Eora Creek, Kokoda

A short distance after Isurava was a rest house where the Aussie troops took a defensive position. Slightly to the south of the house was a sizable flat-topped rock, just big enough to lay down a soldier with his feet protruding, that is now referred to as Con’s Rock or Surgeon’s Rock. Under minimal light, it is on this rock that Medical Orderly Con Vapp performed an emergency amputation on an Aussie soldier. The wounded soldier’s name and if he survived remains unknown. Many wounded soldiers had to travel over 44mi (70km) under their own strength to get medical assistance in Port Moresby. The seriously wounded were moved by local native carriers. It would take eight carriers to carry one soldier the full distance.

Above the rock was a plaque dedicated to the memory of Butch Bissett who died in the arms of his brother Stan Bissett. Butch was handing out grenades to his unit when he was shot. Stan was an intelligence officer and survived the war. Nearby was a neatly piled collection of rusty live ammunition - hand grenades and mortars – along with helmets, water flasks and a coil of signal wire. The ‘Do not touch’ advice from the guides seemed rightfully good advice.

The terrain was undulating with vines spreading through the jungle like a rug, followed by several steep uphill motions until I reached a small waterfall and crossed one of the many log bridges. The route was riddled with protruding roots; surefootedness was necessary and using hiking poles helped keep my balance. I came out into a clearing and reached the village of Alola.

Continuing on, the track descended for about 656ft (200m) where I crossed a creek over a beautifully arched sapling and vine bridge, then the ascent began again before it levelled out a bit all the way to Eora Creek. The log crossing here was 62ft (19m) long and somewhat precarious as the Eora is a raging river all year round. Log bridges often get washed away over winter and the locals have to rebuild them each year before the trekking season commences.

A small bronze plaque sat in a clearing describing the two battles fought here. In early September, over two days the retreating Australians successfully defended their position, allowing them sufficient time to fall back towards Port Moresby. Then in mid-October, the Japanese during their retreat dug themselves a solid defensive position. From higher ground, nine artillery units rained fire onto the advancing Australian troops, resisting their frontal attacks. It would take the Australians six days to overcome the Japanese. Once the Japanese found themselves nearly encircled, they abandoned their location and retreated back to Oivi (north of Kokoda).