DAY 5 - KAGI TO MENARI

Saturday 25 July

A short hike out of the village past the church brought the group to the airfield and the steepest descent of the trek down to the creek crossing. After refilling water, they powered up a ten‑minute calf‑burner to the top, then enjoyed a relatively easy 30‑minute stretch in the sun before resting under a gum tree. Another 30 minutes brought them to Efogi on the hill for morning tea and sweeping views down to Efogi Village. They descended 30 minutes into the village to visit the museum and market, then set off again to begin the slog up Mission Ridge toward Brigade Hill.

At Mission Ridge the Bruce discussed more of the campaign’s history, and on the summit of Brigade Hill the group held an emotional ceremony to honour the soldiers and remember their bravery. After lunch they followed the track on a long, 2.5‑hour descent into Menari — a tough section for some, but everyone arrived in good spirits. Menari is where the battered 39th Battalion were withdrawn before the battle for Brigade Hill; exhausted, the “Ragged Bloody Heroes” later returned to fight at Buna and Gona. The weather was amazing again today & the track nice & dry as the trekkers arrived safely in camper. 4:30pm and are now resting and preparing for dinner.