Day 8 - Efogi 1 > Brigade Hill > Nevlogo > Menari > Agulogo

Bloody roosters! Woke me this morning at 4AM - and kept me awake till 5:10 when I got up for a wee. I wanted to kill the bastards! Last night was a warmer night, but still needed the sleeping bag. Paul had let rip a few times during the night - which I'm sure isn't making Catherine too happy. Paul again looked pretty haggard this morning. I asked him about it, and he admitted that he was having trouble sleeping. Apparently, he is having the same trouble with his pillow as I had originally had with mine - and that is causing him to wake constantly during the night. Poor bugger - I know how he feels...

After the usual breakfast, we visited the local museum within the village. Within were unexploded grenades, bullets and mortars, along with Bren Guns, 2" Mortar, helmets, rifles and boots. But these were special boots. They still had the foot bones in them from the poor bugger who died in them. It seemed so normal for the locals - to me it was quite disturbing. I walked away still a little shocked. Not sure how the others felt.

Catherine was quiet again this morning. There had been a few good farts let go overnight - and I don't think she is impressed. Whatever it was, she was quiet - and quite often turned away when being spoken to. Perhaps it was the emotional journey we took through to Brigade Hill...

You see, from Efogi 1 we went downhill for quite some time, then tackled a pretty big uphill. This uphill led us past Mission Ridge, where the diggers had dug in in an attempt to slow the Japs down. We heard their story a bit later, after more of an uphill, when we arrived at Brigade Hill. Here, Peter took all our trekking poles, and stuck them in the ground in two rows, about 2 metres apart. We sat down on Brigade Hill, and heard the story of the diggers on Mission Ridge. About the ones that were cut off, and travelled back through the jungle desperately trying to rejoin their unit. About the shot that almost killed the commanding officer as he headed to the loo, but instead hit his assistant. About the heroics, and the deaths. The deaths. We turned around and looked at the trekking poles. Then we noticed. Two long, long lines of indentations across the ridge, from one end to half way to the other. Over 80 graves of diggers who had died defending the hill. Yet another one of the major battles along the Kokoda Trail that we never had a chance to learn about in school. We were both saddened and angry that this important part of our history is ignored. So, perhaps the emotion of that was too much for Catherine. I don't know. I do know that she isn't herself.

After the Brigade Hill briefing, we walked another 100m to where some villages had the equivalent to a local Woolworths set up. Twisties, Coke, and local pineapple and bananas. The pineapple was amazing! So sweet and juicy - it was heaven. The bananas were pretty damn good too. It was good to recharge, as the legs were feeling a bit weary after the mornings big uphill. Perhaps that had contributed to Catherine's withdrawal - I don't know, but Paul noticed it as well. He also noticed the cross words Alex and Catherine had exchanged yesterday morning. Then again, he had seen me have a bit of a dummy spit when 3 times in a row as I was trying to take an action photo of the group coming down a hill, Catherine had jumped out of shot at the last second, leaving me with a photo of her half in shot. It annoyed me, and I had my first dummy spit of the trip. Oh well. I'd better calm down...

After Brigade Hill, we took a detour to a little village called Nevlogo. This is the village of one of the senior porters who works for Adventure Kokoda, and was waiting for our arrival. We were to have delivered the rugby ball, books and pencils that I had brought with me as a donation to the villagers. We were told in our final briefing email that the porters would carry them for us. At Sogeri Lodge, I had specifically put aside the 4 books for the "Bring a Book" programme that were to go to Port Moresby Grammar School, and kept them separated from the gifts for a village. I was suspicious at Sogeri when Warren Bartlett (who organises things for Adventure Kokoda there) said "The villagers don't need gifts - they're better off than you think". So I had confirmed with Peter that the gifts would go to the village - he had even said that I could present the rugby ball to a kid, and have a photo taken doing it. You see, my son had heard that the villagers didn't have much, so he had offered to give one of his rugby balls to the village. He had chosen the ball with the most grip to give away, because, as he said, "it rains a lot up there, so they will need the good one".

I was pretty pissed off that a private school in Port Moresby was getting the ball, books, and pencils, while this village got nothing. And I let Peter know. But, this is New Guinea, the land of the unexpected, and things going buggaup is a way of life. So, I just need to get over it.

The villagers had put on a special treat for us (which made it even worse when I couldn't give something back)(get over it). They had laid out the red carpet, in the form of banana leaves covered with red flowers. They had also put on a feed for us - the most amazing cucumber, bananas and cooked stuff. The cooked stuff was taro, and a cake-like thing called sago pudding. Peter told us it was like banana cake, but actually tasted like pumpkin mixed with cement! I had a piece, and then didn't discourage Sam or Alex from having some too. The looks on their faces was priceless, and they chewed away, trying desperately to swallow the stuff! Really hilarious! Meanwhile, I'd asked Sam how his bowels were after his recent stomach bug. Catherine got huffy, asking why we had to talk about bowel movements. Paul took this as a cue for him to describe his, I threw my description in, and we asked Catherine about hers. Alex tried to stay clear, but he was also brought into the conversation, admitting that his movements had been a bit soft for the past couple of days. Catherine was pretty pissed off, and stayed that way for the rest of the day. A little chink in her armour, which had been exploited to stir her up. Not the right thing to do, but we were all a little edgy, and I guess this was the result.

It was a really tough walk after Nevlogo. Uphill and downhill and uphill some more to Menari. When we arrived there for lunch, we were all pretty buggered - Alex in particular dropped down to the ground in relief. Despite having had a swim half an hour before Menari, in a beautifully cool creek, I was finding the day tough too. It was hot, we'd done a lot of hills, and a lot of distance. Everyone was a little edgy. Sam had been trying to lighten the mood by dropping his guts every time he exerted himself - which Paul and I found somewhat amusing - but it just seemed to piss Catherine off more. At least we got a laugh out of it. Even Warren, our "Spademan", gave a wry smile on a couple of occasions. It was good to see him enjoying himself, and also good that Sam was on the mend, and starting to have a better time.

It was great to have lunch in the relative cool of a hut at Menari. The villagers had again provided bananas, along with some cherry tomatoes. I almost had one, then remembered Peter's advice, to only eat food that has a natural wrapper on it - you don't know what has been on the food that doesn't. Paul had a couple, and said they tasted great. Catherine said nothing all lunch time...

After Menari, we had an almighty uphill. In the heat. After a big morning. It was hard work, and I was sweating like never before. Two drops per second of my sweat were hitting the ground when we stopped at the top. We all looked pretty hot and bothered, but we were at the top of "The Wall". It is called that, because coming from the other direction, it is like coming up against a vertical wall. We started off downhill, and trekkers coming the other way looked shattered. There were a couple of kids - about 9 and 10 - with a porter, who asked us how far to the top. For them it was about five minutes. Then over the next half hour, the rest of their group came past. They all looked just about ready to pass out.

I led the way down the hill, and I was really glad to be going down. I seem to be able to go downhill quicker than the others - picking my footing quickly, and just moving the feet. I don't know if it as a result of a bit of mountain bike riding, where you're always looking for the best route, or some other reason. Whatever it is, I quite enjoy the downhill - and this was a doosey! I headed off at a pretty quick pace, with Sam hot on my heels. I suppose it was him close behind that made me go a little quicker, and eventually I hot about 10 metres ahead of him. By the time we got to the bottom, we were about 3 minutes ahead of Paul, and 7 minutes ahead of Alex and Catherine. They didn't look happy.

My knee had taken a pounding on the way down - a bit silly of me to have gone at that pace. So I was pretty happy to go along the flat through a swamp, which due to the dry weather, wasn't too muddy. We were still going at a good pace, to the extent that when we arrived at Agulogo to camp the night, the boys hadn't finished putting up the tents. I chose one, threw down my backpack, got some soap, and went down to the creek. I jumped in clothes and all, and sitting in the cool, fast flowing water, slowly took my clothes off and washed them, then washed myself and rinsed my hair. Because there was another group already there with a view over the creek, I kept my skins on, and washed my nether regions under the water. After about 15 minutes Sam, Paul, Alex and Catherine joined me. I'd finished and was heading back to the tent when another 2 trekkers arrived - one guy in his 30's, the other in his 50's. They were heading in the opposite direction, and the guy in his 50's was struggling with a bad knee. I didn't envy him with what he had ahead of him - was a nice guy - hope he makes it.

The camp dogs made a nuisance of themselves this evening. Luckily, we have wooden panels we can put up at the doorway to the eating/drying hut. A couple of the dogs snuck in while we were having dinner, and tried to get what was on the table. There seems to be about 15 dogs in the village - apparently they are pig hunting dogs, and the boys have asked the villagers if they can get a pig for us to eat tomorrow night. I don't know if I like that idea or not.

A quiet evening this evening. Everyone is pretty beat after a big day - which started at 7:00AM and despite the quick pace, finished when we arrived here at 5:15PM. My knee is really sore. Due to swelling, I can only straighten it to 165 degrees, and only bend it to 85 degrees. I've taken two Nurofen Plus - hope they bring the swelling down overnight. I had trouble walking back up from the creek after my wash. Really hope I'm better in the morning, because despite the big day and feeling tired, I'm still feeling really strong.

Before heading off to bed at 8:10PM, I lent Paul my other wet pack for him to use as a pillow. With any luck he will sleep better tonight, and his bowels will let us sleep better too...

Day 7 - Bomber Camp > Naduri > Kagi > Efogi

Blessed relief this morning. A green barrel loo, and bowel movements a bit firmer - but still not quite right. The followed the coldest night so far on the trek. I woke around midnight freezing cold. But too tired to get the thermals out. I closed the hood so there was just a hole big enough for my mouth, and went back to sleep. Even though the pillow is much better, I still seem to wake on a regular basis. At least now I go back to sleep quickly. There was a bit of noise from Alex's tent early last night. I think he might have had a visitor...

After the standard breakfast, we walked the 2 minutes it took to get to the wrecked bomber. The Americans had dug a huge hole trying to recover the bodies of 2 American airmen still in the bomber. Unfortunately, there are also 2 unexploded bombs with the aircraft. The more the Americans dug, the further one of the bombs slid down the hole. It is one of the rare cases where they have left the remains of their dead within the aircraft - they didn't think it was worth the risk of blowing up the recovery team. The hole they dug is about 30m across, and full of water. So it was only the ripped bits of aircraft, plus the second bomb that we could see - everything else was under the murky water - including the two Americans. A little spooky - glad I didn't know about it last night.

From there we visited an ammunition dump used by the diggers. It was still full of ammo. I don't know how more people aren't killed by this stuff here. It was full of mortars, grenades, bullets. We were careful not to step on any of it.

Sam was feeling much better today, so when Peter suggested a little excursion to have a look at a Cessna 206 that crashed last year on Little Myola, we agreed. Through the stinking mud again, and there, in the middle of nowhere, is a more or less intact Cessna. The engine was recently taken away for investigation - but the rest of the plane is there. The pilot died in the crash landing, but the two teachers he was carrying managed to walk away. There are still books, pencils and paper strewn around the aircraft. It is somewhat surreal. Apparently this happens all the time in PNG, and with no-one investigating the crash, the planes just stay where they have hit.

From there we powered on to Tovovo Lookout, and had morning tea on the side of the track. Another group passed us while we were having morning tea, then we passed them a bit later. Alex was a bit more talkative today, and I had a really good chat. He isn't impressed with the backwards ideas of many in Perth / WA. I can see his point. Maybe he was a bit more chatty because his gut (like mine) is feeling a bit better today, and no longer feels like I have a brick in a washing machine for a stomach. On the other hand, Catherine was a little uptight. Especially in the morning. Not responding when we talk to her. I wonder is she is still upset about the hard time she got the other night. Whatever. Her loss.

After Tovovo Lookout, we had a really steep descent down to Naduri Village. Here the locals brought out scones and mandarins for us. Sonny (Boskuk) brought us some jam - and we were in heaven! With the second morning tea in our bellies (I'm sure I'm not losing any weight on this trip!), we headed further into the village to meet Ovovu Idiki - who is claimed to be the last surviving Fuzzy Wuzzy angel. He sang us a song that they used to sing during the war. A really proud old man - it was an honour to shake his hand.

From there we went past the Kovovo School. There are a few modern buildings, and a few traditional ones. We looked inside the two K-2 rooms. They had pictures of cars and boats strung up, which they had cut out of a Deals on Wheels type magazine. The room was very primitive, and the rugby/soccer oval was worse!

From there down a steep but short hill, then a sprint up the other side to Kagi village. I've got to say, with the pace and the heat, and the sun on my back, I was puffing by the time I got to the top. I seem to be ok and able to go all day if the pace is slow, but as soon as it picks up a bit I get puffed, and REALLY sweaty.

100m past Kagi was our lunch stop, and I once again had too much to eat. I'm really starting to enjoy that Spam and (what is this stuff?!) other meat on Salada's with cheese, followed by pasta and a cup of tea.

After lunch was a very, very steep and slippery descent. With my fear of heights, this one really scared me. Not just the steepness, but the slipperiness. At the bottom was another creek - and it was paradise to rip off the clothes and jump in. We had turns riding the current under the bridge, which was a heap of fun. Really refreshing after our pretty hard day so far.

Unfortunately, after the river was the steepest ascent I have ever seen. Unbelievably steep. And slippery as all buggery. It was like walking up a ladder for 30 minutes, with no hand holds and butter on the steps. It scared the crap out of me - one wrong step or slip, and it was straight down a 200 metre drop. I was really pleased when it was over. Then another 40 minutes of climbing which was again pretty steep, but by comparison a walk in the park. It was tough going in the sun, but we all did it pretty well. We got to the top, and Alex seemed spent - he dropped to the ground. Peter gave us a briefing - we were in Efogi 2 Village, where Corporal Nishimura erected a monument to his fallen comrades. As we were sitting there eating a banana, listening to Peter, 2 guys from the group we had seen in the morning came up the other side of the hill. The were sweating and puffing, and spent 5 minutes telling us how hard that climb was that they had just done. They went on and on. They were shattered. We didn't have the heart to tell them we had just gone around the long way, and our hill was twice as long and twice as steep...

From there is was a simple down and up to camp at Efogi 1, which we arrived at at about 4:30. There was a shower with a shower rose - but the water only came out in a trickle. Catherine got out with here towel wrapped around her waist - but it was only a camping towel, and only just went all the way around. We all had a laugh at her trying to bend over to open her tent, and get in while staying decent! I had a shower and rinsed out my clothes - I had sweated so much I was prepared to have wet clothes in the morning.

Then one of the boys lit a fire in the drying room, so we all hung our clothes up in there. They were still damp and smokey at bed time, but at least that was better than sweaty.

Sam was much improved by the end of the day. Paul has done some ripper farts - never in front of Catherine though. Someone also snuck out a few sneaky ones at dinner - everyone looked at everyone else wondering who to blame.

After dinner we went to the drying hut where 4 local ladies and 5 kids sang for us. Just amazing voices. So smooth and moving. Today too was a food drop day, where I had my second half snacks delivered. I have hardly eaten any of my first half ones! So it just means an extra 750g of weight in my backpack. I had also packed a big self saucing pudding, which I shared with everyone after dinner. And, for the boys, I had packed a 24 pack of Tim Tams, which I got Waho (the 2IC) to distribute. I hope they all got one...

A hard day, and late night saw us retire at 8:30. But, I'm feeling really good. Yes, the day was hard, but spirits are up, body is strong, and I'm just loving being here.