Post trip thoughts on DIY trek versus organised tour

Having been back a few weeks now, I have had time to reflect on the pros and cons of having organised our own trip versus going on an commercial tour. If I did it all again, I would DEFINITELY organise it again myself. Main reason was the flexibility it gave Andrew and myself on the trek ie we could come and go as we
could come and go as we pleased.

Many other trekkers constantly commented tat everytime they saw us, we were always swimming, eating, resting, playing etc. Being such a small group, our breaks and lunches were always real short, allowing us to get to the next village much earlier than the groups with 30 plus etc. Also, whenever we saw and nice river, we would stop and swim/hang for a while.

Other thoughts.

1) Culture.
With Tony(our guide) knowing guesthouse owners in each village, we spent far more time interacting with the villagers. This included eating meals with their family etc.

2) Food
Commercial trekking companies tend to have basic freeze dried meals (rice/mashed potato etc). Also, they did not eat local foods. We regularly ate village food and had similar/better quality freeze dried food.

3) Knowledge of trip
Due to the amount of pre walk preparation required for the self organised trip, we tended to have a better knowledge of the trip/area. Note though that this is also a downside to most people as more prep required

Home day

Home day today.

Virgin Blue flight back at 2,05 pm to Brisbane.
Flight from PNG ran 50 mins late so we ended up missing Melbourne connection flight after a slow run through customs. Virgin moved us from the 7pm to the 8pm flight and all good.

 Home sweet home !!!

Anzac Day Bomana

Early start to Sunday for Anzac day. We had booked a taxi for 5am but is was a no show, We had to walk down to the shopping centre to find another taxi. made it just in time for last post/anthems.

Here is a video of the main ceremony


Anzac Day Bomana Cemetry Port Moresby 2010 from Rick Klink on Vimeo.

Day 10 - Goldie River to Owen Corner

Banana leaves make great underlay for sleeping bags. We awoke at 5.30 am ready for the hour or so walk out. Quick breakfast and ready to go by 6.30am.

Low clouds in the valley during climb up to Owen Corner. Couple of false tops on the way up the hill.

We made it !!!!  Quite an emotional moment getting to the end of the walk.

Andrew and I at the finish line !

Andrew, I and Tony share the moment

Our ride back from Owens to Port Moresby. Sharing Peregrine's bus home

The Peregrine guide told their trekkers they would stop off at McDonalds. They assumed we were getting burgers etc :-)   In July and August 1942 McDonald's Corner was recognised as the beginning of the Kokoda Track and there is now a memorial at the site as well as a sign announcing the beginning of the "Kokoda Trail"

Quite an interesting drive back. Very narrow and windy road. A magnificent waterfall on the way at the Port Moresby Hydro power station.

 
A relaxing swim back at our hotel.

A good clean of boots, tents etc etc.

Bit of shopping at both Boroko market and downtown near the Yacht club. We wanted to buy a Kundu drum and woven bag etc.

We bought a mask, carved in the Sepik region of PNG, an area famous for wood carvings

Day 9 - Ioribaiwa village to Goldie River

Early start today for last full day of walking. Today we have a long walk up Imita ridge. Also about 25 river crossings in one day !!!

Heading down the steep incline from Ioribaiwa. We left at the same time as the other two tour groups !

One of the many river crossings for the day. The boots were full of water all day.

The start of the long grind up Imita ridge.

A welcome relief - the top of Imita Ridge. The guys clapped each trekker as they made it to the top. The end of the trek is now in our grasp ;-)

Quick call to Mum back home to let her know we are on the home straight.

Lunch and coke break near Dump 66. Those cokes always went down well !

We made it. The final wade through Goldie River. Time to get the boots off and enjoy a cool dip.

Final night of setting up a tent on the trip. Really looking forward now to getting on bus tomorrow am at Owen Corner and getting back to hotel in Port Moresby for hot shower, fresh food and soft bed !

Day 8 - New Nauro to Ioribaiwa village

Pits on the track near the Japanese tombs.

Andrew having lunch (tuna wraps) at near station 88

Some sugar cane for desert. This piece sold for $1 Kina from one of the vendors along the track. Andrew enjoyed the sugar hit, once he figured out how to eat it !

One of Aidan's guys developed an bad case of trench foot over night. The soles of his feet were bleeding when he removed his socks at lunch time. This was his seventh trip on Kokoda. He took Nurofen Plus tablets in large quantities to try to manage the pain.

The bane of all Kokoda treckers - tree roots. You are forever looking down, watching your feet to ensure you don't trip on one of these !

Quite a few memorials today to trekkers that had lost their life walking the Kokoda Track

Made it to Ioribaiwa !!!

Sunset over the Imita ridge. Tomorrow's walk takes us to the left of the peak in this photo.

Day 7 - Menari to New Nauro Village

The guys and girls from Our Spirit having their morning meet at 6.30 am. Aidan gives a war medal to the star walker from the previous day to carry. Quite a good motivational tool.

Some of the group were doing it tough. We had quite a few of the girls from the group share our hut for the night. Most of them spent upwards of one hour in the am re-applying cremes and sports bandages to their knees.

I also had to chuckle at their pet names for their porters. They had special tasks for their porters to keep them motivated during the walk. One of the girls asked her porter to give her musk sticks when she was struggling ;-).

Was quite interesting to notice how little the trekkers in these groups 'hung out' with the villagers and their porters. Andrew and I basically spent each night with Tony and his relatives in each village/guest house. This turned out to be the most enjoyable part of our trip....meeting and learning about the villages/villagers, eating meals with them etc. I will never forget the sounds of the porters singing gospel songs at night around the camp/cooking fire.

An amazing shot through the clouds towards New Nauro Village in the distance.

Hitting Browns river in the swamp area. This was some tough walking through mud !

We spent about an hour sloshing through deep water and mud getting to the new crossing point on Browns river. The main log over the river had been washed away some days ago in a flood.

Is amazing how tiring it is walking through heavy mud for hours on end. Your boots treble in weight and you struggle with each step fighting the suction of the mud.

Finally made the tree bridge crossing Browns river. The mud however continued up to Nauro Village

We heard a heavy chopper just after crossing the bridge. The faithful Huey 091 dropping a water tank into the village of  Nauro via sling. Amazing sound this chopper makes !

The village of New Nauro. The original village of Nauro, now vacated, is down the hill from the current village.

Now, this was an interesting character. He wandered into Nauro at about 2pm. Was walking totally alone !
Said he was heading today towards Menari (about 6 hours away). He had already walked seven days to get to Nauro from Owen Corner. We would complete this part of the walk in two days. He had allowed 14 days in total to cover the trip.... will be tight based on his progress to date. He also mentioned that his boots had lost a sole and he managed to convince villagers to find him another pair !

Tony advised him that it was not a clever idea to walk the track alone. Our friend just laughed and walked on. Tony swore under his breath and stated that this guy would need to be rescued/evacuated in a few days at best...at worst, he would get lost!  I wonder how he went with his trip.

A couple of Aidan's guys also got lost today. One of the members of his group seemed to have trouble following the rules... ie never pass your lead guide/porter. This chap past another group and then past Andrew, Tony and myself. Tony warned him about the multiple tracks up ahead and that he should wait. He carried on regardless. Aidan had to send two of his porters out to find this guy and they returned very close to nightfall. I hope he learned a lesson !

The shower at Nauro. This is typical of showers along the trail. Log floors and a tap for a shower. Cold water, but a million dollar view while you clean up !

View from Nauro back to the gap. Aidan's guys having their huddle !