B-17. 19 August. Wau, MP.

Okay, so in the photo you can see some dude walking and the head of a young boy whom was our guide for the day. In the background towards the left of the action, you can see what remains of a B-17 Bomber that didn't make it to the Wau airport(?) on the fateful day some years ago when it ditched into/onto the grassy knoll in the hinterland of the Morobe Province.

If you look closely enough.

What a fantastic walk, 'tis a pity it wasn't a sanctioned POM Bushwalkers/Boating walk but when one has a chance to go see a War relic sitting in the middle of a paddock not far from Lae and in relative safety then I apologise for walking up and over grassy knolls... not really.

It was awesome and something that every POM Bushwalker needs to do. Imagine a rough and bumpy dirt road track for near on one hour only to abandon the LandCruiser to walk shin deep through a icy cool mountain stream, fill up one's water bladder and then march for 40 minutes over the grassy fields of Wau.

Then to see a B-17 Bomber sitting some distance away in a paddock.

It's a challenging walk to the B-17 but rewarding to say the least. When you finally climb inside the cockpit and can still read some of the instrument panel instructing you not to heat up the oil for more than 4 minutes then it is worth the effort to climb there.

There are bullet holes in the tail rudder.

The young boys whom accompany you on your walk are there to add colour and intrique to your walk... They will show you all sorts of flowers and seeds and insects and they all take up the space in your memory card.

But Wau has so much to offer the tourist, and the angry faces in town will soon soften as soon as they know you are not part of the Harmony mine. But make the effort, Wau will give you a wow of an experience ;)

Mt Diamond. September 9.

I'm sorry, I cannot help with the details of this walk. This is one for the more permanent members of Moresby, whom may have trampled across the hills surrounding Mt Diamond and the SouEastern edge of Varirata.

From what I may have heard, this walk involves some kind of altitude gain, so it maybe a corker with some spectacular views from on top.

More info may come later.... keep half an eye on this 'ere site.

POM Boating Club... 26 August.

(a review)

Unfortunately, the boating trip that was, never happened, but hey, this is the Land of the Unexpected. What was originally planned as a boat trip from Lea Lea to Kidu became a pleasant stroll around Lea Lea, not that I think anyone was disappointed, but it was interesting that the largest attendance of the year so far was on the promise of a boat trip...

Bushwalkers, or Boaters?

I'd wager that we are all walkers at heart, but the temptation of a boat ride so close to Moresby was incentive enough to get up bright and early and travel to Lea Lea village. (Contact has been made with Lea Lea and they are still keen to give us another shot, at a later date... you will be kept posted)

But back to the review.

In what turned out to be a rather pleasant day, a large group of walkers all wandered around the rolling hills of Lea Lea and return via a lengthy walk along the beach. Complete with some very generous locals who were sure that we all needed a drink of Coconut water.

The pleasant walk started with a morning wander through the village and then out amongst the Mangrove bridge and mud into grasslands dotted with Pandanus and Cassava. After a march up on top of one of the local hills to admire the view and surrounds, we then cautiously made our way down the stony slope to a valley of Dinosaurs and out onto a wide salt crusted mud flat. Across the other side lay the beach and our return to the Village.

What a wonderful village with atypical Motuan warmth and goodwill, and all the walkers/boaters certainly enjoyed the Sunday break from the joys of living in Moresby...

Taurama on the 29th of July. (sorry for the delay in posting)

A Big Thank You goes to CO whom has provided a walk report and photo from the walk recently to Taurama. It was a walk I was unable to attend but it sounds like a good one. This was the first of two walks that included PMV rides in which I have missed, but maybe one day...

Like any bush walking Sunday, we woke up early and headed over to the Ela beach hotel to meet with the rest of the walkers.

Fifteen minutes after, it looked like there were just four, and possibly another couple in the car who showed up for the walk. As we were about to make our way to the Yacht Club, another fellow walker arrived. Shortly close to eight, the rest of the walkers drove into the car park. Before we know it, there were ten of us and we were back in business.

As we were approaching the Taurama hill, we were greeted by beaming kids from the neighboring village. Some looked excited to see us but others waved shyly as we were near.

It was an almost perfect day: the early part of the morning started off a tad ominous with the gunmetal grey sky and looming dark clouds. But that soon cleared up and all we had to fight off is the intermittent gusting wind as we ascent. It didn’t take long to warm up the cold muscles and at the first stop, we caught a glimpse of the city from atop.

As we trudged along the foot path on the side of the hill, we finally reached the half way mark with names etched on the bark of a tree. Many islands and sights are visible where we were standing: the Pyramid Point, Manubada (aka Local) and Loloata islands, to name a few. Nestled between the hills and the sea, many of us were just contented to pause and soak in the spectacular view.

The parched vegetation soon gave way to a few Aloe Vera looking plants. Just off the edge of the hill, we spotted a couple of what resembled cylindrical tanks. Upon closer observation, these were actually gun encasements used during the war. Undeniably, where we were standing, it was a good vantage point to spot enemy warships from miles away.

Moving along, we were told that it’s downhill from here on! The trip down was quick and relatively easy. Being annoyingly cautious, every step I took was slow and deliberate. Even though the pair of runners wasn’t the best of shoes for this terrain, I can safely declare that I much prefer the suffering of a climb with firmed footing than slippery, sliding steps with little grip.

As we were descending, the sun peeped through the clouds and it took about 20 minutes before we reach the barrack compound. Mango trees abound but alas it wasn’t the season yet. If you are a lover of most tropical fruits, just like me, the thought of plucking the juicy and fragrant mangoes off the trees is enough incentive to send me running in full speed down the hill.

After a few minutes rest, we decided to head towards the bus stop where we catch the PMV out of the Barrack. Lucky for us, the bus was in waiting and 50 toea poorer and ten minutes later, we alighted at the POM Grammar School. The ride had saved us the sweat and time on the dreary asphalt.

All in all, it was a relatively leisure but enjoyable walk. The view more than compensated for the impending soreness from the climb. Borrowing from the MasterCard tagline, the first ride on the PMV is ‘priceless’. After all, it’s not any given Sunday where a non local gets to hop on one without much hesitation.

We started off uncertain of what’s in store for this walk but we returned with anticipation for the next adventure.