The following morning, having braved the unpleasant experience of putting on cold wet clothes in the cold morning air, we once again found ourselves plodding along the trail by 07:00hrs. By now we had come to notice that the sites chosen for each night camp, while they offered some degree of relative luxury, also happened to be located right next to the steepest and longest uphill sections for the following day. So in less than an hour we were hot as hell, sweating like pigs, breathing like a hamster and smelling like a skunk. Putting up with this smell was definitely a true test of “Mateship”; even between myself and my alter ego! Indeed, so distracted was I by this nausea that I lost my footing crossing the bridge over the river at Dump. No. 1, falling into the small rapids below. Simon, following in the footsteps of his hero Damien Parer, captured the whole incident on camera, in complete disregard for his own safety... Meanwhile, Thomas dropped his backpack and leaped across the rapids to my rescue. Well at least the nausea was now gone.
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After tea break to wring out wet clothes and dry contents of my rucksack we continued our inexorable slog uphill towards the highest point on the track at Kokoda Gap. Situated at 2190m we were eager to glimpse the spectacular views afforded from this vantage point. On the way up we encountered two very large groups of hikers grunting and weazing the other way, strung out over +/- 1km. So distracted where we by passing conversations that we passed through the Kokoda Gap without notice. We only discovered this oversight at morning tea an hour later during discussions with Daito, our local guide – who by the way had yet to break sweat since the start of the trek in Kokoda. As such, we have no photos of this pivotal moment – what plonkers!!!
After tea break to wring out wet clothes and dry contents of my rucksack we continued our inexorable slog uphill towards the highest point on the track at Kokoda Gap. Situated at 2190m we were eager to glimpse the spectacular views afforded from this vantage point. On the way up we encountered two very large groups of hikers grunting and weazing the other way, strung out over +/- 1km. So distracted where we by passing conversations that we passed through the Kokoda Gap without notice. We only discovered this oversight at morning tea an hour later during discussions with Daito, our local guide – who by the way had yet to break sweat since the start of the trek in Kokoda. As such, we have no photos of this pivotal moment – what plonkers!!!
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Still smarting at the incredulity of our folly we continued our journey down slippery slopes into 1900 camp (at 1900m). The rest of the day, like all others, was spent on menial domestic chores and attending to personal hygiene, followed by meagre dinner.
Still smarting at the incredulity of our folly we continued our journey down slippery slopes into 1900 camp (at 1900m). The rest of the day, like all others, was spent on menial domestic chores and attending to personal hygiene, followed by meagre dinner.
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