Cadets at new heights
ADFA takes on battlefield trek of Kokoda trail

ADFA cadets at the Battle of Isuvara memorial on the Kokoda trail. Photo by OCdt Joel Jory, ADFA

By OCdt Joel Jory

A PARTY of 18 ADFA cadets, midshipmen and staff members have completed a nine-day, 100km trek on the Kokoda trail.

After overnighting in Port Moresby they made the 30-minute flight to Kokoda in the Owen Stanley ranges.

Their intention was to journey south, following the track that 39 Bn used during their fighting withdrawal from the Japanese in 1942.

The party had to acclimatise to the heat, humidity and steep terrain, which they described as somewhat more demanding than the slopes of Canberra’s Mt Ainslie.

On day two the group reached at the site of the battle of Isuvara, where a newly built memorial stands on the ground where Australian troops conducted a major defensive action against a numerically superior enemy.

The party continued through the Kokoda Gap, which one member described as some of the most picturesque and challenging terrain on the planet, with downhill often harder than the uphill, and the ground making them pay for any lapse in concentration.

Day four brought 2200m Mount Bellamy, stunning scenery and incredible views of the track the party had traversed, including a good look at the 11km wide Kokoda Gap.

At this point the party reckoned they were over the worst of the walk.

From here they pressed on, passing the Myola Lakes – dry lakebeds where allied bombers made supply drops for the front line troops – and into the important wartime villages of Naduri and Efogi.

On day six the group rested for lunch at Brigade Hill, where one of the most significant battles of the New Guinea campaign took place. It was here that Brig Potts, CO Maroubra Force, put in place a brigade defensive position to stop the Japanese advance.

Members of the party found the terrain almost incomprehensible.

Words could not describe its severity and to say thatduring WW2 men were attacking up sheer cliff faces would not have been an exaggeration.

The party finished the track on day nine, after nearly 100km of walking and with some members having suffered dehydration, sickness and fatigue, but all gained a better understanding of the hardship and sacrifices made all those years ago.

Members of the party described the trek as a life-changing experience, which they highly recommended.