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Jimmy (muppie on our websites): Indonesian Chinese ? computer programmer/internet expert. Jim joined our company to write telephone management tracking software some five years ago. My husband and I are now partners with him in a web hosting business in Australia. Jimmy is a very talented computer person who spends almost every waking moment at his computer?.yes he is married to it! If anyone has a website and is looking for good quality web hosting services, can can?t go wrong with the services he offers. As I write this, Jim is in Australia to set up servers in a data centre in Sydney so we can offer hosting both in America and also in Australia. We can also offer in the near future dedicated servers for hire.
He now has Australian residency and plans to move to Australia sometime during 2004 but will still monitor our websites from down south.
John Thomas ? my husband: We were married in 1967, and came to live in PNG in 1972 . John back then worked as a trainee pilot, traffic officer and anything else they could get him to do. He learnt to speak pidgin in two weeks coz if he didn?t learn he would not have been able to load the aircraft back in those days. He would leave home before daylight and arrive home after dark. He is now a Captain on a Dash 8 with Airlines of Papua New Guinea and works on a month on, month off basis. Last year John trekked with our son Nathan a Uni student living on the Gold Coast who was born in Lae. We have lived in Mt Hagen, Lae, Goroka and Port Moresby. I am pretty sure John would have landed at every airstrip in the Morobe Province more times than he would care to count, and numerous other strips throughout PNG. He is without doubt, a very experienced PNG pilot.
John_Dash_8_Pic.jpgNathan Thomas: As mentioned above, Nathan was born in Lae and spent his high school years as a boarder at TSS (The Southport School) on the Gold Coast. At the present time he is in his fourth year of a Bachelor of Business majoring in IT at Griffith University. He has represented TSS in England on a school boys tour and also represented his Gold Coast Club. Nathan is available to take your phone calls if you need to ask specific questions about the trail. His contact details are listed below.
Nathan.jpgWar records: I received an email last week also from a bloke who really knows his stuff when it comes to war graves and the like. I will copy paste here as if you are into the history of war, you might like to know this.
Quote from Ted Harris – Webmaster: In what I consider to be the best news in a long time the AWM have put Bean "online"
CLICK HERE for First World War Official Histories:
CLICK HERE for Digger History:
CLICK HERE re – Histories of Units of the First AIF and the First NZEF:
CLICK HERE for info on the 42nd Battalion AIF :
CLICK HERE for The Booker Collection of military badges, including many Australian and NZ:
If you can read this, Thank a Teacher – If you are reading it in English, Thank a Soldier
unquoteBomana War Cemetery: All our tours call in at the Bomana War Cemetery on the way back into Port Moresby from Ower's Corner unless requested not too do so. Some trekkers arrive earlier than their trek and have visited there already. It is a great way to put into perspective the trek you will have just completed. If anyone who is trekking has a relative buried in the Cemetery, I personally typed in every single name in alphabetical order and it can be found by clicking here on our pngbd website.
Due to the many graves, 3,779 to be exact, you might like to check before coming so you have a reference point to starting looking. I too lost an Uncle in the war and he is buried in the Lae Cemetery. Whilst not born at the time, I can only put myself in the shoes of his mother, my grandmother, when she received the news he had been shot in Aitape and later died some 3 days later. My mother still recalls the moments when they received the news. One of 12 children but that still didn?t ease their loss. Another brother in the same area in Aitape was tied to a tree because he wanted to go and see his dying brother. He suffered with nightmares for years after until he died a lonely death. My heart therefore goes out to each and everyone who suffered and lost a loved one during any war. At times I have made many trips out to Bomana to take photographs of a grave at the request of a loved one who has contacted me through pngbd. The last one was a request from a son for his 80 year old mother who had lost her only brother in the war.
Bomana_War_500Cemetery.jpgJames Cumes: If you search our kokoda website you will see an article on James. It seems he was out on the trail during the war and last year released a book details of which are mentioned on our website titled, Haverleigh, War and Love. I had only seen 18 years and up mentioned on the gravesites, but James said there boys out there fighting as young as 14 & 15. He said back in those days the age for enlisting was 18, but if someone turned up that was strong enough and fit enough, had hair under the arm pits and said they were 18, no-one asked for their birth certificate. He said he spent many an hour chatting to guys during the war on the kokoda trail and he says, yes many of these brave young soldiers were under the age of 18. He said he wasn?t even 21 himself and he felt like one of the oldest guys around. As a mother, this in itself is so sad as I could not even imagine my 25 year old going off to war let alone him 10 years younger. And for every Australian killed, lets not forget the many Japanese that lost their lives as well.
Channel 9: Last week I also received an email – Subject: TV show on Kokoda Track. During 2003, Kokoda welcomed the former UK Gold Medalist Steve Ovett, now residing with his family on the Sunshine Coast to walk the trail. If Channel 9 actually come and do a TV show on Kokoda, the people of that area will be even more excited and wouldn?t that be fantastic for PNG as we could sure do with some tourism dollars up here.
Itinerary: I spoke to Russell by two way radio last week and he said he may change the itinerary around a little to give you more value for money. Please be assured however, that he has trekked every direction possible throughout his years and would not recommend anything he did not think should be included in our treks. It could mean another night in the bush compared to a village stay but to be honest I have not seen what he is working on as yet so really cannot say at this stage. As soon as I have been advised our website will be updated accordingly providing I agree with his suggestions.
You are also reminded that the itinerary is flexible, and depending on various factors the tour may not necessarily overnight in the said places. Sometimes there are land disputes going on in a certain village. Our guide and porters hear all this from the grapevine and will steer you clear of that particular area. So please do not print off the listing and expect it to go by the book as there are times variances have to take place. Russell will only change direction if and when necessary.
Tips for a safe and happy trek:
- Its always a good idea to bring along your favourite snack bars as they are really useful on the track.
- Don?t forget to allow 5kg for your personal porter for his gear.
- PNG is not renowned as the ?Land of the Unexpected? for nothing. You have to learn to only worry about the bigger picture and not worry about smaller things. Here in PNG you can plan everything to the finest detail and then something completely out of the ordinary can go wrong. PNG people as a whole are generally laid back people. They are extremely patient usually and one has to get used to a whole new culture to that what we know back home. With our western society we always seem to be in a hurry?..kokoda allows you to turn the clock back and imagine what it was like before cars; TV etc??
- PNG Time ? if you ask your porter how much further, remember you wont get the type of answer you and I would expect. Not far to them might be two hours to you so better not to get in the habit of asking. Everyone can trek at your own speed, like I mentioned earlier, it is not a race. We want you all to finish, so if you cant keep up just say so. What it will mean however, is that to keep to the schedule set down, you will just end up with less rest time where you spend the night. Most trekkers without packs make better time than those carrying their packs. Don?t make the same mistake as Geoff and Daniel, take time to stop and take care of blisters or the like rather than push on and try and catch the lead group. Our guide will make sure someone is with you at all times.
- A first aid kit with basic plasters, panadol, itch relief, antiseptic etc is essential and also salt for leeches if you happen to run into any. Only don?t do like I have seen at times where people bring up the whole 500 packet of bandaids. Remember you are heading on a tough trek, just pack what you think you will need. Bring with you also some medication to make swelling go down if you happen to suffer from knee problems for example.
- Carry some small notes with you in case you want to buy bananas etc offered by village people along the trail. On arrival there is a bank at the airport. Suggest you change some dollars into K2.00 notes or the most K5 & K10.00 notes as there will be no change given out on the trail.
- Prepare well in advance. The better prepared you are the more enjoyable you will find the Kokoda Trail. Don?t forget your towels. Two trekkers went out last year and forgot to pack towels. If you have any hills in the area you live, walk up and down to build up your muscles. Or as two electricians did last year, forget the lifts, walk the stairs. Or as Geoff did?.catch the train to work with your bike and pedal home. Don?t underestimate the trek, its very difficult, train well and you should not experience any problems. It?s a trek that is definitely achievable with good preparation and planning.
- Have FUN and CELEBRATE at the end of your trek as you will have earnt it.
- Be like a couple of other trekkers and return to PNG for more fun. Sue Hancock and her son Richard spent two weeks in December walking up Mt Wilhelm. Geoff Campbell returned to go surfing in Kavieng with some other mates.
- Do you know that PNG has been voted the best dive spot in the world for two different years by well renowned American Diving Magazines. I personally met up with two Americans in 2003 who had dived in 8 other countries. They said in Walindi, Kimbe region, within 15 minutes of hitting the water, they had seen more varieties of fish than anywhere else they had ever dived. Tufi is also renowned as a place to not only dive but also relax after the trek. Diving is not recommended prior to the track in case you cut yourself on coral as one person did last year. You would then have to worry about the cut getting infected whilst out on the trail.
- Be prepared to pay K10.00 to have your photograph taken with Ovuru Ndiki one of the last surviving fuzzy wuzzy angels. He loves having his photo taken with you but his son charges a fee.
- Bring along a pack of cards or another game or even a book to keep you occupied after you trek each day.
- Some children look forward to gifts from trekkers such as balloons, pencils – in fact anything is appreciated. Our guides and porters have always said….if you get anything at all up here they will walk them back in after the trek is finished and they return back home. Hence if you have any spare weight to spare, you can even bring some second hand clothing with you.
- PACK LIGHT: I have seen people head out and come back with hardly anything ? mainly the guys carrying their own packs. But please don?t forget, you can give away the shirts off your back but think twice about your food! It may weigh a bit but its what will give you the energy to get you home!
Malum Nalu, Reporter with South Pacific Post seen here on the Kokoda Trail with Ovuru Ndiki:
The_author__left__with_Ovuru_Ndiki__one_of_the_last_surviving___Fuzzy_Wuzzy_Angels__.jpgThat?s all folks ? or as they say here in PNG ? Em Tasol: If you have managed to read this newsletter to the bottom, many thanks. If you need any further questions answered, you only need to email me. I have tried to cover as much ground as possible both here and on our website but there may still be a subject I have missed.
Kind regards,
Gail Thomas (aussie on pngbd & kokoda websites):
Email: gail@pngbd.com
http://www.pngbd.com CLICK HERE:
http://www.kokodatrail.com.au
http://www.quadrahosting.com.au CLICK HERE:Lest We Forget!
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