Hi everyone, I'm just back from the most amazing and fulfilling trek and very keen to tell you all about it. I'm still on a huge high and will be for weeks if not months to come. In fact it has been one of the most pleasurable experiences of my life and a timely reminder of why I do this trek guiding thing. I really hope our Trekkers are experiencing the same buzz.
What an absolute privilege it has been to spend almost two weeks with the greatest bunch of ladies you could ever hope to meet. If fact there was two groups of wonderful women and I loved being in the company of every single one of them. Deano was doing his best to control his group of 10 and I had the daunting task of trying to keep 13 in line. Smarter blokes than us may have considered faking illness or a hamstring strain to avoid the potential punishment but not Deano and Baz, we decided to put our necks on the line and give it a crack. And we are so glad we did.
Of course these groups were brought together by No Roads very own and very wonderful Fiona. So I guess it was a no brainier that we'd be dealing with FFFF's. (Fit, Funloving, Fantastic, Females).
This trek which was two years in the making formally kicked off at the Ela Beach Hotel for dinner and the pre trek briefing. I was pretty nervous taking centre stage and having 23 sets of female eyes peering back at me while Deano on the other hand seemed to be right at home.
The following morning when we arrived in Popendetta, I realised Deano wasn't quite as comfortable as I'd first thought. I nearly got crushed as he rushed to climb into the front seat of the Kokoda bound truck leaving poor old Baz in the back with 22 of the 23 girls. I remember thinking, geez, what am I going to talk about for the next three hours once I've covered palm oil, beetle nut (Bui) trees and why PNG kids carry big knives. Fortunately Fiona was reasonably talkative and took the pressure off me.
We arrived at Kokoda and were confronted with our first strategic decision. Our food supplies had been placed on a later flight which equated to a moderately late dinner in Hoi or a very late dinner at Deniki. We opted for Hoi and had a great night there. I'm sure Fi will always remember her special birthday celebration at Hoi. The largest contingent of porters I have ever seen assembled in the one place suddenly appeared at our dinning hut and belted out a great rendition of Happy Birthday. Deano and I and four or five brave girls slept in a large hut while the remainder decided on the tent option. I remember waking in Hoi to see tents, Trekkers and Porters all over the place and thinking any town that size in Victoria would automatically get it's own postcode.
The walk from Hoi onwards saw the first separation of the two groups. Deanos group disappeared off in the distance while Mandy set the tone for our trek by not missing a single photo opportunity, especially if it involved the local kids. Di, despite being a little off colour also showed very early on that nothing would stand in the way of her passion for photography. Both regularly stopped the group or in Mandy's case, ran off the track to get that special photo and they are to be applauded for it. The two groups came back together at Isurava Battlefield for a service which was unfortunately interrupted by rain however we did our best to remember and pay our respects. We were lucky enough to visit Con's Rock which had been beautifully decorated by the locals presumably for the Anzac Day celebrations. That night it was separate camps at Alola for our two groups.
Alola to Templetons Crossing is generally my bogie day and I tried to prepare everyone for it. In the end I felt a bit embarrassed because everyone else seemed to charge up the big hill out of Eora Creek. Wendy is supremely fit (a product of being a marathon runner) and showed us how it's done. Narelle showed how tough she is by ploughing up the hill even though she didn't feel 100%. I'd already noticed Jo is a machine who gets into a rhythm (which includes lots of talking) and just keeps on keeping on. I thought the big hill might test her rhythm and talking but it didn't. Nor did it slow down Fi with her big heavy pack or daughter Ella who was more comfortable on the track than any other teenager I've seen. Then there was Caroline who never stops smiling. I thought the big hill may fix that too but I was to learn that nothing, even illness wipes that smile away. Nonetheless, it ended up being a long day and it was after 4pm when we arrived at camp. Hot camp showers were the order of the day and we'll worth the 5 kinda fee. I adopted the, if you can't beat join em mentality and had my first ever hot shower on the track. It won't be my last either. It was a good night at Templetons and to my immense satisfaction I could see just how magnificently well the Trekkers were getting along. A couple of very funny personalities, Carolyn and Kylie, had emerged and it was obvious there would never be a dull moment. Unfortunately that also meant I'd get picked on a fair bit. Oh we'll, all in a days work. We had Easter Sunday morning at Templetons Crossing and Fi, Dean, Ella, Nicole and I all got to be Easter bunnies helpers. Everyone got their share of chocolate.
As usual, Templetons to Kagi was a highlight of the trek. We crossed Mt Bellamy, the highest point on the track and took heaps of photos, we then found a bloke in the middle of nowhere selling coke and twisties and took heaps of photos with him, we had a special lunch which included iced donuts and took lots of photos and were greeted in Kagi by lots of kids and took lots of photos, By the way Kylie, I'll give that poor bloke the 1 Kina you owe him the next time I see him. I hope you are finally sleeping okay. We had a lovely stay at Kagi. Fiona had the wonderful and emotional experience of meeting baby Fiona who if not for the generosity and fast work of Fi and the No Roads Team, would not have made it safely into this world. Oh, and we took some photos of baby Fiona. In a nice little piece of symmetry, baby Fiona's dad Steve Euki was the lead porter for our trek. At Kagi we were lucky enough to have a "sing sing" with local kids. That was followed by our Trekkers qualifying for the Guiness Book of Records for handing out by far the greatest number of gifts ever seen on the Kokoda Track. We'll done to you all, it was great fun. At Kagi we stayed at a new Camp Site owned by Mr Guy who happens to be Steve's dad. It's a nice camp but with a decent hut. In fact the hut is so decent that everyone decided to squeeze into it for the night. I offered to move out into a tent by myself but the girls wouldn't hear of it. After all, who we be the brunt of their jokes if I wasn't there, probably still me. It was that night that my trusty head torch, a veteran of ten treks gave up and died. Like any self respecting professional guide, of course I didn't have a spare. They weight too much. Thankfully Joy did have a spare and being the consummate team player she allowed me to borrow it. A bit embarrassing I know, but a good news story.
The following day we set off to Menari via Efogi, Mission Ridge and Brigade Hill and took the occasional photo along the way. We were exposed to the sun all of the way up Mission Ridge which is hard and hot at the best of time. The occasional zephyr blowing across us made it tolerable. At Brigade Hill, our Master Chef, Scott made magnificent sweet potato and tuna fried balls which left us craving more. Very cruel. After lunch we sat by the plaque and remembered the fierce battle and heroics. Jo and Wendy and I dare say everyone else seemed particularly touched if not upset by the story of Capt Langridge and his cohorts. After a few photos we headed off on the long long drop down into Menari. It was good. I got to catch up with Nicole who had been way too quick for me on the uphill but I could compete on the downhill. Nicole and I got to play the old "what a small world game" as it turns out she and my wife used to work at the same place back in the 80's we'll before Ella was born. We were very much looking forward to a swim before heading into Menari but the river was a raging torrent so we took a few photos and moved on. Menari was overcrowded with trekking groups and we had to be content with the last remaining of 8 camps which which still available. It ended up being very comfortable and we had a great night. It was Deb's birthday and somehow Scott managed to conjure up a magnificent milo covered birthday cake. After singing happy birthday it was time for bed.
I was woken at some ungodly hour the following morning by the sounds of other treks, including Deano's, exiting Menari. So we got moving too. Up until that morning our group had failed dismally at genuine attempts to leave camp before 7am. But at Menari, we managed to turn it all around and we were ready by 6.55 and it only got better after that. I was so proud of them. It was a beautiful walk out of Menari until we hit a very muddy and boggy swamp. Personally, I could have done without that but Nicole revelled in it and wanted more. We were rewarded for our efforts with a swim in the Brown River and it was fantastic. It was also a great photo opportunity. The river was flowing fast and it was a little dangerous to go in too deep. I remember thinking there was one trekker I would need to watch because she would be the only one tempted to go into to deep. Sure as eggs she did and I had to give her a helping hand out. It's okay, I won't name you Carolyn. Then it was off to New Noaro for the night. The camp sites were taken so we had to improvise. The porters, capably led by Karsman constructed a kitchen hut, table and seats for us in record time. Mandy took photos of the kids while Di took photos of flora. Mandy was wonderful playing with the kids and reading children's books to them. Then she read the same books to our porters. I think they enjoyed hearing about Willy the Wombat. I got to sleep on the verandah of the Govt Building with my protector Tuksy and had the best night sleep ever. That was until Mandy decided to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and take a short cut through Carolyn's tent. After breaking the tent poles and trampling all over Caroline, I think Mandy eventually made it to the toilet. Carolyn reacted the only way she knows, by howling with laughter for the next ten minutes and waking the entire village and it's roosters.
We managed to get out of New Noaro by 6.45 which was remarkable. The views of Mt Victoria were even more remarkable. By this stage of the trek, Steve had decided to save time by cancelling all stops other than water stops and meal breaks. To their credit the girls didn't even notice and strode up the Maguli Range and Iorabawa Ridge without rest. We had a nice lunch at Iorabawa Village before strolling into Ule Creek for the night. Deano and his group had been kind enough to reserve a camp site for us while they made do with a make shift arrangement. Very kind. We had a wonderful swim and it was here that someone christened our group, "Bazza's Beauty's". I don't know who came up with the name but suspect it was Caroline. All I know is that someone left me a garment which I had to wear on the final day and it was emblazoned with the words, Bazza's Beauties. I wore it with pride.
The final day was short - a mere five hours. It included the best fall of the trek (by yours truly) and Narelle having a little hiccup with her calf muscle but we got there and got to enjoy some warm champagne together. We took some photos at Ower's Corner. On the way back to Moresby we visited Bomana War Cemetary and the very knowledgeable curator Jason was good enough to show us around.
There was no rest after our trek. We were out of bed at 3am on Anzac Day to attend the dawn service at Bomana. A once in a life time experience and we'll worth it.
We finally got some R and R at the hotel and then Loloata Island. What a hoot. Loloata Island didn't know what had hit it.
We'll done Fi, Ella, Nic, Kaz, Mandy, Caroline, Deb, Jo, Wendy, Narelle, Kylie, Di, Joy. I had a ball.
Thanks Deano for all your help and friendship. I'd do it again with you any time.
Thanks Fi. What a privilege to have trekked with you. Deano and I are very grateful to have been a part of this adventure and thanks for the trust you placed in us. I hope we didn't disappoint.
And how could I forget Terri, Rachael, Rachael, Leica, Sally, Bridie, Danielle, Amanda, Kate and Maddy. It was wonderful meeting and spending time with you.
Barry Jenks
Expedition Guide
No Roads Expeditions
What an absolute privilege it has been to spend almost two weeks with the greatest bunch of ladies you could ever hope to meet. If fact there was two groups of wonderful women and I loved being in the company of every single one of them. Deano was doing his best to control his group of 10 and I had the daunting task of trying to keep 13 in line. Smarter blokes than us may have considered faking illness or a hamstring strain to avoid the potential punishment but not Deano and Baz, we decided to put our necks on the line and give it a crack. And we are so glad we did.
Of course these groups were brought together by No Roads very own and very wonderful Fiona. So I guess it was a no brainier that we'd be dealing with FFFF's. (Fit, Funloving, Fantastic, Females).
This trek which was two years in the making formally kicked off at the Ela Beach Hotel for dinner and the pre trek briefing. I was pretty nervous taking centre stage and having 23 sets of female eyes peering back at me while Deano on the other hand seemed to be right at home.
The following morning when we arrived in Popendetta, I realised Deano wasn't quite as comfortable as I'd first thought. I nearly got crushed as he rushed to climb into the front seat of the Kokoda bound truck leaving poor old Baz in the back with 22 of the 23 girls. I remember thinking, geez, what am I going to talk about for the next three hours once I've covered palm oil, beetle nut (Bui) trees and why PNG kids carry big knives. Fortunately Fiona was reasonably talkative and took the pressure off me.
We arrived at Kokoda and were confronted with our first strategic decision. Our food supplies had been placed on a later flight which equated to a moderately late dinner in Hoi or a very late dinner at Deniki. We opted for Hoi and had a great night there. I'm sure Fi will always remember her special birthday celebration at Hoi. The largest contingent of porters I have ever seen assembled in the one place suddenly appeared at our dinning hut and belted out a great rendition of Happy Birthday. Deano and I and four or five brave girls slept in a large hut while the remainder decided on the tent option. I remember waking in Hoi to see tents, Trekkers and Porters all over the place and thinking any town that size in Victoria would automatically get it's own postcode.
The walk from Hoi onwards saw the first separation of the two groups. Deanos group disappeared off in the distance while Mandy set the tone for our trek by not missing a single photo opportunity, especially if it involved the local kids. Di, despite being a little off colour also showed very early on that nothing would stand in the way of her passion for photography. Both regularly stopped the group or in Mandy's case, ran off the track to get that special photo and they are to be applauded for it. The two groups came back together at Isurava Battlefield for a service which was unfortunately interrupted by rain however we did our best to remember and pay our respects. We were lucky enough to visit Con's Rock which had been beautifully decorated by the locals presumably for the Anzac Day celebrations. That night it was separate camps at Alola for our two groups.
Alola to Templetons Crossing is generally my bogie day and I tried to prepare everyone for it. In the end I felt a bit embarrassed because everyone else seemed to charge up the big hill out of Eora Creek. Wendy is supremely fit (a product of being a marathon runner) and showed us how it's done. Narelle showed how tough she is by ploughing up the hill even though she didn't feel 100%. I'd already noticed Jo is a machine who gets into a rhythm (which includes lots of talking) and just keeps on keeping on. I thought the big hill might test her rhythm and talking but it didn't. Nor did it slow down Fi with her big heavy pack or daughter Ella who was more comfortable on the track than any other teenager I've seen. Then there was Caroline who never stops smiling. I thought the big hill may fix that too but I was to learn that nothing, even illness wipes that smile away. Nonetheless, it ended up being a long day and it was after 4pm when we arrived at camp. Hot camp showers were the order of the day and we'll worth the 5 kinda fee. I adopted the, if you can't beat join em mentality and had my first ever hot shower on the track. It won't be my last either. It was a good night at Templetons and to my immense satisfaction I could see just how magnificently well the Trekkers were getting along. A couple of very funny personalities, Carolyn and Kylie, had emerged and it was obvious there would never be a dull moment. Unfortunately that also meant I'd get picked on a fair bit. Oh we'll, all in a days work. We had Easter Sunday morning at Templetons Crossing and Fi, Dean, Ella, Nicole and I all got to be Easter bunnies helpers. Everyone got their share of chocolate.
As usual, Templetons to Kagi was a highlight of the trek. We crossed Mt Bellamy, the highest point on the track and took heaps of photos, we then found a bloke in the middle of nowhere selling coke and twisties and took heaps of photos with him, we had a special lunch which included iced donuts and took lots of photos and were greeted in Kagi by lots of kids and took lots of photos, By the way Kylie, I'll give that poor bloke the 1 Kina you owe him the next time I see him. I hope you are finally sleeping okay. We had a lovely stay at Kagi. Fiona had the wonderful and emotional experience of meeting baby Fiona who if not for the generosity and fast work of Fi and the No Roads Team, would not have made it safely into this world. Oh, and we took some photos of baby Fiona. In a nice little piece of symmetry, baby Fiona's dad Steve Euki was the lead porter for our trek. At Kagi we were lucky enough to have a "sing sing" with local kids. That was followed by our Trekkers qualifying for the Guiness Book of Records for handing out by far the greatest number of gifts ever seen on the Kokoda Track. We'll done to you all, it was great fun. At Kagi we stayed at a new Camp Site owned by Mr Guy who happens to be Steve's dad. It's a nice camp but with a decent hut. In fact the hut is so decent that everyone decided to squeeze into it for the night. I offered to move out into a tent by myself but the girls wouldn't hear of it. After all, who we be the brunt of their jokes if I wasn't there, probably still me. It was that night that my trusty head torch, a veteran of ten treks gave up and died. Like any self respecting professional guide, of course I didn't have a spare. They weight too much. Thankfully Joy did have a spare and being the consummate team player she allowed me to borrow it. A bit embarrassing I know, but a good news story.
The following day we set off to Menari via Efogi, Mission Ridge and Brigade Hill and took the occasional photo along the way. We were exposed to the sun all of the way up Mission Ridge which is hard and hot at the best of time. The occasional zephyr blowing across us made it tolerable. At Brigade Hill, our Master Chef, Scott made magnificent sweet potato and tuna fried balls which left us craving more. Very cruel. After lunch we sat by the plaque and remembered the fierce battle and heroics. Jo and Wendy and I dare say everyone else seemed particularly touched if not upset by the story of Capt Langridge and his cohorts. After a few photos we headed off on the long long drop down into Menari. It was good. I got to catch up with Nicole who had been way too quick for me on the uphill but I could compete on the downhill. Nicole and I got to play the old "what a small world game" as it turns out she and my wife used to work at the same place back in the 80's we'll before Ella was born. We were very much looking forward to a swim before heading into Menari but the river was a raging torrent so we took a few photos and moved on. Menari was overcrowded with trekking groups and we had to be content with the last remaining of 8 camps which which still available. It ended up being very comfortable and we had a great night. It was Deb's birthday and somehow Scott managed to conjure up a magnificent milo covered birthday cake. After singing happy birthday it was time for bed.
I was woken at some ungodly hour the following morning by the sounds of other treks, including Deano's, exiting Menari. So we got moving too. Up until that morning our group had failed dismally at genuine attempts to leave camp before 7am. But at Menari, we managed to turn it all around and we were ready by 6.55 and it only got better after that. I was so proud of them. It was a beautiful walk out of Menari until we hit a very muddy and boggy swamp. Personally, I could have done without that but Nicole revelled in it and wanted more. We were rewarded for our efforts with a swim in the Brown River and it was fantastic. It was also a great photo opportunity. The river was flowing fast and it was a little dangerous to go in too deep. I remember thinking there was one trekker I would need to watch because she would be the only one tempted to go into to deep. Sure as eggs she did and I had to give her a helping hand out. It's okay, I won't name you Carolyn. Then it was off to New Noaro for the night. The camp sites were taken so we had to improvise. The porters, capably led by Karsman constructed a kitchen hut, table and seats for us in record time. Mandy took photos of the kids while Di took photos of flora. Mandy was wonderful playing with the kids and reading children's books to them. Then she read the same books to our porters. I think they enjoyed hearing about Willy the Wombat. I got to sleep on the verandah of the Govt Building with my protector Tuksy and had the best night sleep ever. That was until Mandy decided to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and take a short cut through Carolyn's tent. After breaking the tent poles and trampling all over Caroline, I think Mandy eventually made it to the toilet. Carolyn reacted the only way she knows, by howling with laughter for the next ten minutes and waking the entire village and it's roosters.
We managed to get out of New Noaro by 6.45 which was remarkable. The views of Mt Victoria were even more remarkable. By this stage of the trek, Steve had decided to save time by cancelling all stops other than water stops and meal breaks. To their credit the girls didn't even notice and strode up the Maguli Range and Iorabawa Ridge without rest. We had a nice lunch at Iorabawa Village before strolling into Ule Creek for the night. Deano and his group had been kind enough to reserve a camp site for us while they made do with a make shift arrangement. Very kind. We had a wonderful swim and it was here that someone christened our group, "Bazza's Beauty's". I don't know who came up with the name but suspect it was Caroline. All I know is that someone left me a garment which I had to wear on the final day and it was emblazoned with the words, Bazza's Beauties. I wore it with pride.
The final day was short - a mere five hours. It included the best fall of the trek (by yours truly) and Narelle having a little hiccup with her calf muscle but we got there and got to enjoy some warm champagne together. We took some photos at Ower's Corner. On the way back to Moresby we visited Bomana War Cemetary and the very knowledgeable curator Jason was good enough to show us around.
There was no rest after our trek. We were out of bed at 3am on Anzac Day to attend the dawn service at Bomana. A once in a life time experience and we'll worth it.
We finally got some R and R at the hotel and then Loloata Island. What a hoot. Loloata Island didn't know what had hit it.
We'll done Fi, Ella, Nic, Kaz, Mandy, Caroline, Deb, Jo, Wendy, Narelle, Kylie, Di, Joy. I had a ball.
Thanks Deano for all your help and friendship. I'd do it again with you any time.
Thanks Fi. What a privilege to have trekked with you. Deano and I are very grateful to have been a part of this adventure and thanks for the trust you placed in us. I hope we didn't disappoint.
And how could I forget Terri, Rachael, Rachael, Leica, Sally, Bridie, Danielle, Amanda, Kate and Maddy. It was wonderful meeting and spending time with you.
Barry Jenks
Expedition Guide
No Roads Expeditions
