NUIGINI ------- BUNA ... KOKODA TRAIL ... GOROKA SHOW

[Deleted member 29185]

I think in the years of being an AFF contributor and the years previous of being a lurker, this may be my very first trip report. It, of course, happens at the very same time I'm trying to learn the new AFF format and tools and so far I've typed and lost a swag of text, so it may be a very long night!

I'll try to keep this short enough so as not to bore you all, but with enough to attempt to showcase what a remarkable trip we just endured ().

Our Kokoda trekking team consisted of 8 expat trekkers, ranging from 4 off, 30ish youngsters (read considerably fitter than I) to us 4, more worldly and wiser (read keg rather than 6 pack) set of 50ish souls! A better group of people, one would be hard to find! We all seemed to gel pretty much straight off the bat, which was a key ingredient in the mix.

The trip started from MEL, BNE and CNS and we all decided to fly Air Niugini (PX) as the prices are better than both QF and VA. I flew into POM from CNS onboard a PX F100 and was lucky enough to snag a J upgrade for AUD150 (as much as the excess baggage would have cost) and the others, although in Y on the 767, all agreed the meal, service and comfort on PX was pretty good. I arrived a bit earlier than the rest, and met Roy, our track master, who had just arrived into POM on a PNG Air (CG) flight from Girua (PNP) in the welcoming province of Oro (Oro means welcome). Together, Roy and I jumped into an Avis Corolla and set off to buy the food for the trek.

We all met back at Holiday Inn POM, for evening drinks, meal and socialising as we all got to know each other. The next morning we enjoyed a casual start to the day with breakfast at Holiday Inn and then made use of the HI courtesy bus to head out to POM DOM for our flight to Girua.


PX F100 Business Class. Great pitch and even better as I was the only J pax, so I chose 2A!




Part of our team - From left to right ... Greg, Peter (our youngest and first time porter), Ian (me), Lisa (+1 at back), Debby (front), Peter (back), Simone (front), Alisha (back), Anna (front), Roy (Track Master). Remainder of the porters are joining us in Buna.



About to climb aboard the PNG Air ATR 72. (I have to say, their tail livery is the best ever)!


After a comfortable (well the ATR is more comfy than the PX Dash 8 300, and I hate myself for saying that) flight to Girua, we joined Mick (truck owner Mack's brother and our driver for today ) and his offsider riding shotgun, for our transfer to Buna via ... well, some unusual roads which included a war era airfield runway!

 

[Steady]

Thanks for writing this up swanning_it - I'm keen to see the Goroka show as I was a baby when I went

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Thanks for writing this up swanning_it - I'm keen to see the Goroka show as I was a baby when I went

Well Steady, the Goroka show is a way off yet and I'm struggling with the task (dinner is about to intervene) so be patient my friend!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

So the trip to Buna was so much more than I expected. Our local guides knew every inch of this territory and Roy had decided that just seeing Buna was not enough. He took us to some sites most Kokoda treks don't even know exist. It was a memorable day and in fact quite a moving day. We heard of the war, and its impact on the locals, from very first hand experiences. I guess many of the more established trekking companies focus on the Aussie experiences, but we got to hear the PNG experiences, which of course intertwined with the Aussie experience.

We were first introduced to this as we wheeled around from a juddering dirt road onto a tarmac! A tarmac that dated back to the war era. It's now used as a (fairly disused) road, but it was in fact an allied airfield to provide all kinds of air coverage for the front line (which was not far away).



As we drove down this "road", a sense of history inexplicably swelled in all of us. Perhaps the ghosts of airmen past!

Shortly after, we were back on the dirt again, and before no time we drew to a halt, to a most unexpected and amazing scene! This site has been known to the locals ever since the war, but apparently 60 minutes hunted it out a few years back to do a doco on it. I haven't yet chased that story up and of course I would love to, but to our surprise, there, just off this beat up track was the crashed remains of a plane, remarkably intact for our viewing. At the time, it seemed awesome that such a site existed, but it was just the start of the Buna experience!







Wow ... and is still our first day! Any input as to the plane type or history, most welcome!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Leaving the wreck, we drove on to yet another surprise Roy had in store for us. The little touched village of Dobuduru. The welcome we received was absolutely wonderful. We were greeted by young men na meris dancing and beckoning us through the village to the gateway of the surprise for us.



The village chief welcomed us with a dance of confrontation and submission. We were aggressively confronted (at the end of a feathered spear), only to be beckoned further in with a show of submission. At a curtain of kunai grass forming an entrance, he was replaced by a bevy of young men, attractively clothed in tapa coth skirts and cloaks, dancing and beckoning us further down the track!



At yet another kunai grass curtain, we were welcomed by young meri dancers, who also offered us lai's and allowed us access to the village!



Following the lai gifting ceremony, we were then bestowed the final welcoming to the village ... a full dance by teenage meri's dressed wonderfully in tapa cloth shirts and cloaks. Truly an impressive welcome!



The village were totally involved, from adults to pikininni's dressed in the most stunning tapa cloth outfits, headdress, kina shells, beads and face paints. I was absolutely amazed that this display was just for us ... just 8 of us! A whole village done up in the most wonderful dress, just for us! How humbling, how beautiful, how ... well, PNG!

 

[LadyC]

Some wonderful photos and tales so far. A very unique TR and definitely looking forward to reading the rest of it.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

The surprise I mentioned previously, was one of history. I had previously been told that Roy wanted to take us to a war time hospital that had treated a US President. That perplexed me somewhat, and I had decided that the story had been overtaken by "Chinese Whispers". I had no knowledge, nor could I find any reports of even Douglas Macarthur being treated in PNG Northern Beaches, let alone the President. It was only after I was given a hand written "brochure" from the village chief that the penny dropped.

Written on this brochure, was the following text ... "we know the story about a war hero, an Australian soldier namely Mr George Wasington, who was wounded during the war" ... Ahh, the American President was Mr George Washington, albeit a little removed from his actual time zone! The true story was much more interesting however.

The person they were referring to was Mr George "Dick" Whittington, the blinded soldier who was famously photographed being helped to safety by Raphael Oimbari, not so much a medical man, but a labourer and "fuzzy wuzzy angel" by default, who had stumbled across Dick on a bush track, who had been blinded in his remaining good eye by a rifle shot (intriguingly, he had been previously blinded in the other eye by a gun shot when he was a kid) and had taken it upon himself to help this digger to safety. After bandaging his eyes, Raphael helped George along the track away from the danger that Buna then posed, when they were photographed by the celebrated war correspondent, George Silk, on the way to the Australian field hospital that finally treated him. That Australian field hospital was the very same field hospital we now viewed as rusting remains! Can you believe that! Arguably, the most celebrated photo of the PNG campaign was leaping to life right before our very eyes! The aid post that treated George Whittington! Amazingly, our future path with Mr Dick Whittington's story was destined to cross again!



George "Dick" Whittington being led to the Australian field hospital at Dobuduru (original wartime photo).




Kundu drummer and dancer, Dobuduru Village.




We were treated to a feast at Dobuduru Village, which included fresh (opened with bush knife whilst we held them) coconut "goblets" and they were full t0 the brim of the most delicious coconut water, bananas, yams, kau kau etc.




A Dobuduru house!

 

[drron]

Wow.Wish I could have made it but unfortunately my time for this had passed.

 

[tgh]

So the trip to Buna was so much more than I expected. Our local guides knew every inch of this territory and Roy had decided that just seeing Buna was not enough. He took us to some sites most Kokoda treks don't even know exist. It was a memorable day and in fact quite a moving day. We heard of the war, and its impact on the locals, from very first hand experiences. I guess many of the more established trekking companies focus on the Aussie experiences, but we got to hear the PNG experiences, which of course intertwined with the Aussie experience.

We were first introduced to this as we wheeled around from a juddering dirt road onto a tarmac! A tarmac that dated back to the war era. It's now used as a (fairly disused) road, but it was in fact an allied airfield to provide all kinds of air coverage for the front line (which was not far away).

View attachment 106247

As we drove down this "road", a sense of history inexplicably swelled in all of us. Perhaps the ghosts of airmen past!

Shortly after, we were back on the dirt again, and before no time we drew to a halt, to a most unexpected and amazing scene! This site has been known to the locals ever since the war, but apparently 60 minutes hunted it out a few years back to do a doco on it. I haven't yet chased that story up and of course I would love to, but to our surprise, there, just off this beat up track was the crashed remains of a plane, remarkably intact for our viewing. At the time, it seemed awesome that such a site existed, but it was just the start of the Buna experience!

View attachment 106248

View attachment 106249

View attachment 106250

Wow ... and is still our first day! Any input as to the plane type or history, most welcome!

I will take a punt on a B24 Liberator… wonderful piece of history , my father was in tpng with 77 squadron

 

[OZDUCK]

Really enjoying this. My father walked the trail carrying a Thompson Sub-Machine Gun in 1942.

 

[Major]

An amazing place. Great photos

 

[JohnM]

Great stuff! Aboard for the ride.

 

[QF WP]

Wow ... and is still our first day! Any input as to the plane type or history, most welcome!

So I'm not sure exactly which of these air strips you were on. I can find a number of references, but may take some time to dredge up the airplane data...

Pacific Wrecks
Pacific Wrecks

 

[Deleted member 29185]

So I'm not sure exactly which of these air strips you were on. I can find a number of references, but may take some time to dredge up the airplane data...

Great site. Thanks QF WP. I think the airfield in my photo was this one as it was bitumen and did have a parallel strip beside, was slightly west of Dobuduru (the spelling of the village owners as opposed to the web site), north of a river (but I'll have to check which one, and Girua was indeed to the south west. The plane wreckage would seem to be this one. It all seems to match the descriptions given but it is some way away from the runway, but I have no idea how extensive the taxiways were. Thanks very much for the input as it also references another airfield pic I'll add shortly, that being the Japanese Buna strip!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

After dropping off some educational packs to Dobuduru, we said our goodbyes and moved on to Buna. Our trusty truck transport was brought to a halt by flooded tracks about 5kms out from Buna, but we did know of this problem and had a "Troopy" with us since Girua. The 8 of us piled into the troopy for our next surprise ... a 4WD adventure through Buna swamps! An assortment of Buna Boys stayed on with the truck to guard our luggage and deliver it to us later that evening.

Upon arrival in Buna, we were once more greeted with much fanfare, singing and dancing along with the kunai curtains and lai ceremony.


We seemed to be quite the attraction with even the local councillor turning out to greet us!



Another incredible thing for us, was the fact the Buna clan actually built a gest haus, just for us! Four bedrooms, plus communal dining area and it was a truly awesome structure. Very well built and Lisa and I had the pleasant task of opening the new facility along with cutting the ribbon in front of all the dignitaries present!


Our beautiful guest house

 

[Deleted member 29185]

The following day was our "chill" day. We had brought educational packs for the school, birthing kits and medical supplies for the haus sic and obviously, we just wanted to experience Buna. What we thought was to be a chill out day, was actually quite busy!

After breakfast, we started with the local school. What an interesting place that was. Mod cons, with satellite TV (no power in the village so I assume also a generator as I didn't see any solar to speak of) and new(ish) buildings seemed to clash with history with the school yard littered with bomb craters, war era weaponry and even an aircraft engine, presumably left where it dropped as, you see, the Japanese Buna airfield is fairly close and it obviously sustained considerable attack.



Both of these photos are of the school yard! That rather large hole in the ground (pic above) is a bomb crater.



We did however, have the privilege of meeting the hard working school staff and were able to present the principle and teaching staff with sporting equipment and educational packs.



We then took to the beach, to wander down to the small medical centre. Along the way, we were joined by a number of locals and numerous kids. The overwhelming feeling in this place is of peace and serenity and it was a really enjoyable morning.



Traditional fishing canoes



Transporting timber (and kids) to the river mouth to go upriver for a new haus construction.





Our lot, along with some add ons, take over the sleepy Buna beachfront!

 

[love_the_life]

Really interesting to follow along on this trip Swanning_it though I am well past being able to manage the trail or the location. I can always live vicariously

 

[Deleted member 29185]

The Buna medical centre is small and poorly funded. We got the feeling the doctor probably does not get paid and just does what he can, so the birthing packs and medical supplies we donated appeared to be greatly appreciated.




Outside the clinic, was a memorial stone, with some text on it that I thought was so apt ... "may this friendship be everlasting". I can tell you that the people of Buna certainly live by those words. From the first greeting during the speech by the councillor, we were told that we were welcome anywhere in their beautiful village and no matter where we went, we were greeted by smiles and casual banter, just like we were old friends. It never once seemed forced, but always genuine. There is also a reason for this memorial to feature Dick and Raphael and once more our paths crossed!



Of course, you cannot go far in Buna without reminders of the war. I'm not entirely sure if there is anything else attached to this wing, or whether it was simply placed as a reminder of days which hopefully, will never be repeated.



On that note, it was decided to go for a little walk and visit the site of a Japanese anti-aircraft gun. On the way, we were shown many more bomb craters, bunkers, trenches and to our surprise, the site of the Japanese Buna airstrip (which is now basically a kunai grass field). I'm assuming the gun may have been responsible for at least some of the debris including the wreckage in the school grounds.



Here is the site of the Japanese airfield ... mostly kunai I'm afraid, but you can see bunker mounds rising up to the right of frame.



Unlike the more famous Kokoda gun site, this one actually has an aging 72mm gun!

We were then taken for our next surprise ... which required a photo stop!



Do you recognise it? Perhaps this will jog your memory ...



We'd just been led to the very spot, where 75 years earlier, "that" photo was taken. Talk about standing on hallowed ground. We were also shown some more. We were taken to the spot off this track, where Raphael actually found him lying.

 

[amaroo]

Terrific photos.

 

[QF WP]

Great site. Thanks QF WP. I think the airfield in my photo was this one as it was bitumen and did have a parallel strip beside, was slightly west of Dobuduru (the spelling of the village owners as opposed to the web site), north of a river (but I'll have to check which one, and Girua was indeed to the south west. The plane wreckage would seem to be this one. It all seems to match the descriptions given but it is some way away from the runway, but I have no idea how extensive the taxiways were. Thanks very much for the input as it also references another airfield pic I'll add shortly, that being the Japanese Buna strip!

Yes, sounds like you have the correct airfield and more than likely the wreck was of "Career Girl". Have you thought of forwarding your photos to the Pacific Wrecks website for uploading - I'm sure they would love to see people are still interested in them and to have updated photos.