SUNDAY, 4 JULY 2004 – UBERI VILLAGE (NEAR GOLDIE RIVER)The boys are up at 3.00am preparing for the early start. Today is our biggest day on the track. We will climb the remainder of the Maguli Range and its many false peaks, Ioribaiwa Ridge and Imita Ridge.At 6.00am we set off. Many of the Nauro people are on the track to farewell us, including…[Read more]

SATURDAY, 3 JULY 2004 – NAURO VILLAGEAt 5.30am, a single gong rings across the village, signalling the imminent start of the morning church service.An aggressive but brief dogfight follows. The sounds or roosters, cockle doodle do-ing back and forth like an echo across the valley, the muffled voices of the boys getting the fire started, the…[Read more]

At 12.30pm we arrive at Menari Village for lunch, a healthy mix of corn, cucumber, pineapple, paw paw, curry nuts, peanuts, tomatoes, mandarins (all grown locally) and dry biscuits. Curry nuts are a new food experience. They are almond in shape, though much larger and have the same texture as the flesh of a coconut. Their subtle curry flavour…[Read more]

We caught up with Rick and Russ on top of the hill and reflected on the appalling treatment of the Australian soldiers by MacArthur and Blamey.Whilst the role of the United States was key to the outcome of WW II, on the home front it wasn?t all 'beer and skittles' as far as the Aussies were concerned.There was considerable rivalry between the…[Read more]

A plaque on Brigade Hill includes the following verse and information:Maski bodi bilong ol soldia em I dai pinis taim ol Manmeri I stori long ol wanem samting ol soldia I bin mekin, em I olsem ol soldia I stap lait yet tasolThey are not dead not even broken; Only the dust has gone back home to earth; For they; the essential they; shall have…[Read more]

FRIDAY, 2 JULY 2004 – MENARI VILLAGEToday has been approached at a relaxed pace with an 8.00 am departure. Only 4 hours walking although the track is punctuated with some steep climbs and log bridge crossings.Soon after leaving Efogi we reach the summit of Brigade Hill. One of the porters, John, offers me a mandarin (and no one else in the…[Read more]

That night we enjoy a banquet of sweet potatoes, yam, green vegetables, rice, pasta and pork. To top it off a cask of port is produced for a nightcap.Pillows, pork and port at Efogi – what more could you ask for on the Kokoda Track.Efogi Guesthouse Dining Room:CIMG0428.JPG

In the afternoon a game of tip footy is played on the airstrip followed by a game of volleyball in the village.Efogi has a small museum full of war relics including mortars, ammunition, grenades, guns, bayonets, helmets and some fragments of human bones!Through talking to the boys, I discover that a wild pig is being cooked in a traditional way…[Read more]

At Launumu there has been a funeral in the morning and a long path of banana leaves and flowers cuts across the centre of the village square. There is also a stone monument, a small obelisk with a bowl indentation on the top, erected on a flagstone path in the shape of a cross. It is surrounded by a small garden and single rail fence and is a…[Read more]

From Naduri the track descends very steeply and at places is almost vertical. One of the porters instructs me to 'concentrate on my foot'. After a log bridge crossing, the challenge of the steep ascent to Launumu (sometimes called Efogi 2) greets us head on. It is a really tough climb in the hot sun. At times I find myself holding my walking…[Read more]

Our guide chooses to take a small short cut, and rather than go to Kagi, we stop in Naduri for what turns out to be an early lunch. Bowls of bananas, oranges, mandarins and sweet potatoes are provided by the village and we enjoy these with the usual biscuits, tuna, baked beans, vegemite, peanut butter, and on this occasion boiled eggs.At Naduri,…[Read more]

As fresh supplies have been air dropped at Efogi 1, breakfast is a hearty affair of pancakes, peas, rice, tuna, baked beans and canned corned beef. The remaining eggs, which have been carried by hand from Kokoda in egg cartons and plastic shopping bags, with no breakages, are hard boiled for lunch.After a short climb, we come to the Myola Kagi…[Read more]

THURSDAY, 1 JULY 2004 – EFOGI VILLAGE6.00am, dawn is breaking and the campsite is a hive of activity. Wood is being chopped, walkers are tying their bootlaces, breakfast is being cooked over fires and sleepy souls are emerging from their tents one by one. Others are making their way to the creek to wash and there is a lot of packing going on.…[Read more]

As the boys set up camp I notice another use for the machete. The boys have dug quite a deep hole and sifted through the dirt very carefully. This will be the site of the fire and they have made a thorough check for old bullets left over from WW II.James has a beaming smile on his face. Rick and Russ who are at the same campsite have given him…[Read more]

After the crossing we stop for lunch – tinned meat (spam), biscuits, vegemite, peanut butter, salmon and cheese. The variety is welcomed, if only in small portions.From Eora Creek it is another steep climb to Kokoda Gap where you capture a spectacular view of the valley. Looking up however you can only see mountains covered in mist – 'mountains…[Read more]

Our porters who are strategically staggered at the front, middle and back of the group frequently call to each other, across valleys, from the top of a hill to the bottom and so on. In different tones, pitch and tempo they make a variety of calls – 'cooee', 'bowee', 'oh' oh' oh' oh' oh' oh' and so on. During a steep climb they often relieve the…[Read more]

WEDNESDAY, 30 JUNE 2004 – MOUNT BELLAMYDelayed start today at 8.00am due to torrential rain over night and the need to let Eora Creek subside before we make a second crossing further along the track.From our Eora Creek campsite, the track rises steeply and it is a punishing climb to the top. The morning's walk has been through dense, dark…[Read more]

With the assistance of a rope rail and the helpful hand of porters standing at different points we walk across the rapids. The boys have made this treacherous crossing safe and easy.After a short steep climb past deep weapon pits and we arrived at the campsite, which has a corrugated iron and thatched roof shelter.Our campsite affords a bird?s…[Read more]

We stopped for morning tea at Alola to recharge our energy levels. The village women produced large bowls of bananas, mandarins, yams and passionfruit. Each bowl costs approximately Kina 5.00 or A$2.50.After walking through thick rainforest, we arrive at Eora Creek at 11.30am.On a rock on the northern side of the creek is a plaque with the…[Read more]

TUESDAY, 29 JUNE 2004 – EORA CREEKHeavy rain continues to fall. It is often torrential. The boys (as Eric refers to his team) are singing their traditional songs around the campfire.I am writing this note by torch light in my tent at the campsite at Eora Creek at 8.00pm. James has turned in and I won't be too far behind him.As is the routine…[Read more]