Kokoda Track 2009, Exclusive Adventure Expedition
Cost Inclusions
Australia Zoo with Kokoda Spirit give you the opportunity to step in the footsteps of Australian History on this 11 day expedition to PNG. We will spend 9 days following the Australian Soldiers track through some of the most pristine yet demanding trekking conditions in the world.- Airport & Hotel transfers in Port Moresby
- Accommodation in Port Moresby for 2 nights pre & post trek
- Breakfast at Hotel in Port Moresby on 2 mornings
- All meals on Kokoda Trail
- Group Equipment Porters & Cooks
- Permits & fees along the Kokoda Track
- Certificate of completion
- Experienced Trek Master & Experienced Trek Leader
- Internal flight
- Transport to Ower's Corner
- Visit to Bomana War Cemetery
- Kokoda Track Authority Fee
- Australian Guide
- Hire of self inflating mattress, 2 man tent, groundsheet
- Kokoda Spirit T-Shirt
- $10 million Public Liability Insurance
Kokoda Track, Papua New Guinea
Price from: $2,995 Per person ex Port Moresby
65kb
June 7Depart Brisbane for Port Moresby PNG. Greeted at airport by Kokoda Spirit staff and orGateway staff, then transported to Gateway Hotel. Kokoda Spirit staff conducts briefing andgear check in preparation for trek.ACCOMMODATION: GATEWAY HOTELJune 8PORT MORESBY – GOOD WATER CAMP-DUMP 66- 4hours walk.Daily ascent 50m Daily descent 315mToday we travel by road from Port Moresby via the Bomana War Cemetery to pay ourrespect to the fallen soldiers. We then travel to Sogeri where there is a white stonemonument marking the beginning of the Kokoda Trail. Our road journey then takes us toMc Donald’s Corner, this is where “B” company of the 39th Battalion commenced theirwalk to Kokoda and then onto the North Coast area. “B” company was led by CaptainSam Templeton and guided by Bert Kienzle. They departed Mc Donald’s Corner on July7 1942 and arrived in Kokoda July 15 1942. We continue to Owers Corner with an air ofexcitement and apprehension for the journey ahead. There is time to relax along theroad and take photographs of the spectacular scenery. On our arrival at Owers Cornerwe make final checks and preparations for the trek ahead and meet our personalporters. Owers Corner was also the place where our Australian troops first received themorale boosting artillery support from the gunners. Three 25pound guns werepositioned on the ground and fired 700 rounds over three days into Iorabaiwa Ridge,where the Japanese made their last big push; it took 25 seconds for the projectiles tocover the 15miles across Imita Ridge into Iorabaiwa. Our troops also dragged down thehill one of the 25pound guns across Goldie Creek and up towards Imita Ridge. Have alook for the original zig zag track cut along the way which wound its way down the ridgeand up towards Imita Ridge. We start the Kokoda Track with a steep descent down tothe Goldie River. The trail crosses the Goldie River and past the abandoned village ofUberi. The first camp is deep jungle, in an old wartime campsite location of Dump 66 atthe foot of Imita Ridge. Dump 66 was a major supply/logistic area and also had amedical aid post.ACCOMMODATION: JUNGLE CAMP/TENTSJune 9GOOD WATER CAMP DUMP 66 – IORIBAIWA- 8hours walkDaily ascent 660m Daily descent 550mThe first full day of the Kokoda Trail walk includes the ascent up Imita Ridge. Althoughthis is not the steepest or the highest of the mountains along the trail, it will give you anindication of things to come. We stop on top of Imita Ridge and soak in the atmosphereof the place. Imita Ridge was our last line of defence, the line was drawn in the sandhere, there was to be no further withdrawal. There was a set of “Golden Stairs” on bothsides of Imita Ridge and up towards Iorabaiwa Village. It is important to rememberacross the Kokoda Track that there was more then one set of Golden Stairs. Wedescend down Imita Ridge into the beautiful Ua-Ule Creek area (Pronounced Fa-Lay).Here we take our boots off and put on our adventure sandals to cross the creek 22times. After the creek crossings we put our boots back on and make our final ascent forthe day up the gruelling Iorabaiwa Ridge. You will now know that all that training wasnow worthwhile. Our walk today finishes at the Village of Iorabaiwa.ACCOMMODATION: VILLAGE STYLE GUESTHOUSE/TENTSJune 10IORABAIWA – NAORO AREA- 9hours walkDaily ascent 1117m Daily descent 952mWe have an early start today as we leave Iorabaiwa Village and make our climb up tothe top of Iorabaiwa Ridge. This is the furthest spot that the Japanese made across theKokoda Track, before being ordered to advance to the rear back to Buna. From thispoint on the ridge the Japanese could see the lights of Port Moresby. Iorabaiwa Ridgewas also the spot where our artillery was pounding the Japanese and the scene ofbloody fighting. There is also a series of both Australian and Japanese trenches in thisarea. Our journey takes us down towards Ofi Creek which was the scene of a verysuccessful Australian ambush on the Japanese. Our journey across the Kokoda Trailsee us climb one of the most difficult and tiresome sections of the track up and over theMaguli Range to the village of Naoro this is a long climb up that appears to never end.Naoro is the first village we see in our travels and is a very pretty place. On the way upthere is a concealed Japanese trench system at the Japanese camp where theJapanese mountain gun was being used to pound the Australians on Iorabaiwa Ridge.Depending on time, we camp at Naoro Village or move onto our alternative camp sitenear the Brown River.ACCOMMODATION – VILLAGE STYLE GUESTHOUSE/TENTSJune 11NAORO VILLAGE AREA – MENARI VILLAGE 5hours walkDaily ascent 385m Daily descent 330mThe Naoro area was also the scene for some aerial supply drops, better known asbiscuit bombing. From our camp site, we cross the Brown River, after about an hour’swalk through marshy ground. It’s mostly level to the river with the more difficult sectionscrossing with log bridges and causeways. There is a steep climb shortly after theBrown River known as the wall; this climb will certainly test your fitness. This climbbrings you to a crest with views down to Menari Village – our overnight stop. A steepdescent and a walk through the tidy village will bring you to our overnight villageaccommodation. A former Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel who is a village elder runs it. Menari isalso the site of one of the most famous speeches made regarding the Kokoda Trackcampaign by LT COL Ralph Honner. It was his inspirational thank you address to theheroic men of the 39th battalion, those “ragged bloody heroes”.Local fruit and vegetables can usually be purchased here to supplement the foodcarried. As with all villages along the Kokoda Trail, travellers are well accepted by thevillages, and often are eager to talk to visitors, and are keen about their lives andfamilies in Australia and elsewhere, many have a working knowledge of English. One ofthe guides can always assist should communications “bog down”.By now, an easy routine has been established on arrival at the day’s end of the trail.Drop the pack at the campsite, collect clean clothing from the pack and off for a bathand swim in the nearby creek. While the group members are away freshening up, theguides and group leaders set up the cooking arrangements arrange purchases of freshvegetables and prepare accommodation for the night in the village area. By then themain part of the group have returned, things are organised and dinner is being served.There is time to explore the village, meet local people and photograph what catchesyour eye. Remember – you can never take too many photos; there is just so much tolook at.Usually just before the tropical night fall everyone gathers to exchange experiences ofthe day and hear what is to come. After dinner the fire is the focal point and while theguides and carriers clean up, the conversations flow amongst the walkers. Each daywill bring a sense of personal achievement a good last thought before sleep.ACCOMMODATION: - VILLAGE STYLE GUESTHOUSE/TENTJune 12MENARI VILLAGE – BRIGADE HILL- EFOGI VILLAGE 7hours walkDaily ascent 960m Daily descent 460mFrom Menari the next major climb is up Brigade Hill, this will takes us 4 hours. Alongthe track occasional weapon pits mark “stay behind” positions of both Japanese andAustralian Forces as they withdrew. Brigade Hill was also nicknamed “Butchers Hill” bythe Australian soldiers due to the number killed, on both sides, during the Australianwithdrawal. 101 Australian Soldiers lost their lives between the 6-8 September 1942during the battles of Brigade Hill and Mission Ridge. We stop and reflect on the knollabout the battles and lives lost during this bloody and ferocious fight. We then descenddown from Brigade Hill and stop at Nisimura’s stump. Nishimura is the Japanese soldierwho pledges to recover the remains of his deceased comrades. He is known as the“Bone Man”Our journey takes us past the turnoff to Mission Ridge and the alternative track to MyolaLakes. There are remarkable views back to Menari as the trail approaches the crest ofBrigade Hill and there are even more spectacular panoramic views on the Northerlyslopes of the mountain of the villages of Kagi and Efogi spread out below. Efogi Villageis the major settlement on the Kokoda Trail, with an airstrip and a first aid post. Efogi isthe halfway mark and the altitiude climbed becomes apparent in the rapid cooling of theevening after night falls. Jacket and light slacks are recommended... now you knowwhy they were on things to bring!ACCOMMODATION – VILLAGE STYLE GUESTHOUSE/TENTJune 13EFOGI VILLAGE – MT BELLAMY 1900 CAMP 9hours walkDaily ascent 900m Daily descent 300mOur journey today is a day of steep ups and downs. We start by walking up to Efogi 2,down to main creek and up to Naduri Village. Naduri is also the home of one of the lastremaining Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. We then climb up and over the shoulder of Mt Bellamytowards our evening camp. There are spectacular views back to Kagi and Efogi. This isthe region that the Japanese conducted their infamous lantern parade. Brigadier Pottsalso ordered an aerial attack along the Kagi Ridge prior to the battle of Brigade Hill andMission Ridge. You can feel the spirit of the Australian Soldiers as they withdraw downthe ridgeline back towards Efogi. We walk past large village gardens with high fences tokeep wild pigs out of the crops. Without the vegetables grown in these gardens,villagers would starve, so the prodigious effort in felling, trimming and dragging logsform a 1.5 metre high fence line is a matter of survival. Along part of the razor ridgeleading up to Mt Bellamy is open Kunai grass without any tree cover. This clearedareas of the gardens means an exposure for some two hours to the tropical sun. It isnot the place to loiter as water consumption increases and the full packs slowmovement down.“Stay behind” pits are scattered along the track, the larger (3 man size) indicate positionof a machine gun. Engagement ranges vary from 3-4 metres out to 5 metres. Veryclose combat indeed!Mt Bellamy is higher than Mt Kosciusko and the effects of such heights start to wear onthe trekkers. Our trek towards camp takes us through an ancient Arctic beech forestwith magnificent giant pandanus and beech trees. The camp this night is in the junglesome two hours climb below the crest, it is also the place that we discovered theskeletal remains of 4 Japanese Soldiers from the 41st Regiment killed in an Australianambush by the 2/16th Battalion between the 3 and 5 September 1942 . An eerie place,as you progress along the track, which is now corridored with trees and vines withmoss. The moss hangs in streamers from dead and living trees with little light to piercethe gloom. Until the war, this was a taboo placed and avoided by all. The sky tonightis crowded in by rainforest, with insect noises (the soldiers called them “the 6 o’clockcrickets”) on nightfall so loud they drown the conversation. The stream, which is nearthe camp, is so cold it is a marvel it flows at all! Once you stop walking the cold altitudeis apparent. Humidity is still high, which, accompanied by cloud and night makes for acontinuous patter on the leaves of falling droplets of condensation. Porters are uneasyin this area and will keep a fire going all night.ACCOMMODATION: JUNGLE CAMP/TENTSJune 14MT BELLAMY – IORA CREEK 9hours walkDaily ascent 860m Daily descent 1335mFrom the night’s campsite we then start upward to the highest point of the track on MtBellamy at 2190m. We stop at a vantage point called “Kokoda Gap” with magnificentviews (on clear days) of the surrounding mountains, the lower part of the Owen StanleyRange and the Yodda valley in the distance. The “Kokoda Gap” is the area thatGenerals Blamey and Macarthur wanted to dynamite to prevent the Japanese fromcoming through! This was to be our Thermopylae our 300 Spartans to hold back theravages of the Japanese Army! Nice plan except the Kokoda Gap is over 12km wideand all the Spartans were killed! As you could imagine our boys were not real fond ofthe plan! Planes can be heard droning overhead several times during the day as theymake their way through the gap on their way to Kokoda or returning back to PortMoresby. What takes nine days for those walking the Kokoda Trail, an aircraft does in35 minutes!The descent from the Kokoda Gap lookout is steep initially, but eases some 3 hoursdown the Trail to a steady decline toward Iora Creek at Templeton’s Crossing 1. Thearea is dotted with weapon pits. Major delaying actions were fought here Japanesepositions on the North side and Australian positions to the South side of the Creek.As we have found, most of those who travel the Kokoda Trail have very little accurateknowledge of the true position of battle sites or even a good knowledge of whathappened during the campaign. They plod past areas unaware of relics and earthworkshidden 3 or 4 metres off to their sides. They miss a great deal.Bridging the creek is by a temporary span masterly constructed by the boys made oflogs bundled together. We cross carefully, with dry feet – for a change. The dry footdoes not last long as we come upon Templeton’s Crossing Number 2. The muddy trackparallels (generally) Iora Creek and is intersected with innumerable small creeks flowingacross the track, often in only a short distance, until cascading down into the maincreek, Iora. The main creek joins these tributaries and, when Templeton’s CrossingNumber 2 is reached, it is a foaming torrent. The noise is constant, amplified by thedeep, sharp-sided valley. The deep valley means that the sun sets early in the day. Aseries of areas were levelled here during the campaign for the construction of storehuts, medical post, kitchen (Haus Kook) and other native built buildings, the buildingsare long gone, but the level sites stand out from the roughness of the terrain.Digging explorations on a number of trips has turned up a wide variety of relics fromexpended and live ammunition of all calibres, (Australian and Japanese) 36 patternhand grenades to personal equipment such as an Australian Army kit preserved in thesoil covering it – webbing buckles, water bottles; also telephone equipment andnumerous other items. We continue our journey along the track to make camp at IoraCreek late afternoon; the track takes us over small ups and downs as we cross IoraCreek. After about one and a half hours the track begins to steadily climb to the crestwhere more and more weapon pits become visible. As the track descends here itbecomes apparent you are clearly passing through a major defensive area.The track drops suddenly, almost vertically, to the abandoned Iora Creek Village. Thisis a small level area with an open, iron roofed shelter marking the site of the villagecentre. This too, was a major staging centre. Overhead is a massive hill whichoverlooks the whole area, the Japanese defence system here, halted the returningAustralians in their tracks for two weeks, before they overcame the tenacious defence ofthe Japanese. Often late afternoon mist creeps up the valley enclosing the already darkcanopy the place has a special atmosphere all of its own.ACCOMMODATION – JUNGLE CAMP/TENTSJune 15IORA CREEK – ISURAVA BATTLEFIELD 5hours walkDaily ascent 375m Daily descent 482mOur trek today takes us across Iora Creek and up to the Japanese defensive position.This was the place the Japanese defended vigorously for two weeks and kept theAustralians pinned down with accurate machine gun and mountain gun fire. Further onlays Alola Village, some three and a half hours ahead. The track rises mostly along thecontour line of the ranges until a sudden drop to the river below. With the usual bushbridging (we make our own if the earlier efforts have been washed away) it’s across theriver then up into Alola Village.The rest house at Alola is to a degree dilapidated and you wonder how it stands but theview is fantastic. Similarly, the wash point nearby has spectacular views, towardKokoda. The locals are friendly folk and often we can buy supplements like vegetablesand fruit. We are literally up in the clouds here and often Alola is covered with a fog likeveil. However, it clears in a few hours and the panoramic view is spectacular. Alola wasa strategic area for the Australians with Brigadier Potts having his Headquarters’ hereduring the battle of Isurava. After a break at Alola we trek towards Isurava Battlefields.This is the location of what has been described as one of most significant battles of theSouth West Pacific War, the “Battle that saved Australia”. A greatly outnumbered forceof Australians, held a vastly greater number of Japanese for some 4 days between the26th and 29th August 1942, their important timetable unravelled, initiating the beginningof the final destruction of the Japanese units. This is also the area that Private BruceSteele Kingsbury won his Victorian Cross.The original site of Isurava Village is still cleared with a magnificent memorialconstructed commemorating the battle. The villagers moved out of this area aftersuspecting sorcery over some events. The new Isurava Village is about one hour fromthe old site and is in a well set out location with small hedges and gardens amongst thehuts.ACCOMMODATION: VILLAGE STYLE/TENTSJune 16ISURAVA BATTLEFIELD – KOKODA 7hoursDaily ascent 57m Daily descent 1025mA long day as the track unwinds into a long one, but it is nearly all downhill. We are veryexcited as we sense that the finish line is very close, caution is needed as we need tostay focused on the job of walking safely. Our walk this morning takes us to firstly to thenew Isurava Village, and continues down, crossing numerous streams and open spaceswhere shrubs and trees are blanketed by leafy Choko vines.We pass through the abandoned Village of Deniki which was the scene of a short sharpbattle during the Australians fighting withdrawal across the Kokoda Track. Deniki offersspectacular views down to Kokoda. Occasionally the open space coincides with thesides of the valleys and expansive views are exposed of the lower countryside andcoast. A short walk further on and you step out onto a bare ridgeline with the village onthe side. The jungle recedes with dramatic suddenness and children from the village ofHoi shout greetings, running to gather around the walkers. We stop at Hoi to saviour themoment have a swim in the river and contemplate our journey.From here, it’s a fast walk on undulating terrain, along a wide well kept track to thevillage of Kokoda. An hour from Kokoda the track becomes a rough road, 20 minutesand power lines appear. Village folk using the same road become more frequentresponding to greetings with wide smiles – they know you have come over the KokodaTrail and respect you for it. Finally Kokoda!Sometimes it almost seems anti climatic in those first few minutes of arrival. Somehowyou expect a mayoral reception or a band welcome… then, slowly it sinks in. YouHAVE walked the Kokoda Track and the sense of personal achievement grows, alongwith appreciation of the endeavours and sufferings of those before have truly walked intheir footsteps.Tonight we celebrate in Kokoda explore the area and talk about our fantasticachievement.ACCOMMODATION: VILLAGE STYLE/TENTSJune 17KOKODA - PORT MORESBYAfter breakfast our flight departs for Port Moresby. We arrive in Port Moresby aroundlunchtime and our transport returns us to the Gateway Hotel for welcome showers.Dinner in the restaurant, before an early night, or a night of celebrations!June 18PORT MORESBY – HOME PORT Today we say our goodbyes and depart Port Moresby for our homeports.
EXCLUSIONS - Will be packaged at your request by Australia Zoo Travel.
- Travel insurance
- Items of a personal nature (i.e. art, drinks etc.)
- International air to and from Port Moresby
- Excess baggage on scheduled flights (any baggage over 12kg a charge of $10 per kilo applies for flight to Kokoda Village)
- Personal Porter ($600.00 per person)
Note:
- Travel insurance including medical evacuation is considered mandatory
- Visas are available from the nearest PNG consul (or Australian consul if a PNG one is not available) or a visa is obtainable upon arrival (for many, but not all nationalities).
