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.

Day 6 - Templeton's Crossing #2 > Kokoda Gap > Big Myola > Bomber Camp

I woke last night at 1:00AM - really hot. Then I drifted off to sleep again, but had a series of the most bizarre dreams, which kept me waking and drifting until the alarm went off at 5:15AM. I wasn't going to wait for the 5:30 cooee call, and risk holding people up.

On waking, my stomach was really not right. I packed quickly, got dressed into my sweaty but dry clothes, put some more tape on my foot (this time on the heel which was starting to show signs of a hot spot), and got out of my tent. Then it hit me. I HAD to go to the loo - and quickly. Now, what happened in the loo wasn't pretty. If you don't want to read about how a bloke with the squirts deals with going to a loo which is just a 10cm x 30cm hole in the ground, then skip the next paragraph...

There is something not so glamorous about having the runs when you are wearing skins.
You rush to the dunny - which you discover is a hole in the ground about 10cm x 30cm.
Taking careful aim, hoping the poop doesn't run down your legs into your skins, you relax your butt cheeks.
Nothing happens.
So you give a little squeeze.
The toilet cubicle only has three sides, and sits among 4 others, close together.
Your bum is pointing towards the door.
Just as you squeeze, one of the porters comes looking for a vacant loo - and is staring straight at your straining behind.
Then, all hell breaks loose, as the pent up runs are released.
You miss the hole by about a metre, and almost splash the porters bare feet.
But the only way you know he is there is because of the shout of terror you hear as you just miss him.
You don't care.
The blessed release of letting go.
You then re-aim the constant stream, trying to hit the hole.
You overcorrect, and just miss your skins and your only pair of pants.
As the stream recedes, you are careful to lift your butt that little bit higher, hoping against all odds that those last few drops don't land in your waiting pants.
You look down. Then realise.....
It's finished. But it takes 20 wipes to get your butt clean - and you only brought one roll of dunny paper with you.
You hope against hope that this doesn't continue for another day...

After the blessed relief of the loo, breakfast went down a treat. I was feeling quite a bit better, which was good, because at the briefing we discovered that today we would be climbing to the highest point on the track - through the Kokoda Gap and past Mt Bellamy.

So, no surprises, it was uphill, then uphill, and uphill some more. We started the day at an elevation of 5,800 feet, and climbed to 7,300 feet before lunch. It actually wasn't too bad. I was tired, but not exhausted. I wasn't sore at all. And my tummy, though still churning a little, was much better than it had been for the last couple of days. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of Sam. He was really suffering all morning, and at lunch only had a tiny serving. He looked a little pale as well. Alex too has started looking a little sad, and has been making some small comments that make me wonder if he is finding the going a little harder. His stomach has been churning like mine for a couple of days. And Catherine is all bright a chirpy, but I get the feeling she is putting it on a little so that she doesn't bring the group down. Paul, the oldest of the group, is going like a champion. Though he doesn't ever look the best in the mornings.

Anyway, I was feeling ok at lunch on the edge of Big Myola. Even better when we were told we could leave the packs where they were while we walked across the "lake" to Myola Guesthouse, then on to have a look at a crashed American P40 Kittyhawk fighter. Sam was feeling pretty crook, so instead of the excursion, he went with some of the porters on to the nights camp at Bomber Camp.

The lake bed of Big Myola (or Myola 1 as it is sometimes called) is on old volcanic crater. It is funny the way that the jungle grows down to a certain level on the edge, then just stops, and is replaced by grasses and reeds. It had been raining all day, and as a result the lake bed was a little wet. By that I mean that we sunk to our ankles in stinking, black, slimy mud with every step we took. I was happy to have brought the ankle gaiters with me - I would have hated to see inside my boots otherwise.

We finally got to the other side of the lake, and arrived at Myola Guesthouse. One of the buildings had recently burnt down. We were told that it was accidentally burnt down by the porters from Adventure Kokoda. Oops. We are also told here that they were expecting us to camp there for the night. Apparently our schedule was different to what Peter had been given. Bugger. They even had a 44 gallon drum of water heating for a shower - which would have been great after a day of walking in the rain! Instead, Peter paid them the camp fees for the night, and we went on to see the plane.

It was a huge engine, with props buried in the dirt. 6 machine guns were still visible - some with live ammo still ready to fire. The rest of it was a shredded mess - you can even still see pieces of the shattered perspex windshield lying amongst the wreckage...

After the fighter, we headed back across the lake. It was getting late, but thankfully the rain was easing. However, we picked up the pace and got back to the edge of the lake where our packs and porters were and had a quick afternoon tea. Then put the wet, muddy pack back on, and headed off to Bomber Camp, which we got to at 5:10PM in the rain.

With the mud everywhere, I decided that I might as well have a wash in the creek, and wash out the clothes. The black, clinging mud was nearly impossible to get out of the clothes - I stood in the creek for almost 30 minutes trying to get the clothes and myself clean. It didn't help when the boys told us to be careful, as the water was polluted by toilets upstream. Ah well - better to wash in pooey water than have it in your pants I suppose.

Bomber Camp itself was really beautiful. There were all sorts of flowers planted expertly, as though the place had been designed by an award winning garden designer from Sydney. And, thankfully, the pit toilets had the green barrels for seats - I never thought I'd be so happy to see them!

As soon as I finished washing in the fast fading light, the rain stopped. But, with the amount of rain during the day, there wasn't a lot of wood, so there was no chance of getting the clothes remotely dry. Sam went to bed before 6:00PM, without dinner. By 7:00, we heard a terrible heaving sound coming from inside his tent. Yep, he had a big spew. Then a couple more for good measure. Paul rushed to his aid. We were pleased to hear that Sam had a plastic bag ready, so the inside of his tent didn't look like this mornings loo. Sam got up with a bit more colour, saying that he now felt much better. Hope he still is in the morning!

We were all in bed by 8:00, once again listening to the sound of rain on the tent. It seems a bit colder tonight, so I've done the hood up a bit - will put on the thermals during the night if I need to.