Mt Erima. Sunday 10th March 2013

On a wet Sunday, the POM Bushwalkers wandered out not far from Moresby and started an up and down walk amongst quarries and water treatment plants and the odd vegetable garden.

Basically the walk meandered along the road and then went vertical once we entered the quarry, why zig-zag up a hill when a tractor can go straight up?

Our path was clear, but the skies were overcast.  Which was a win-win, the cooling rain meant we were wet from nature and not from sweating.  The Ups were steep and the Downs were technical but all kept a reasonable footing.

I had to pull out halfway through leaving the rest for the last steep climb up Mt Erima.  I hear it went well yet some of the crew rested at 'base camp' while the others scaled the final ascent.

All in all, a great short walk, but technical and up and down.

Sunday 10th February 2013 - Taurama Barracks

Another bushwalk, another gun emplacement from World War Two.  A fair sized group of us met up and commuted casually down to Taurama Barracks.  This walk always starts off with a nasty climb high up along a spur and reaches its dizzying heights up above Pari Village.

 

The views were spectacular from on high, but the hot bright sun and the continual climbing took its toll and a few bushwalkers had  splintered off the back of the group and subsequently were reluctantly escorted back to the vehicles and back to the start.  Those that remained continued on along the undulating ridge line with each small hill and the everpresent hot february sun baking down on all.

The final destination of the Malaoro Markets were starting to look a long way off and an executive decision was made to get the remaining bushwalkers off the hill and out of the sun.  And then it became a mad scramble down the rocky hill, around a few gardens and straight through the middle of the settlement all the while listening to the fire and brimstone sermon by the Church crew in the bottom of the valley.  Pity there were no bagpipes or choral singing...

Boera Bushwalk - January 27, 2013.

Overcast conditions greeted a huge crowd of walkers and the cloud cover provided a bit of reprise from the normal January heat.  Recent rains had started to green up the area and Boera was a great choice to start a new year of walking.

Leaving the village, we headed straight away to the top of the nearby hill which holds the old gun emplacements from World War Two.  Anecdotal stories say that this was the only gun fired in anger during the conflict and the enemy in question was an island nearby... 

Since it has been some time between visits to Boera, I was shocked by the development of the LNG Project nearby.  This was just on the drawing board the last time I walked these hills so it was a little sad to see what progression had occurred.

The first two hills were okay, but then hill climbs 3 and 4 were pretty nasty as the sun was really starting to fire up.  Even my personal junior guide looked to me for some water....  

The beers back at Konebada Resort went down a treat.  Oh and so did the lobsters and prawns!  Yumyumyumyum!

Kokoda Track, Naoro, Central Province

I once walked the Kokoda Track with a wonderful group of people and I had such a fantastic experience. The majority of our Porters and Guides hailed from the Villages of Naoro 1 and Naoro 2; the first set atop a spectacular razorback ridge and the second in the valley below. As we left Naoro 1 and stood at the road junction to Naoro 2, a couple of the porters called out in the direction of Naoro 2 and someone responded. A conversation ensued and messages were passed. A point to think about is that Naoro 2 was a 20 minute walk from this junction!

I asked the Porter what it was he said down the valley towards Naoro 2 and he said he was passing a message onto his wife and family to say everything was okay and that he would be home soon.

One of the ladies who walked with me on the Track has now returned to Naoro 2 and has offered assistance to the local Porters in setting up a new Locally based Trekking Company. Please click on this link to visit their excellent website: Naoro Kokoda Treks

I wish them well in their attempt to enter a tough competitive market and I hope they find success.

Here is a picture of Lindy walking into Naoro 1.

the Last Bisianumu Bushwalk

Good times… good times.

Some time ago, I recalled sitting up on the Rock of Knowledge, a place where only men sat and drank warm Californian white wine, and dined out on 14 year old ration packs from a Gulf War between the US, Kuwait and the Kurds.

Good times… good times.

I can recall a dear friend of mine from the Southern Highlands who swam in the waterfall behind the Rock of Knowledge, he himself recalling days of yore in the mountains of New Guinea swimming in the cool water of the mountains.

Good times… good times.

And there was that moment where a good friend of mine ventured up from down Mexico way and we spent a warm Moresby morning with Wilson heading out the waterfall behind the Rock of Knowledge and we swam in its cool waters.

Good times… good times.

And then there was today. A fine group of new friends and old (ahem?) friends wandered past the croc inhabited swamp, under the boughs of the Rubber Trees, across the Marson Matting, and down to the waterfall behind the Rock of Knowledge. There we swam and relaxed and reflected and then we wandered back.

Good times… good times.

the Last Boera Bushwalk.

April 5^th will go down as the date of the last Boera Bushwalk that I participated on, and it was a great return to the original days when we didn’t mess around with trying to climb the ridge that behinds Boera. Instead we went straight along the beach front, past the old jetty that goes no where (a failed attempt at fish harvesting) and around over rocks and stones until we reached the old beach and the original location of the old village.

From here we marveled at the Wallaby Grass and the mighty Pandanus and then wandered further along the coast to the coconut grove and the Mangrove stand, in what started to become a lengthy rest stop. But then we continued on and back towards Boera via the World War Two gun emplacement, still looking as solid as ever. As someone was mentioning that they were training for Kokoda, we opted to take on one more small hill before inspecting the town’s rain water tank and then dropping in to see the local school yard.

A great walk, good fun, a good sized group with a nice bunch of crew. The local guides almost outnumbered us, but they were all keen to show us around.

I will miss Boera.

Don Bosco Hill (Pek Pek Mountain) 19th October 2008.

A good sized group showed up this morning to go walking around the local Dame Carol constituent. We drove down to the Badili Police Band Barracks (Taikone) and from here, wandered upwards passed the Old Lighthouse and over to Horse Camp village and the muddy beach where the locals were collecting pipis.

From Horse Camp we then followed around the stony beach to Vabukori Village and after chatting to the locals we then headed up Pek Pek Hill and then (for some reason) back down to Vabukori, for another chat to the local crew. We wandered through the Village and then headed back up passed the Football Field and back up to the old Lighthouse. Here, we then headed skyward in the hot sun with the temperature touching 40C, before sitting on top of “Old Baldy” Hill or Don Bosco Hill as it now appears.

A quick walk around Gabutu and past Konebadu Beach back to Taikone and then back home. A good hot walk in the sun, perhaps it is time to walk the death march again?