Experience Intense Fighting in the Kokoda Track Campaign
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As we move further along the coast we come across Japanese Deboyne Island tunnels in the side of the hills that used to hide landing barges. Further around the corner we get up close and personal with Flight 30 mins the sleeping Vulcan Volcano, and from here you can see across the Simpson Harbour to the not-so-sleepy Tavurvur Volcano. The Deboyne Islands are a group of reefs and islands to the north It’s hard to look away from the spectacle of Tavurvur, but once of the Louisiade Archipelago and include Panaeati, Panapompom, we are flying over Rabaul, you will find this ghostly town sad Brooker and Ware Islands. During World War II, the islands were but intriguing. It was once regarded as the most beautiful used as a seaplane outpost by the Imperial Japanese Navy. This harbour in the Pacific, but now rooftops protrude out of the flight takes us over the Redlick Islets, Panapompom, Torlesse, and ash laden ground, and a break in the trees reveals where the Panaeati Islands. You will see an outer fringing reef encompassing airport used to be. As we draw closer to Tavurvur, the feeling many shallow lagoons, and islands that rise up a couple of thousand of immense power is overwhelming. Watch the volcano huffing metres from the seafloor. These islands are a truly awesome and puffing massive clouds of ash into the air accompanied by spectacle from above. the occasional boulder. The vantage point from the helicopter is guaranteed to leave you gobsmacked! After a great view of the beast we head across the Bismarck Sea and return to the Panasia Island Adventures in stunning Duke of York Islands. Flight 30 mins paradise Kokoda Scenic Flight & Ground Tour Part of the Calvados Chain, Panasia Island is an absolute treasure Flight time 2 hours, ground time 1 hour of the Louisiade Archipelago. It is a rugged limestone island with white sandy beaches perched amongst a scattering of This flight takes us to the site of the Isurava Memorial which was constructed in 2002 in remembrance of all the Australians and reef systems that are riddled with marine life. This flight takes Papua New Guineans who fought, and those who died on the us along a stunning part of the Calvados Chain that features an Kokoda Track in 1942. intricate reef system with deep winding channels interspersed with a scattering of islands such as Gulowa and Motorina. This We begin our journey today from Tufi, located at the end of part of the Calvados Chain is a must see from the air. a deep channelled fjord created by the now extinct volcano Mt Trafalgar. Heading northwest we fly over numerous fjords before reaching Dyke Ackland Bay. Following the coast we Misima Island see an assortment of villages situated on the beach, riverbank Flight 45 mins and some even built on stilts in the swamplands. Growing ever larger in front of us is Mt Lamington which erupted in 1951 and Misima (formerly called St. Aignan) is a volcanic island in the caused the deaths of over 3000 people. Some were killed by northwest of the Louisiade Archipelago. The island measures the blast as far away as Higaturu, over 14km from Mt Lamington. 40km by 10km, and is mountainous and densely forested. Mount Passing Mt Lamington we follow the foothills of the Owen enhance your Koia Tau, at a height of 1036m, is the highest peak of the Louisiade Stanley Range, leading us to the town of Kokoda, and then up Archipelago. With a population of 5000, Misima is the most the track to Isurava where we land to spend some time at the Isurava Memorial. Isurava was the site of some of the most heavily populated island in the archipelago. A gold and silver mine was opened on the island in 1990 and officially closed in experience intense fighting in the Kokoda track campaign. The memorial is immediately adjacent to where Private Bruce Kingsbury 2004. The mine was a joint venture by Placer Dome Inc (owning performed an act of valour for which he was posthumously 80%) and the state-owned Orogen Minerals Ltd. The main town awarded the Victoria Cross. The memorial features four of the island and the seat of the district is Bwagaoia, located on Australian black granite pillars that are each inscribed with the southeast corner of the island. a single word- “courage”, “mateship”, “endurance” and “sacrifice”. This represents the unique values and qualities of Why not join your Heli pilot on a circumnavigation of the island? Australian soldiers who fought along the Kokoda track. Rising sharply from the Coral Sea, you will see Misima Island appearing like a knife edge and villages clinging precariously on The time spent at Isurava is very moving and incredibly the verge of the island before it disappears into the ocean. Flying rewarding for all. The local people of Isurava maintain over the only flat piece of land on Misima, we view the town the memorial beautifully and have also built a small thatch museum in the jungle showcasing assorted weapons used of Bwagaoia, where it seems most people are found scurrying in the battle. Take the opportunity to walk along the Kokoda around the markets. In the hills above we see the signs of the Track (not compulsory) without any of the burdens of life at old mine, now manmade lakes filled with the monsoonal rains. war. Imagine carrying a rifle, pack, or ammunition. Imagine Home along the northern side of the island and waterfalls are on suffering from the effects of malnutrition, dysentery, and the menu before we find the True North nestled in Ebora Bay. malaria. Imagine pouring rain or the constant fear of being killed. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. Back in the helicopter and down the mountain we head for the coast around Buna, a site of some very fierce fighting during WWII. Back along the coast we stop to look at a fighter plane which came to grief during the war. Finally back to Tufi and the stunning surrounding fjords of Cape Nelson. The weather can be very changeable in the Owen Stanley Ranges so ground time may be cut short at Isurava. Making it all the way to Isurava is also sometimes impossible and so if this destination is not reached, the flight price will be reduced to reflect time spent in the air. [email protected] they see our hands waving from the window and our smiling ADVENTURES faces looking down. This international hand signal brings them out of their houses and the jungle to wave and smile back at us. IN PARADISE The contrast of the mountain people’s lives compared to that of Direct from the deck of True North the coastal people is striking and interesting. Higher and higher into the mountains we fly until the clouds New Hanover Fergusson Island Scenic Flight are so thick we can go no further! Here we pick up the head Flight time 1 hour waters of the Bergberg River, and follow her amazing descent to the ocean and back along the coast. This time the children Our flight begins at Sebutuia Bay on the eastern side of are ready and waiting to greet us and try to match our speed, Fergusson Island. It is the largest island of the D’Entrecasteaux running along with us as we fly back towards Jacquinot Bay and Islands, covering some 1437 sq km, and consists mostly of the True North. This flight is a truly wonderful exploration of mountains covered in lush rainforest vegetation. This island the stunning New Britain coast and high country and the people is also home to the crater of an extinct volcano, and from the who call it home. air you will see vegetable gardens that locals have planted at the base of this seemingly impenetrable monster. New Hanover Scenic Flight Flight time 30 minutes Heading southwest we pass over the coastal village of Salomo, and then looking south across Dawson Straight we spy Normanby Island. It is the second largest and most New Hanover Island, also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic southern in the D’Entrecasteaux group, covering an area island in the New Ireland Province, part of the Bismarck of 1000sq km and rising up to 1158m in the Prevost Range. Archipelago. Measuring some 1190sq km in size, it had a Rabaul population of approximately 17160 people in the year 2000. Volcano From the ocean we follow the Salomo River high into the mountains, then across the range to Lake Lavu, then further New Hanover Island is a stunning spectacle from the air, fringed along we come to Lamalele. Here the smell of sulphur is thick by coral reefs, shallow lagoons and numerous smaller islands. in the air as the earth spews up the gas from deep below. Depending on the water clarity we may spy a ship wreck laying Tracking along the coast past Tumagabuna Bay and Kalo in the shallows, courtesy of many WWII battles in the area. This New flight takes us on a semi circle trek of the island following the Britan Kalo Mission on the north western tip of Fergusson Island, we cross Warrego Passage to Bolu Bolu Mission on the shores lagoons, islands and reef systems that surround Lavongai as of Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea. Goodenough well as crossing the middle of the island to explore the inner played host to a bloody battle between Japanese and reaches of this northern paradise. Australian soldiers in October of 1942.