DAY 2 - HOI TO ALOLA

Saturday 27 June

The trekkers were up early at 5:00 a.m. after spending their first night on the Kokoda Track. They had breakfast before sunrise and hiked out of Hoi towards Deniki tackling the first ascent of the track. This tested a few and they had a short rest here before trekking out of the campsite, passing the choko vines and enjoying spectacular sweeping views down the valley on their way to Isurava for morning tea. They played with village children and discussed more history of the campaign.

Packs went back on for another hour’s hike to the Isurava Battlefield Memorial, located at a significant point on the Isurava battle site bisected by the Kokoda Track. The group inspected Kingsbury’s Rock, the site of the action that earned Private Bruce Steel Kingsbury the Victoria Cross on 29 August 1942. They held a moving service at the monument and paid their respects to the returned and fallen soldiers.

They heard stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, including Corporal John Metson, Charlie McCallum, and Bruce Kingsbury. After lunch they completed a tough but short climb to the “Surgeons’ Stone” to hear more moving accounts from Stan Bisset about his brother Butch. Then it was another hour’s trekking with a few ups and downs en route to Alola.

Camaraderie within the group was strong; everyone was doing well and much drier than the previous day. They have now arrived in camp at 5:00 pm and settled in for dinner and are resting, looking forward to trekking together tomorrow.