Waza/Warren –

I will be doing the tour on Sunday, 9 April.
I know the track in detail, and we will be landing at as many significant points as possible.
Trouble is, Aaron (who is the manager of Ecotourism Melanesia) has told me that someone has built a hut on Brigade Hill right where the helicopter needs to land. "Local authorities" are trying to get him to "relocate".
As I have said elsewhere, I will be taking along a video camera, a digital camera, a GPS and a tape-recorder. The still photos will go off to a publisher with my manuscript, while I hope to make a "doco" with the video-camera.
I am aware that the Track has been made more "trekker-friendly", and it is my intention to see the original track – so I hope the guide knows where it is.
Also, the locals have moved some of their villages – e.g., the present Isurava is some 2km south of the original site.
What isn't mentioned in most books about the campaign is that "Kingsbury's Rock" isn't on the main track – as shown in Patrick Lindsay's "Spirit of Kokoda" it is on a track running parallel a short distance to the east.
Such detail is significant….

Cheers,
Delta

Thanks, Waza – that's a help.

I am not "trekking" the track – I'm doing the 1-day helicopter tour.
There'll be just me, the pilot, a guide – and the manager is coming along for the ride.

Five years ago I wanted to do the actual "trek", but two bouts of cancer since then have weakened this old bod a bit.
The helicopter tour covers most of the sites I want to see, and it's about a 2km walk from the present Isurava to the original – that will be all the walking I'll be doing.

Cheers,
Delta