In partial celebration of KRudd's victory in the Great Aussie Election of Oh7, the POM bushwalkers will be wandering around the Motuan Pari villages. Pari is the birthplace of the late Sir Billy Skaite and is also home to Dame Carol Kidu. From our bushwalking advantage on high, we should be able to look down on the abode of these two proud Papua New Guinean politicians. Sir Billy Skaite Jr still resides in the village.
But back to the bushwalking, we will make our way down to Taurama Barracks and then after alighting from our vehicles, we walk up and up and up. It is a brutal strain on the Calf muscles and Achilles tendons but the view from the top of the initial climb is fantastic. From the top, its a undulating walk to an old World War Two gun emplacement, and this is a great place to stop for photos and a fresh breath of Motuan air.
We then head along the tops of the hills and find ourselves amongst wild pigs and cycads, an almost prehistoric vista, where one can imagine Dinosaurs roaming through the savanah. From here, its a plummet down to a boggy swamp land, and a track to the local Surf Club. At the Surf Club, if you look up to the left, you will see the Pyramid.
If we are all feeling rather chipper, then we shall take the casual stroll to the top of the Pyramid... Sorry, replace casual with disgustingly brutal and replace stroll with punishment...
But it has been achieved before.
From the base of the Pyramid it is a flat walk in the sun back to the barracks and back to our cars. This is a tough walk and if the Moresby Sun is in all its glory, then it is even harder. We can take solace in the fact that due to the recent rain, the vegetation will be green and this will give us some purchase under foot. You will require good grippy footware for the up and down sections as it is made up of that shaley stuff that litters the hills around Moresby, the swamp areas will contain Mosquitos, there is little shade on the whole walk and we saw a snake the last time we were here. A little tiny snake.
And there are pigs, but they are shy.
All those who are interested, come along to the normal meeting place at the normal time, bring sunscreen, a bucketload of water, insect repellent, a big hat, good shoes/boots, some cash for the off-duty coppers, a snack or two for nourishment, and a camera set to Panorama.
