Day 1 - Flight Port Moresby to Popondetta - PMV to Kokoda - Walk to Hoi

To ease logistics, it makes it much easier to fly from Moresby to Popondetta, then take a PMV to Kokoda than to fly into Kokoda direct from Moresby. Also, this way is much cheaper ! Flight costs (total for both of us) was $262 Kina ($A121.15 at the time of booking).

Being Anzac day weekend, I thought we would have problems with bookings on the Airlines PNG flight but there were no issues with seats etc. Actually, our flight, CG1670 was only two thirds full !  Flight left at 9.20 am and arrived at Popondetta at 9.50. Here is Andrew boarding the Dash 8.

The flight path tracks above the Kokoda Track area. We were very fortunate to have a clear day with great views of the Owen Stanley range

I need not have worried so much about finding a guide. We were asked twice on the flight if

1. We were walking the Kokoda track ?
2. Whether we needed a guide ?

Everyone had a brother, sister, uncle that was a guide that could help us !

On landing in Popondetta, we were immediately offered a lift into town by a fellow with a truck. This is the standard transport method in these parts. We heaved the packs on and jumped on board. Again, we were asked if we needed a guide ;-)

The truck dropped us at the Comfort Inn Popondetta where we met Benjamin. He introduced us to Tony, our guide. Tony has walked Kokoda Track over 50 times. He has worked for most of the big trekking companies over the years. Lucky for us, he was between gigs. The number of gigs has substantially dropped recently with the downturn in the number of trekkers (due both to the GFC and plane crash/deaths on the track last year)

Picture below shows Tony on the right and  Benjamin (Comfort Inn Manager) centre.

After introductions, Tony immediately got to work in checking what we brought along in terms of supplies and repacking our two main packs/spreading the weight. I had brought along a school type backpack for Andrew which he loaded accordingly.

Next, we sat down to agree terms. We settled on a rate for Tony of $70 Kina per day plus return flight to Popondetta.

As soon as we were sorted, we headed out to catch the Public Motor Vehicle (PMV). This ride, from Popondetta to Kokoda took over five hours, with many bridges being washed out with major floods over the past few years. The ride is a bargain at $20 Kina per adult (free for Andrew) !!!

The PMV ride is a great introduction to life in PNG. In a very short period of time, the truck is completely full with people, bags of potatoes, rice, chickens etc etc. Once full, people start riding on the outside and on top of the truck !!!

The rain came down pretty heavy on route so they covered the back with the canvas top. The problem with this was that the diesel fumes entered the back area and would not leave. Check out the piece of video we took.

PMV ride from Popondetta to Kokoda from Rick Klink on Vimeo.

We counted over 25 people inside the truck at some points, with over 10 on the roof from what we could count.... ie bums poking into the canvas roof. Again, we were asked a couple of times if we needed a guide for the trek.

Was time for me to try a PNG stable - Betel Nut (Buai). 

You will see Betel nut for sale on every street corner in PNG. Chewing it leaves a red color on your teeth. For many locals, this color is permanent based on the amount they chew the nut. You will need the green betel nut (buai), a jar or bag of lime powder (kambang) and a bean-like green called mustard (daka). More details here on how the locals chew Buai. A picture of my attempt to chew is above.

Why does the PMV ride from Popondetta to Kokoda, which is only 80 kms, take over five hours ?  The ride starts off on perfect bitumen roads. Within 45 minutes, you hit the first of many washed out bridges. The PMV shifts to low gear and drops down a steep incline down to the creek, crosses, then rises back up to the 'road'.  This is repeated over and over again. The road changes from a bitumen road to a corrugated dirt track very quickly for the remainder of  the trip.

Below is an example of the versatility of the local bridge builders in the area. This is a 'bridge' span over the Kumusi river.Note the shipping containers propping up one end of the steel span.

On 14th November 2007, Cyclone Guba hit the region, causing the river to flood to ten times its original width. The flood washed away 22 other bridges, completely cutting the road to Popondetta.

We arrived at Kokoda General store just before 4pm. The store is a great place to buy last minutes stores for the hike. Pictures from the village of Kokoda.

We started the walk from Kokoda to Hoi at 4.30pm. Was raining quite heavily. The walk took about one hour, running through a rubber tree plantation.

Whilst commercially harvesting the rubber is not economical from these plantations, there are still small cups set up to demonstrate the collection process.

We arrived at the Hoi Guesthouse around 4.30, with plenty of time to setup our sleeping bags in the hut and cook up a freeze dried curried beef...yum !

An elevation view of walk today.