Bisianumu Falls. a Review...

Last Sunday was a great walk. What started out as a leisurely stroll to the glory of Bisianumu Falls ended up being a fair walk. The second leg of the journey considerably longer than the first third.

16 intrepid walkers showed up at the morning meeting place, and we then travelled up to the Sogeri Plateau. The track out past the Sogeri Memorial towards McDonald's and Ower's corners was dry for the first part. We then entered the old Rubber Plantation and found our way to our safe car park.

Upon alighting from our vehicles I soon discovered that my local friend had left the day before to go hunting for Pigs and Wallabies, but young Inky was on hand to help act as our guide for the day. He remembered the POM bushwalkers from previous walks, and he knew where we wanted to go. So with guides alongside, we made our way to Bisianumu Falls.

It is a pleasant walk and not too taxing, but after just over an hour we made it to the Falls. We rested for a while and remained longer to appreciate the spectacular views on offer as one looks North over the Goldie River and beyond Imita Ridge to spy Kokoda Gap in the distance. The Owen Stanleys look fantastic from this point of view.

After a brief swim for some, we then decided to take the longer route home, and it was quite warm as we wandered up a spur to join a short ridge line, accompanied by the sweet sounds of the local birdlife. On top of the ridge, we turned left and made our way to the swamp where Inky told me that some time ago, a white man released his pet Crocodile into the swamp and it can still be seen amongst the reeds and palms on the far side.

A short time later, we were back into the Rubber Plantation and amongst the cool shade again. We were welcomed back warmly by the local community who were keen to share in our tales of the walk. And with their beaming smiles, we left to head back to POM but with the promise that we would be back again soon.

Mt Diamond Walk. (a review by another regular walker)

It was an overcast morning as we headed out to Mt Diamond school along the Magi Highway. After turning off at the (Name?) roundabout there was an easy drive along a short stretch of dirt road to the school grounds, an assortment of buildings among massive shade trees and manicured lawns. Five lads from the school armed themselves with grass machetes and acted as our guides leading the fourteen of us off on a track that snaked through head high, sharp edged guinea grass. This soon opened out into a bush road along a lush green valley of short grass dotted with gum trees and palms. After a while we started winding up through small hills of gums and grass trees. It was still overcast but had become hot and steamy so we took frequent breaks and admired the scenery. On one of the hillsides we came across a small arched entrance which was an old copper mine. Peering inside we could see a well defined shaft heading deep back into the hill. Apparently during the 1930’s they used to mine copper from this area, using donkeys to pull loaded carts down the hills and to a wharf at Bootless Bay. Part of our track lay along one of these old copper haulage roads.

We dropped down to a patch of forest and came across a lovely cool, fast flowing river and nearly all went through the rigmarole of taking off shoes and socks and wading through it, only to come to another river crossing ten minutes down the path. This time many of us were not so fussy and quickly ventured across. By now we were walking through fairly thick rainforest with the canopy overhead, the river flowing close to the path and occasionally crossing it and although hot and a tad slippery, it was great to be in the forest. Two hours after setting off we reached a gorgeous waterfall and all took a good half hour break. Rested we set out and went back along the same route and this time most of us strode straight through the stream and river crossings squelching our way back to the school. It was a really enjoyable walk, hot and steamy but not too hard and definitely worth it for the beautiful scenery of grasslands, rainforest and the waterfall.


ed note: I've lost the images that went with this walk. If anyone has a good snapshot of the Mt Diamond walk, could they forward it to me please?

I'm not lost...

Hi everybody. Sorry the blog has not been updated for some time, as I have been absent from NCD. But the walking has continued and there is talk that one of the new walkers has some wantoks out 9-mile way and that they may arrange a walk there next.

Keep you posted :)

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.