Day 9 - Agulogo > Ofi Creek

Well, Paul certainly slept better last night. So much so that he snored, and kept everyone awake. I have to say, he did look a hell of a lot better this morning, and he commented that the pillow did the trick, and he had a much better night's sleep. As far as toilet arrangements went, it was another site with no green barrels, and just a hole in the ground. I decided after my last encounter, I could wait a day...

A look at the day's map showed what we had all been dreading. Looking at the map, today looked like the day that the uphills never ended. In fact, looking at the trek diary showed that we were going to climb 1,800 feet today, then descend 2,200 feet! We'd all been looking at the morning map all trip, and all been dreading this day.

But, my knee felt really good again, the sun wasn't too hot, the dogs were ready for a pig hunt, and the world was a good place. So off we went, with an easy trek through a swamp to start with. We were all pretty glad is was dry weather, because it looked like the swamp would be diabolical when it was wet. As it was, we did it pretty easy. Funny enough, it was also here that Alex was complaining to Catherine about something. I couldn't quite hear what it was about, but it certainly made Catherine pooey with the world, and she remained that way - short and shitty with everyone - until the trekking for the day ended.

But before that was the hill. The mother of all hills. I don't know how many false peaks there were on this hill, but certainly more than ten. You would think you were getting near the top - but no, another false peak. You know, I kind of enjoyed the fact that there were all these false peaks. Because wherever there was a false peak, there was a relatively flat part for up to 25 metres where we could get our breath back. We stopped 3 times on the way up, and we just walked at New Guinea pace. The pace was easy, the sun wasn't too hot, I was feeling good, so it was not nearly the killer that we thought it would be. It wasn't easy, but it certainly wasn't the hardest thing we'd done so far, and at no point was I feeling buggered.

Half way up the hill we stopped for morning tea at Naoro Village - even though it was only 8:30AM! Then up, and up, and up some more.

Going down the other side was easy, and again I powered on. It was on the way down the other side that we came across a (yet another) memorial to a trekker who had died. This memorial was for the 30 something year old mother who had died just a few months ago, heading in the other direction. Apparently, she had had an asthma attack. Her trekking company didn't have enough porters to carry her to some flat land where a chopper could land. Nor did they have a satellite phone, or a medic, or the medication that would have saved her. Instead, they sent a runner ahead, who after a few hours came across an Adventure Kokoda trek. AK sent a team of porters armed with a medic, medications and a satellite phone to assist. Unfortunately, the six hour return trip was just too long. The poor lady has passed away, leaving a husband and two young kids at home. The Adventure Kokoda boys carried her body the half kilometer to a flat piece of ground, and cut away the undergrowth so a chopper could land, and take her body back to Port Moresby. She had saved a thousand dollars or so going with a cheaper trekking company - but it had cost her her life. A senseless, pointless, frustrating waste. All the way through our trek, we had seen trekkers with other companies, with only 3 or 4 porters. They laughed at us having 16. We were lucky so far to not have had any problems. But, we weren't finished yet, and I was pretty happy to know that if I did have a problem, I would be out of there one way or another in a couple of hours - hopefully before it was too late. Whereas, if we only had 3 or 4 porters, chances are they would leave me on the side of the track while they went to get help...

After that sobering memorial, we had an early lunch at 11:10AM. Catherine actually started to thaw out after lunch, and we heard her talking for the first time since the swamp, which was good. Alex, on the other hand was having trouble with his knees, and wasn't too happy. Paul too was sore above his knees, but wasn't really complaining. Sam was doing really well, though still not eating too much. At least he had stopped farting...

After what was really a pretty easy day, we made camp for the night at 1:30! It was perched on the side of a hill, just up from a beautiful creek. We all spent a lot of time in the creek, washing ourselves, washing clothes, and generally taking it easy.

Not long after we finished washing, the group from the previous night's camp arrived, and had a swim too. They had wanted to share our campsite. However, they weren't carrying tents, and needed a village guesthouse. That would have meant our boys would have to crowd into one guesthouse, so we suggested that his group walk the extra 90 minutes to the next camp. They agreed. After their swim, they started walking across the log to continue on their way. A guy in his 20's, carrying some pretty impressive SLR camera gear lost his balance on the log, and fell in - camera gear and all! You've never seen a bloke jump back onto a log so quickly in your life. Poor guy - the few porters that they had helped him back to the bank, and dried his camera while he dried himself. But, another example of where that would not have happened to our group. Whenever we cross a river, there is always a porter in front ready to help, and one behind making sure we are ok. I suppose you get what you pay for, though I hope the kid and his gear are ok...

After a really long relax in the creek, the rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing around camp. We all sat around and chatted, relaxed, wrote in the diary, and watched Peter beat Alex in chess again. Catherine had come good again by mid afternoon. It is funny the way she puts the big "everything is great" act on at breakfast time, then is quiet till the afternoon or evening. She actually admitted thisafternoon that she "doesn't thaw out till after lunch". She says that her ankle is ok, so I don't know what it is. Alex's knees are still troubling him after our big descent, and once again I can't bend or straighten my knee.

So, feeling pretty good, and with a big day tomorrow, I went for a nanna nap 3:30. After about an hour I gave up, and got up to join the others. I was tired, but couldn't sleep.

The dogs didn't catch a pig today, so the usual pasta for dinner. Then, after dinner, we heard the boys singing in their guesthouse. We went over to listen. They invited us in, and for 45 minutes we were treated to their soulful, moving, amazing voices.

I was a little emotional, and very tired when I went to bed at 8:10. I have lent Paul my wet pack again for a pillow, so hopefully he sleeps well - but not so well that he snores. The others are up chatting, and I'm falling asleep listening to their hushed voices...