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DAY 5 (Apr 21)
We were off very early on the track to beat the mad rush and avoid being trampled by the Boston marathon runners. The big tour that was camped at top of Brigade Hill were keen to get started but we wanted to get the jump on them to get going. We headed downhill toward Efogi village passing Mission Ridge on the way. Efogi Village was quiet a large village compared to some of the others we had visited. It was a great chance to sit on the green grass and eat bananas and drink a Coke in front of the local market stall as we watched trekkers come and go and we took happy snaps with the local kids who were amused that we were on our own. We kicked off the boots and socks and allowed our feet to dry for a while, pure bliss and it did wonders for our feet. Efogi marks the "HALF WAY POINT" of the Kokoda track so we took a picture of the sign that pointed out that. So after lunch we headed off again uphill to Efogi 2 Village, this where the track splits as the main
Log crossing
Slippery, slow going on this track heads to Kagi we chose the alternate route to Naduri Village the track leading off to the right.
Naduri was a small camp so it was a tight squeeze. We busted a gut so we were one of the first there so we should have had a hut, however the camp caretaker was trying to look after the big tour operators so he said it was booked. A Mexican standoff developed but we eventually secured a hut. (Later we asked the ranger about the rules he said it was first served basis and you cant book the huts. We were right.) One of the last of the original Fuzzy wuzzy angels used to live in this village until he died in 2009 at the age of 103. His grave site is protected by a purpose built hut in the camp. Currently the caretaker of the village is the son of the legend.
The night was noisy from other campers and it rained for most of the night, but we were dry in the hut.
DAY 6 (Apr 22)
More up hill climbing was order of the day, we passed camp 1900 where we had
Efogi Kids
Enjoying some sun with Efogi kids lunch. Then you guessed it, more of the same uphill stuff to the Gap lookout where there was some spectacular views of the valleys and then we continued further and over Mount Bellamy. We were glad to reach this point as it is the highest feature on the whole journey, (about 2200 Meters) It means it is all downhill from here. If only that was true, I wanted to believe that.
We continued to Templetons' Crossing 1 which was the scene of heavy fighting between the Anzacs and the Japs. The location was named Captain Sam Templeton the officer in charge of the troops in that area. It was originally known as "Dump 1" as the supplies were dropped in at Naduri then carried to dump 1 staging area and later shuffled closer to the front at "Dump 2" (now known as Templeton 2 crossing) The track doesn't actually cross the creek here at Templeton 1 but now it was running parallel to the creek.
Our final stop for the night would be Templeton's 2 camp so we were keen to keep pushing ahead to try and get a hut. We didn't need to rush, as it turned
Templeton 2
Log crossing at Templeton 2 camp out we were the only 2 campers in Templeton 2 for that night. It was pure luxury to have the whole camp to ourselves. We went for a swim in the river but it was a swift current of large cascades so it was difficult to find a safe area to bathe, we eventually found a good spot behind a large rock which provided protection.
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