Loloata Dive Resort.
Trek 872 reached Kokoda around 2pm on the 1st May and after a few beers and pizza's last night at Orohaven, today are relaxing, cleaning their gear and preparing to move out after lunch tomorrow when they will catch the afternoon flight back into Port Moresby.
IMGP1754__640x480_.JPG
IMGP1763__640x480_.JPGFor us, it was a very hectic time with trekkers coming and going, monitoring all the treks on the go and Anzac Day. With various pick-ups around town, its alway a 3am wake up call to make sure its all co-ordinated. Some trekkers who came off the track stayed at the Crowne Plaza in the heart of the CBD of Port Moresby. Some stayed at the Airways with the majority in a lodge based in Boroko.
Anzac Day 2012 was the best service I have ever attended (and I have been going to them for years). It commenced with indigenous australians playing the didgeridoo which was a first in honour of the family of Frank Archibald who fought on the track and who is buried at Bomana. The relatives of Frank came to PNG to perform a service so that his spirit can return back home as is their tradition.
The service this year ended with John Williamson singing two songs, True Blue and Waltzing Matilda! Yes, truly Australian and a very moving Anzac Day Service.
On one of our treks we had a highly decorated commando, Michael Lobb. It was an honour for him to choose to trek with us and to be there alongside him with all his medals he wore so proudly to the service. His mate Brad unfortunately had to be air lifted off after battling for a few days with vomiting and subsequently dehydration as a result of not being able to eat or keep anything down.
I will leave you all with some photographs from our Anzac Treks 2012:
Eora_Creek4__640x480_.jpg
Group_Photograph_under_the_archway__640x480_.jpg
Eora_Creek2__640x480_.jpg
Isurava_Memorial__640x480_.jpg
Shane_Osborne__640x480_.jpg
IMGP1058__640x480_.JPG
IMGP1062__640x480_.JPG
P1000256__640x480_.JPG
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.