Day 5
There were stories he read of selfless heroism, soldiers putting their lives on the line to attempt to outsmart the Japanese, many of whom were killed. Greg played True Blue by John Williamson as we sat in reflection. Many were in tears as we sat and thought of what the soldiers faced and also of our loved ones at home. Lots of tears were shared for those that have left us and are certainly watching over us as we tackle this grueling track.
We had a heavy night of rain at Brigade Hill (infamously known as Butcher Hill) but it didn't dampen the spirits of the group.
We started our morning with a 4.30 am rise and after packing up and heading off in the dawn sky at 6 am, we stopped and remembered the fallen at the memorial site of Brigade Hill. It has a beautiful, peaceful feeling and really is a special place to remember what our soldiers went through on this rugged track.
As we made our way down towards Efogi 1, Greg stopped us all at a small clearing where we could see the village. At this spot Greg asked us all to sit down and take in the surrounds as he described the way the Japanese attacked the Australians on Brigade Hill, completely catching them off guard.
We started our morning with a 4.30 am rise and after packing up and heading off in the dawn sky at 6 am, we stopped and remembered the fallen at the memorial site of Brigade Hill. It has a beautiful, peaceful feeling and really is a special place to remember what our soldiers went through on this rugged track.As we made our way down towards Efogi 1, Greg stopped us all at a small clearing where we could see the village. At this spot Greg asked us all to sit down and take in the surrounds as he described the way the Japanese attacked the Australians on Brigade Hill, completely catching them off guard.
There were stories he read of selfless heroism, soldiers putting their lives on the line to attempt to outsmart the Japanese, many of whom were killed. Greg played True Blue by John Williamson as we sat in reflection. Many were in tears as we sat and thought of what the soldiers faced and also of our loved ones at home. Lots of tears were shared for those that have left us and are certainly watching over us as we tackle this grueling track.
Onwards we trekked. The Sheriff for the day was me and I set a challenge of learning 5 new things about your buddy for the day that you didn't know before so that generated a lot of conversation as we all embarked on the 10 hour walking day.
Spirits remained high as we went up, down, up, down and up, up, up to Efogi 2 for morning tea.
The locals of the two villages - Efogi 1 and 2 always pray together and spend time together. If only you could all see the hill from Efogi 1 to Efogi 2, it is huge.
We were all joking that we'd be arguing about whose house we'd be meeting at if we lived here!
The locals of the two villages - Efogi 1 and 2 always pray together and spend time together. If only you could all see the hill from Efogi 1 to Efogi 2, it is huge.
We were all joking that we'd be arguing about whose house we'd be meeting at if we lived here!
Efogi 1 has an airstrip (a very short one at that!) and the locals were all gathered at the airstrip waiting for a supply plane to arrive to drop off food but also to pick up the local crops to sell in Port Moresby. There was too much fog around so the plane had to abort landing and would be coming back later.
As we headed towards our lunch location at Naduri it was pouring rain so we were all freezing as we ate lunch of freshly fried pastries accompanied by the worlds biggest avocado that was purchased for 5 Kina at Efogi 2. It was delicious!
Emotions ran high today for some. Grace broke down at lunch and it was beautiful to see the support she received from her fellow Trekkers. Grace had been looking out for heart shaped rocks along the journey and literally at the moment she was upset, Lou found the most perfect heart shaped rock close by. How amazing !
The rain didn't stop for the rest of the afternoon as we walked on to our next camp for the remaining 4 hours. We were all soaking wet but no one complained, we just got on with it. There were still a few spills with the slippery conditions, poor Grace had a hard fall as did a number of the Porters. Double pluggers and muddy, steep declines are not the best combination!
Our camp for the night is a place called 1900 due to its elevation. A lovely village beside a creek, but with very few residents and a pesky dog that won't leave us alone. Wacko and Aaron went in for a bird bath whereas the rest of us were happy to give it a miss as we were all too cold and couldn't wait to get into our thermals. We all smell, so no one is offended!
Wacko and Donna finished off a great day with their life stories....plenty of special moments shared and plenty of laughs to go with it!
Ali x
