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Following in footsteps of Kokoda heroes
Volume 50, No. 16, September 06, 2007 |
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| HOSPITALITY AT BUNA: LSPT Julie Jackman, CPOCD Matt Hanrahan, CMDR Mick Stewart, LCDR Vernon Moo, Native Guide/Historian and CMDR Paul Luckin. |
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| SAD REMINDER: Bomana Cemetery where so many unnamed Aussies are buried. |
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| TESTING HILL: Steep stairs that zig-zagged towards an elusive top. |
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A team of 13 personnel from Navy Reserves, PN, RAAF, Queensland Police Force and civilians completed a trek on the Kokoda Track, Papua New Guinea, in July.
The trek was organised by the Regional Reserve Pool South Queensland.
The group visited the Bomana Cemetery, Port Moresby, which was the first of many memorable moments. It was difficult to count the amount of headstones with “An Australian Soldier, not known but never forgotten” inscribed on it.
Later that day, the group flew to Popondetta where they paid tribute to those who fell while fighting in PNG. The group then travelled by truck to Buna where the whole village came out to see them. A traditional peace dance was performed with the day ending with the local school children singing both their own and Australia’s national anthems It was a touching day.
The Kokoda Track is relatively flat at the start, but the group was soon climbing steep stairs that zig-zagged towards an elusive top; they were later informed that the mountain they had climbed was called Testing Hill.
For the next six days they encountered many small villages and guest houses, all with their own personalities and levels of comfort.
The group averaged eight hours of walking a day, with one day being a challenging 13 hours.
Throughout the experience, the group marvelled at the generous and truly caring nature of the Papua New Guinean people; it was agreed by the team that their porters and guides were critical to not only their education of the various battle sites, but also their overall enjoyment.
The guides and porters were helpful to the nth degree, boosting the group’s spirits by singing traditional songs in beautiful harmonies as they climbed ever upward.
The group completed the track having experienced an emotional and at times very sad journey with a deeper understanding of what it would have been like for those men who fought and paid the ultimate price.
They each experienced varying degrees of highlights but as a team it was agreed that it was probably the best experience of their lives. |
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