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Day 2: Exactly departed camp at 6:45am straight up the Golden Stairs. The morning was cool, making our up hill climb enjoyable. I'd had to slow down and help Jack Ryan who struggled to keep up with the rest of the trekkes who did extremely well.
I read a diary at Imita Ridge writen by a digger as we proceeded down the ridge. Had an hours stop at Ioribaiwa for lunch. We proceeded up to Ioribaiwa smiit than raced down to Ofi for our second night. Unfortunately we could not secure a hut because it was booked by Kokoda Adventure. Our boys got the other side of Ofi Creek and put our tents up for trekkers and porters. It was certainly enjoyable after dinner and entertainment by uke'ule and singing. The night was beautiful but Jack Ryan could not eat and just went to bed straight away.
Trekkers crossing over Goldie River:
Day 3: This was probably the longest walk we did. It nearly took us the whole day to walk. Unfortunately Ross and myself had to drop back at Maguli Range to assist Jack Ryan who struggled on the last 2 days and was gradually getting worse. At this point he found it hard to lift up his leg to walk or carry his own pack. He told me that he could'nt continue anymore. This is when I called up operations for a medivac. We left him at Naoro in the safe hands of our head office to move him off the track by helicopter and the rest of our group moved on to Menari. I briefed other trekkers on the situation of Jack Ryan. They thanked me, Ross and Ramsey for our assistance. All porters did a fine job.
Photograph – trekkers enjoying a swim at Ofi Creek:
Trek_292_033.jpegDay 4:Had a short days walk up to Brigade Hill. It was a slow walk up as we all did a big one on day 3. The trekkers had about one hour break and we had time for a cuppa. We then moved onto Efogi. The bad news of Efogi was that we had no food to continue due to the lack of pilots with Airlines of PNG and the only other airline that flies into the track airports National Aviation plane being in the hangar. We were informed by head office that they had been trying their very best to get someone to fly in supplies but nothing was available. Landy Noel the guesthouse owner of Efogi had some emergency rice on hand which we stocked up on plus we were to use our advance money to purchase village food along the way. The only problem was sugar to replace the big loss of sweat we encountered during climbing.
Photograph – Brigade Hill:
Trek_292_047.jpegDay 5: This was a bone crushing walking day. It was a cool morning walking uphill and the trekkers enjoyed the Owen Stanley's view. The porters did a good job at the crossing and ferrying bags plus trekkers across the river. We got to Kagi to meet up with Rod's team. We managed to get to the top of Mt Bellamy in good time. All trekkers and porters arrived in good time at 1900. Time clocked off 2:00pm. We had dinner at 6pm.
Photograph – Kagi Village:
Trek_292_053.jpegDay 6: We all woke a bit early due to the cold. Had an early breakfast and started early. Very cold and misty up Mt Bellamy. Kokoda lookout was overcast and cloudy. It started to rain from Templeton's 1 and continued to Templeton's Crossing 2.
We had tea there than moved off to Eora Creek. Unfortunately we could'nt get to Alola as planned due to heavy rain down hill. Also Dean fell awkardly and hur his knee. We had to halt at Eora Creek to camp. It was rainy, cold and misty. Trekkers had an early dinner to give them a rest for another long days walk to Deniki.
Photograph – Eora Creek Crossing:
Day 7: This was another tough day that our trekkers and us experienced. We stopped at the battlefield for lunch. We than moved down to Deniki and had 10 minutes break. We talked to the trekkers to find their view if we could proceed to Hoi. All agreed to stop at Hoi. After climbing the last descend to the campsite,it was all cool and welcoming by the river. All trekkers and porters enjoyed this plus a good dinner which we all though was delicious vegetables. Good moonlight, the boys sand as Ramsie and Cyprian jammed on their uke'ule's.
Photograph – Deniki:
Trek_292_085.jpegDay 8: Had an early start from Hoi to head off to Kokoda Station where we arrived a 9am.
Trek_292_088.jpegOur truck KTL 1 was there to pick us up and take us to Rusty's Kokoda family block.
Photograph – Our trekkers inside KTL 1 our truck based in Kokoda:
Trek_292_098.jpegGood traditional welcome and all trekkers were delighted of our culture. We had a good bath and cleaned ourselves up.
Photograph – traditional welcome at Rusty's Kokoda Family Block:
Trek_292_101.jpegComments and thoughts from trekkers – trek 293:
I am so happy to be able to complete this very tiring challenge. I also know that without the help of all the KTL boys my life long dream would not have been possible. Thank you to all porters in the group. A great experience.
Peter
An unbelievable challenge and a realisation of the horrific conditions that the 'Aussie' heroes must have encountered. This experience will enable me to enjoy a number of life experiences more readily be grateful for what life has available to me. A great thank you to Dave as the Guide leader and to my personal porter Tarina, who were always available for help and assistance. I will be much more humble for the experience. Best wishes for future encounters.
Neville
Tremendous satisfaction on completion of a major personal challenge – many highlights and challenges both up and down, but we did it! Many thanks to the boys, especially David and Cyprian. Best of luck for future treks.
Ian
A well organised trek. All the porters were terrific and Dave was great. If we could have got back to Port Moresby on Wednesday it would have been better than sitting around Kokoda
Ken
Walking the Kokoda Track has been themost challenging thing I've ever done, but it has also been extremely rewarding. The KTL boys were fantastic and David was a great guide. I enjoyed learning about the history of the track as we trekked our way through. Thanks KTL
Dean
Of the nine days of the trek I found the first four really challenging and rewarding and the final five relaxing and enjoyable. In am really glad I did the trek and found it a life changing experience. One issue I did have was the rubbish at some of these sites. Our boys were really careful about disposing of it but maybe a clean up should be organised.
Travis
The most physical and challenging 9 days but made enjoyable by David and the boys. Daniel as a porter was great and made the whole experience far more enjoyable. An accomplishment that I will always be proud of and one that I will think fondly of for the rest of my life. A life changing experience which I hope will inspire me to greater things in my life. Thanks to KTL
Andrew
yes guys, you DID IT and congratulations from all of us at Kokoda Trekking (KTL)
Photograph – trekkers, porters and guide on the 25th April, 2007 when they were dropped at Ower's Corner for the commencement of their trek.
Trek_292_008.jpegPhotograph taken at the Gateway Hotel 3rd May, 2007 – Pic 1:
IMGP3514.jpegPhotograph taken at the Gateway Hotel 3rd May, 2007 – Pic 2:
IMGP3513.jpegPhotograph taken at the Gateway Hotel 3rd May, 2007 – Pic 3:
IMGP3512.jpegPhotograph taken at the Gateway Hotel 3rd May, 2007 – Pic 4:
IMGP3511.jpegPhotograph taken at the Gateway Hotel 3rd May, 2007 – Pic 5 – sorry this one came out blurred:
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