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It was a quick trip down south for me as I returned yesterday on the same flight as our trekkers in readiness for their walk which commenced this morning. When I caught up with them earlier this morning there were smiles all round as they anticipated what lay ahead of them.
Everything went according to plan and we arrived at Owers' Corner a little after 8:30am. Trekkers sat around getting themselves ready, eating some food from their ration packs and taking in the atmosphere of the place.
Around 9:15am photographs were taken and by 9:30am they were walking down towards Goldie River,
On the way back down the hill the Kokoda Track Authority Ranger based at Owers' Corner hitched a ride with me. I asked if there was any other trekking company out on the track and he replied none that he was aware of.
So it would seem we will be the last trekking company on the track for 2011 and the first on the track for 2012 as they should celebrate in the New Year somewhere around the Naoro area. I had to think of something light so along with them are some party sticks that you light up so they can feel they have something to welcome in the New Year but doubt they will be awake and more than likely sleeping like babes at midnight on the 31st! Trekkers in this group include :
Micool Brooke; John MacLeod and Shane Double.
John and Shane are toughing it out and carrying their own packs! They looked a little hesitant as they walked off this morning but I am confident they can do it.
As for our boys, on the track with this group is Wallace Lemeki as their guide; Wayne Tihimi (Urina) the 2nd fastest man across the Kokoda Track in 18 hours 34 minutes; Trevor Jinga who had to cross rivers everyday to walk to school so is considered an expert when it comes river crossings by locals in Kokoda; along with two boys from Sairope Village who have been attending to the grounds of Orohaven for us.
They have a trekking system with them so if you would like to follow their progress, see below for the link.
Even better, if you have a Facebook account, and with your permission, we can issue one or two social media up-date posts per day to your Facebook account using our tracking system. These posts will up-date their progress and let friends click back to the progress map. This is a great service our clients are now using. To utilise this service please click the following Facebook button. That will take you to a Facebook authorisation page at which point please click the Allow button.Port Moresby has obviously received a lot of rain since I left so this morning I was expecting the road to be wet and slippery but as it turned out it was ok so a pleasant surprise. I do however, miss our 4WDriving but do not miss the wear and tear on our vehicles! as the saying goes, you can't have it both ways!
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IMGP0616__640x480_.JPGIt was soon time for Michael to meet his personal porter, Trevor Jinga:
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IMGP0620__640x480_.JPGIt was not too long after that the two young guys Shane Double and John MacLeod moved off towards the archway!
IMGP0618__640x480_.JPGOn this trek there is a team of 5 in total. Wallace Lemeki is the guide. He is accompanied by Trevor Jinga (personal porter) and three food porters including the 2nd fastest man on the track, Wayne the taller guy in the pic below. The other two food porters are Garry and Timmy from Sairope Village (outskirts of Kokoda):
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IMGP0622__640x480_.JPGThe first trekker to line up under the archway was Michael:
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IMGP0623__640x480_.JPGClosely followed by Shane and John – two mates from Melbourne – now do they look happy or what?
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IMGP0626__640x480_.JPGBefore heading off from Owers' Corner, Wallace Lemeki spoke to the trekkers as can be seen here:
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IMGP0627__640x480_.JPGIt was soon time to bid our farewll to 'Trek 844' as they walked off from Owers' Corner on their first of many descents – goodluck guys! Michael informed me he is here for the history and the other two guys were taking just about everything in so tick all the boxes. One guys first time out of Australia and so on!
PS Love the colour of the umbrella – blends in well with our PNG coloured uniforms!
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IMGP0629__640x480_.JPGbye bye trek 844
PS Just think, we are now up to TREK 844 – just goes to show you, how many trekkers and treks we have done! Lots of runs on the board so anyone thinking of booking with us, this must give you confidence in us.
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IMGP0634__640x480_.JPGReceived an update from Imita Ridge. They should arrive at Ua'Ule Creek at 4:30pm. Shane is suffering from leg cramps, Michael and John are doing ok.
QUOTE(Boss Meri @ 30 Dec 2011, 03:51 PM) [snapback]13654[/snapback]Received an update from Imita Ridge. They should arrive at Ua'Ule Creek at 4:30pm. Shane is suffering from leg cramps, Michael and John are doing ok.Good going Michael, we just had dinner at red coco, duck wonderful, lamb shanks; chilli fried rice and chicken fried rice. Yum How was your dried food? we will take you out when you get back home. from Maggi Shaun Michael and Ron
Maggi, if all went to plan, the boys carried in frozen meat today to cook up a hot meal for them tonight! I will pass on your message hopefully tomorrow and see what his reply is. LOL
3pm here sunny day, will catch up on your day later, hope it went well. WE WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR! WHAT A WONDERFUL MEMORY . I hope you can see the sky filled with stars tonight, much better than the fire works over the harbour bridge. love maggi shaun michael and ron
7pm – 1st January 2012: Wallace Lemeki just called in by sat phone to say they have reached Menari Village where they are spending the night. Today proved a tough but successful day crossing over 'Brown River'. I asked if they celebrated in the New Year last night and he answered that climbing Maguli Range yesterday almost killed them so they slept like babes. This morning they wished each other a Happy New Year and Wallace lit a sparkler.
The young guys have done really well today but Michael it seems was thinking of giving up but managed to push on and told Wallace he plans on finishing now. Trevor Jinga (Michael's personal porter) gave it all at Brown River and his experience with river crossings paid off. Wallace remarked how I should have watched Trevor today as he was like a duck in the water! Shane and John informed me they are SES workers back home so this should rate pretty high on the adventure list for them.
Maggi I could not talk with Michael as the trekkers were already asleep, yes thats right, at 7pm!
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