On Day Three, we climbed through to Aloa village and on to the Isurava battle site, where the Japanese advance was halted in August,1942.

It is a place of importance in Australia history.For four days the 39th and the 2/14 Battalions held the Japanese forces before being overwhelmed.

It was there that the trek patron George Palmer,formerly of the Rotary Club of Mitchelton,Qld., fought as a 21-year- old in the 39th Battalion.

In July,2004,our group had raised funds to send George and his wife Josie to Isurava, to meet with Terry Parer, formerly of the Rotary Club of St.George, Qld., and his family as they trekked Kokoda to lay a plaque in memory of Damien Parer. George Palmer recalled his return to Isurava as:

‘‘It was much quieter than I remember it in 1942.’’

From Day Four we continued our climb, pausing at places of particular significance. Over Mount Bellamy and past Templeton’s Crossing we came to Tin Shed, an eerie and forlorn place,where yet another freezing river awaiting us for our evening bath. This was the highest point on our trek and while not especially cold it was good to climb into our sleeping bags that night.

On Day Seven at Naduli we met the most-photographed of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. This was a big day of climbing, then descending to climb again but by now we were all well and truly in the groove, and our group motivated each other while realising how soldiers of 1942 had to deal with conditions in far more stressful surroundings than we had.

On Day Eight we came to Brigade Hill, which holds a special,y et largely unknown, place in our history.We were fortunate to be there on August 27, the birthday of Stan Bissett of the 2/14, who fought at Isurava (where his brother Butch died) and at Brigade Hill. An extract from the diary of one of our team illustrates the depth of feeling and realisation we all felt that day:

‘ ‘Our trek leader conducted a short service in memory to the men who had fought and died at this spot (Brigade Hill)in defence of Australia in September, 1942.At the end of the service the whole group sang Advance Australia Fair .

This was one of the most moving experiences of my life. We stood together in this special place,a group of like-minded individuals,and were utterly overwhelmed by the emotion of the occasion. We thanked each other for being part of the experience and sat on the grass while the song We are One, but we are many, we are Australian was played.’’

As we moved off Brigade Hill, feeling emotionally drained by the experience, we came across a group of young Japanese students climbing up the slope. Our group was feeling a strong sense of place, emotion and distraction, yet this encounter brought home what the world is today, and was a stark reminder that people of all nations need to continue to learn the lessons of history.

We now walked down,down,down through to Menari village,where Brigadier Potts had withdrawn after the Battle of Brigade Hill. Menari also represented another link as we visited the school, which was built by Rotary.

The days that followed were ups and downs as we experienced a growing sense that we could climb and descend anything that the Kokoda Track could give us.

Our final night on the Kokoda Track was the only night we had rain. Each raindrop felt the size of a football,yet we had a wonderful night of fellowship and reluctantly went off to our tents, knowing that our journey was almost over. We just needed to conquer the trail from Imita Ridge to Owers Corner (the site of the Kokoda Memorial Arches) before returning to Port Moresby.

Two questions often come up when I give talks on our Kokoda project. I believe my response to these questions would be the same as any Rotarians ’ Kokoda Trek team member.