A poem by an Aussie digger is reproduced alongside some photos nearby:Fuzzy Wuzzy AngelsMany a mother in Australia when the busy day is doneSends a prayer to the Almighty for the keeping of her sonAsking that an angel guide him and bring him safely backNow we see those prayers are answered on the Owen Stanley Track.For they haven't any halos only…[Read more]

The amazing endurance, ingenuity and toughness shown by the men who took part in this campaign cannot be appreciated until you?ve done the walk. None of us could turn around now and walk back to the Goldie River.Kokoda Track Archway at Ower's Corner:Kokoda_Track.jpg

Ua-Ule Creek ? Ower?s Corner 25 MayThe camp site is virtually at the foot of the climb up Imita Ridge. This is the last defendable position before Port Moresby and the place where the Australians reinforced themselves prior to beginning their advance and finding that the Japanese had begun withdrawing. This climb feels like it goes on forever.…[Read more]

Naoro ? Ua-Ule Creek 24 MayThe climb continues on out of Naoro through the village gardens. As usual the morning is fresh and clear. As we reach the top there are defensive positions dug all around. The views on both sides are brilliant. We descend into Ofi creek. A villager has shot a pig and is bleeding it down stream. The boys approach…[Read more]

Naoro village was originally on the valley floor as the map shows. It was moved up high on the ridge because of the understandable health problems associated with life in the swamp. This means that our day isn?t finished until we climb yet another hill and this ridge line is a continual series of false crests. Even the guest house is higher…[Read more]

Efogi ? Naoro 23 MayWe make good time up Brigade hill and in to Menari. The village sits at the top of its small airfield and the front runners stop in the shade and wait in the hot sun, drying boots and sleeping bags. Granger, Hans and Ole have been walking together. Granger has been having trouble with the heat and chooses to wallow in every…[Read more]

The rest house at Efogi looks like a palace. It has separate huts for the walkers and porters, an outdoor shower and a hut for cooking. Everyone showers under the clean, cold water as dinner is prepared. The villagers are Seventh Day Adventists and though they don?t eat pig they offer some for sale. Tico, who has become procurement officer and…[Read more]

Just as we depart, the next group arrives in the village for their overnight stop. The old porter is wheeled away in preparation for his next official function. Efogi One sits on top of the nearby ridge line shimmering hazily in the warm afternoon sun. It appears that a well hurled rock could easily fall onto the thatched roofs of the village…[Read more]

It is curious that the Japanese didn?t just go around the withdrawing Australian and PNG soldiers and cut their own path to the Capital. The reasons why the invaders didn?t do so become obvious after a while. The track most often takes the best route over the terrain using the ridge lines for climbs and descents. To do otherwise and use…[Read more]

After we cross we wait at what should have been last night?s campsite for everyone to catch up. Barry shows us two well preserved grenades that he picked out of the creek as we crossed. There must be ordnance all over the place not far off the track. The peak of Mt Bellamy is the highest point on the track at 2637 metres and is a significant…[Read more]

Templetons ? Efogi 22 MayThe group ahead of us is on the nine day walk and was also destined for the number two crossing last night but fell short of their intended camp site. Because of this we will be passing them back and forth all day as we cover the same ground up Mt Bellamy. Inevitably we will have to outpace them somewhere as the night?s…[Read more]

After departing Isurava we make our way into Alola village after about an hour and a half. The village is perched quite high in the Iora creek valley and offers views to the track and villages on the other side. It preempts the descent into Iora creek and the ultimate crossing at Templeton?s. All kinds of fruit are bought in the village,…[Read more]

We take plenty of photos and marvel at the achievements of the men who fought here but we have to reach Templeton?s Crossing number one tonight. There is some debate about which crossing is the original but Templeton?s two sits astride Iora creek while Templeton?s one is on the South side of the creek about 100 metres uphill on the lower slopes…[Read more]

Just below the monument, Bruce Steel Kingsbury earned Australia?s first Victoria Cross on home soil, as PNG was then. A small sign relates the story of Private Kingsbury?s courage and stands by the rock where the sniper who stopped his valiant individual charge was concealed.Trekkers at the Bruce Kingsbury Memorial:P1010049.jpg

Kokoda – Templeton?s Crossing 21 MayOur party arises to beautiful clear, blue skies. Breakfast of powdered milk and weetbix fortifies us for the days walking. The boys eat crackers.The group sets off sometime around 0700. Barry tells us that we will see the battlefield and monument at Isurava today. This is slightly confusing as it was in…[Read more]

Our group shakes out into the formation that it will hold for the rest of the trip with everyone settling into their pace and a mindset that will carry them through the trip. After a time, the only way to deal with the hills and endless false crests is to never assume that you have reached the top, to do so is to invite disappointment. We wait…[Read more]

We grab our packs and start walking into Kokoda village for a bit of reorganization. At the edge of the village next to the escarpment is a memorial to the Australians, Japanese and Papua New Guineans. Once the food and gear is spread amongst the porters we take a snap next to the Kokoda village sign and we begin the relatively flat walk toward…[Read more]

The Twin Otter shuts down the left engine and all the passengers scramble out onto the grassy airfield. A crowd watches the daily entertainment. Our porters are waiting for us, Davidson, a veteran of 40 plus treks, Gerry, Berry, Michael, Kennedy and Tony. Barry has completed more than 60 walks and he and Davidson have some proper gear either…[Read more]

Kokoda ? Isurava 20 MayOur flight on the Milne Bay Airways Twin Otter is scheduled to leave at 08:30, but as the local boys say the only real certainty is that it will leave sometime this month. Our group is made up mainly of Emirates Airline pilots. Granger and Tim Narara are brothers from Milne Bay; their relatives Hans and Ole Petersen are…[Read more]

On another note, we also have to thank this group for making me think about 24 hour ration packs for our trekkers. According to them, living on bully beef, rice, cheese and bikkies did'nt do much for their diet. Some of these trekkers had been on other treks throughout the world and they gave us very good feedback. The guy who organised this…[Read more]