DAY 2 - DENIKI TO ALOA

Saturday 04 April

The trekkers were up at 5am for breakfast after spending their first night on the Kokoda track. They trekked out of the Deniki through the Choko fields onto the village of Isurava for morning tea and it was here that the 39th battalion were finally reinforced by the 21st brigade. They had a briefing on the history of the campaign here and continued trekking for the next hour to Isurava Battle site where they held a moving service at the four pillars. (Courage, Endurance, Mateship & Sacrifice) They paid their respects to our returned and fallen soldiers, and listened to some podcasts of from soldiers of the campaign who made the incredible and ultimate sacrifice, such men as Corporal John Metson, Charlie McCallum, Lindsay Bear, Bruce Kingsbury and more…  The trekkers had lunch at Isurava and then trekked a short but tough hike onto the "Surgeons Stone” and listened to some more podcast of stories from Stan Bisset talking of his brother Thomas "Butch Bisset". The weather was overcast for most of the day and the track dry however, a few fallen trees over the track made things a little challenging as they trekked a relatively easy 90-minute trek into the campsite of Alola. They arrived in camp at 3:40pm local PNG time and are now enjoying some popcorn whilst waiting for dinner.