Day 3 - New Nauro Village to Menari Village

As usual we woke up with the dying rooster crow and as usual, since getting into camp yesterday (and through out the night) I had managed to get everything out of my pack whilst looking for things. I really must try to remember where I've put things (especially when I have so many dry packs), otherwise I'm destined to fully re-pack my bag every morning for the rest of the trip.

The good news was that I wasn't last to breakfast and I made sure that I had an extra helping to keep up my strength. Today was going to be interesting. Overall, I wasn't as sore as I felt on the first night when my legs were cramping, but my legs (and my body) just didn't feel like they had any strength or energy.

What was better news was that Gareth pulled through his episode and seemed to be on the heal so we were able to continue on as planned. Happy times!! The day must have shared my feelings as we had such a beautiful sunrise!! Here's a 360 degree pan of the village so you can see for yourselves. :)



It really was a beautiful morning as we set off down the muddy and slippery red clay slopes from New Nauro Village and continued our descent from Maguli Range.



Today we were going to experience something completely different. Mud!! Well it was different than the mud we were used to. It was the mud in the swamps that lay at the bottom of Maguli Range and in between it and Agulogo.

We were lucky, the mud wasn't as deep and thick as it could have been if it were raining more, but regardless, there was plenty of it. The plod through the swamp was a slow pace as the mud, usually at least boot high stuck to your foot like glue not wanting to let go. Each step making a sloppy suction noise.

There were vast seas of just mud that we were trying to navigate through and it really was a maze trying to find a path that was the least muddy or at least less likely to have your leg disappear into. Sometimes we went a little to the side through some more jungle foliage to avoid mud. Sometimes we tried to stick near little islands with denser foliage dotted throughout through out the mud to try and make our path easier. Sometimes we tried to step on branches or roots so our feet did not sink into the brown gluey stench. All of the time, no matter which way you went there is was, waiting to embrace you, never wanting to let you go!

Here's what some of the trekking was like in the muddy swamp. You can hear the mud sticking to my feet with each step as we try and navigate a way through. This area of mud was quite small to most of the places we were trying to get through with other areas at least 4 times the size.



Although both sides generally avoided this area during the fighting, it was used for some aerial drops or biscuit bombing.

Out of the first part of the swamp and there's the Brown River to cross, so off come the boots and on go the sandals. I give my boots a quick clean in the water - don't ask my why (as they were just going to get muddy again on the other side). I think it was just to make me feel a little bit better that my boots were a little clean, even if it were just for the shortest of times. It's funny how your mind starts to work under the circumstances you are in and I can only imagine the impact the conditions and fighting had on the minds of the surviving troops on both sides.

Here's everyone getting prepared to cross the river as the porters setup a rope crossing across the water.



Once the rope was in place a few of the porters were having a blast in the water on the other side. Screaming and Jumping in the water, letting the current sweep them away and back down to the rope where they could grab on, climb out and do it all again. A little rest and relaxation after a few days hard trekking.



As you would expect my boots did get muddy again, but thankfully it didn't seem like this section of the swamp was as bad and it wasn't long before we popped out at Agulogo where we were supposed to have lunch for the day.

As I get into camp the tents are already started being laid out to dry (a common occurrence when ever there was a chance as we packed up in the morning when they were still wet from either dew or rain).



With such a beautiful day and only a few more hours to our destination of Menari Village we opted for a quick morning tea rather than a full blown lunch. It was going to be a tough trek up The Wall, but the excitement of getting into camp earlier and in daylight whilst sunny was too enticing. Maybe we would have an opportunity to wash some clothes and have them dry? maybe we could have a look around the village? or maybe we could just relax and enjoy some sunshine?

For me personally I have been wearing the same clothes, shorts, shirt, underwear and socks since the start of the trek. Of course I have been washing them each day when we get into camp, but they never dry (like your boots) and you are always putting on damp wet clothes each morning. Really, I'm just used to it, everything simply gets muddy, sweaty and wet anyway, so I just haven't been bothered changing them.

Out of camp we have a water crossing. It doesn't look to bad, but those logs are pretty wobbly and the mud makes it slippery. The rope is only there to help you balance a bit and it provides no support, so if you're not paying attention you can easily go in the drink.



The trek up the incline of the wall was some of the steepest on the track, but I was determined to get into camp. For probably the first time on the trek I was in the zone and really ground away at the track - keeping up with the front runners in our group.

At the top of The Wall there was a brief respite where we could take in the beautiful views. It really was amazing. The first photo is a picture of me up the top of The Wall. The second photo is a zoom in shot (just about to the right of my head) and you can see some little buildings. Those little buildings are New Nauro Village and we'd come all the way from there today in trekking.



Generally it was a descent down to Menari Village, but there were still some inclines as the track curved around the contours of the mountain. You can see below, we were on some narrow paths which fell off to the side with very slippery mud. One wrong step and you could easily go over.



Read more about Menari

Finally we made camp and I was practically running the last part of the journey, driven on by the goal of getting into camp early. It was still light when we arrived as well as dry and sunny, but those clouds were looking ominous. We walked all the way through the main village to the other side where there was room for us to setup camp.



Along the way we passed some locals with stalls setup selling wares. Local craft such as bilums (bags) and hats, as well as food and drink. Anything from local produce (bananas and avocados etc..) to local manufactured goods (coke and twisties). Hopefully I'd have some time to get back and have a look at some of the craft after settling into camp.

It was great to get into camp early and I set about taking advantage of it! I washed my clothes, had a shower (in a "shower" - a hose with running water) and cleaned my boots (for the second time today - what was wrong with me?)

All settled in, I actually had time for a quick nap, then headed back through the village to check out the stalls. I picked up a nice little netted billum and maybe, dare I say it - a coke. That was the good news. The bad news was, it didn't take long (and even before some of our group finished coming into camp) and it started to rain. Yes I was washed, fresh and even a little relaxed, but the dream of having dry clothes and dry boots for the next day trekking quickly fading into a distant memory.

Regardless, we still had time to unwind and enjoy the time off our feet. There was plenty of shelter where we could keep dry and in general recover from the last few days of hard trekking. We had a nice little shack setup and a few of the local kids came and visited, starting a fire for us - which they loved, as did we!



Once the fire was going most of us tried to move our wet clothes to under the shelter where the fire was, but it was still quite cool and only a few clothes dried (if any) with most still being damp. I suppose it depended on how close you wanted to move your clothes to the flames without them catching on fire themselves. One quite nice side effect, even with damp clothes was that the clothes smelt smoky rather than sweaty (believe me that's a good thing).

Some people even took the chance of putting their boots close to the fire, something most of us had been warned about because the heat can melt the glue used in present day manufacturing and cause the sole to come away from the boot. On a side note, one of the trekkers from the other team did have this problem, although not fire and/or heat related and Gareth told us what an amazing job some of the natives can do in re-attaching them by sewing them back together with fishing line. In some instances, the job resulted in an even sturdier product than first manufactured.

To visit and also stay at Menari Village was an amazing experience. It was a bigger village and the locals were very friendly and welcoming. In fact, to raise money for their 100 years as a village celebration later in the year, later in the night after dinner the whole village came and congregated at our shelter to give us all a sing song.

They have the most beautiful voices (that you can hear even when they speak) and I would like to share some of the songs. Apologies about the visibility, it was dark by then, but it did not affect their infectious happiness and warming songs.









Having enjoyed our time relaxing and listening to such a wonderful performance it is time to go to bed. In comparison, tomorrow is one of the shortest days we have trekking, but it is the one of the most important as it is to Brigade Hill where we will be spending ANZAC day.

Here's the trekking we did for the day