A massive day. “Thunderstruck ” from ACDC woke us up today and we were on the trail by 6.15am
It was hard today. Not that the other days have been easy, it’s just we were weary. It was either steep uphill or steep downhill today. Our legs were burning. Motivation was high – group spirit and thoughts of war kept us moving. There was no gunfire on us, no enemy ready to attack. We were well fed, no dysentery and not fighting for our lives. We were glad we had trained hard.
A detour off the track to Myora, site of the biscuit bomber operation. A swamp.
At last our village of Naduri. A welcome site with tents erected, flowers adorning our tents, Fresh fruit, a shower, cold nonetheless, but ready to wipe away sweat, mud and tears.
Thoughts of aching feet soon dissolved over dinner banter and our thoughts again returned to war. Readings of snippets again made it real – we now knew the track, the hills, the mud. We could close our eyes and imagine the horror, feeling scared, hear the gunfire. Lucky for us we could open our eyes again.
Now they are wide open. To the significance of the track, the PNG people and the defining moment this battle had in shaping Australia s future.
