Kokoda Historical monitors all our tours that cross the Kokoda Track. We are in regular contact with our groups for safety reasons. We post regular updates on the groups' progress here so that family and friends at home can also go on the journey with their loved ones.
Latest update on Shaggy Ridge Tour which is currently underway. The group have just completed the trekking part of their adventure. After the hard but rewarding slog through the jungle they are on their way to Madang for some much deserved rest and relaxation. Well done to Reg, Mick and Melanie and all the support crew that helped!
The group have now past the gorge and have made camp at Mabluk. Tomorrow they will head to Bogadjim. Reg, our trek leader, reports that everyone is doing well and moral is high. This historic image is looking towards Madang, from Shaggy Ridge. In the foreground you can cleary see the 'Pimple'. Madang is where our group will end up at the completion of their journey.
After passing through the abandoned camps of Paipa & Saipa, tonight the group are camping at Fisherman's Camp. Tomorrow they head for the Gorge. Our guide, Captain Reg Yates RFD (R) reports that all trekkers are going well and are set to reach Bogadjim by Tuesday.
This historical image shows Lt Col C.J Cummings OBE, Commanding Officer of the 2/9th Infantry Battalion, crossing a new log bridge between Guy's Post and Shaggy Ridge.
Photograph taken by N. B. Stuckey on 20 January 1944.
Tonight the group are camping at the Dumpu end of Shaggy Ridge. Dumpu is in the Ramu Valley with the Bismark Ranges, 14,000 feet, on one side and the Finisterre Ranges, 12,000 feet, on the other. During the war there was a small airstrip here and now there are the wrecks of two planes.
Here is a photograph of one of the many signposts erected at the Dumpu airstrip, Ramu Valley, by the 18th Australian Anti-malarial Control Unit in an effort to impress on the troops the necessity of taking anti-malarial precautions. These precautions are just as important today!
Photograph taken by N. B. Stuckey on 6 December 1943.
Click here to send a message to your loved ones on this tour.
We have received an update from the group that are currently on our Shaggy Ridge Tour. All are doing well and they have reached their campsite of Aginau. Aginau is at the foot of Shaggy Ridge which is a six-and-a-half kilometre long razor-backed ridge that is the highest feature in the Finisterre Mountains in north-eastern New Guinea. The ridge was named after Captain Robert "Shaggy Bob" Clampett of the 2/27th Battalion whose company was the first to reconnoitre its approaches.
All are doing well and are excited about the adventure ahead.
Click here to post a message to the group which will be passed on to them on the track.
Great news from the group on the Black Cat Track, they have reached the point where they will pick up their rafts and start their journey rafting the Francisco River! Congratulations to all the group for completing this tough track in Papua New Guinea, enduring difficult weather conditions in the first few days but managing to overcome these difficulties. Now they can enjoy their rafting and look forward to a wonderful welcome at beautiful Salamaua.
Messages can be posted here and will be forwarded to the group - http://www.kokodahistorical.com.au/index/index.php/before-your-trip/trek-updates/303-black-cat-track-tour-update-11-may-2013