Day 7 Tuesday 24 April, Brigade Hill to Menari - I had a hissy fit

Today we have a really short day. Its the 24th April, tomorrow is Anzac Day. We are having a Dawn Service at a village called Menari.  We are also meeting Team 3 today for the first time, they are travelling from the other direction.

I loved this place, Brigade Hill, I'll be sad to leave. The kids in the village were singing at 3 am. It was great. This whole country sings, and does it well.  The kids get me every time, their happiness, their shyness and contentedness. They remind me of my own children, who's faces at the moment I can't even seem to remember clearly.  Weird I  know.  

I forgot to mention in the last post, my thongs (and I mean flip flops and not undies for any yanks reading this) broke last night. This is a real bummer, it's not like I have heaps of spare shoes here. I never normally wear shoes but you need them to wear around camp protect your feet from hookworms.

We leave Brigade Hill early and have a steep two hour descent then a one hour climb into Menari.  

I am partnered with Brad today, we get on pretty well. I had a pee stop this morning, sprinted off into the bush, came back out to faithfully waiting Brad, packed up and kept walking. About 3 minutes later I realised I left my walking pole behind at the tree I had peed near. So I sprinted back, ran off into the bush again and found it. On the way back to the track I got attacked by some type of man eating vine (yes attacked, there's no way I walked into it) and slashed the back of my leg.  Blood the lot, but not bad. Will definitely scar a little.  So I got a point against my name in the book for being forgetful and so did Brad for not looking after me. Woops. I have racked up a few now.

One of the butterflies I saw by the creek,
 there were so many of them

On the climb up to Menarie we find another beautiful creek. Team one are still there having a break.

Bath time again.  I grab my wilderness wash, which is unscented and suddenly have a girly moment and want to smell something nice.  Unbelievably, Kerri has lavender oil!  So I put a few drops in my wash. Nice. I head to the water.

Team 1 are now leaving and getting out, I'm getting in.  And there before me is a disturbing sight. On the top of a rock in the middle of a pristine creek is an empty (and fresh) muesli bar wrapper.  So, me being the rubbish queen that I am, calmly asks everyone who left it there?  No takers, no one owns up. Im getting angry. I don't care who it is as long as they pick it up and take it with them. I ask again.  No answers. 

Anyway (it's rumoured) this is about the time I have what can be described as a small hissy fit. Doesn't happen very often but it did, in front of my whole team.  Joey the Sheriff was so good about it, I mean nobody had spat the dummy like that yet and he didn't even give me the dummy award.  

Me and the best bath on the planet. Obviously Whiteleg to my right hadn't yet realised my level of nakedness, he left shortly after.  Absolutely hilarious. I love Tanya and Sue's faces in this pic. Tanya reckons I was enjoying it a little too much.

I got rid of the rubbish. Then took a wash.  This bath was awesome, I even smelt nice after and not like a rank wet cat like I had been.  I am pretty sure that Whiteleg almost went blind, I decided to take half my clothes off, when he realised what I was doing he quickly moved himself.  Tanya and Sue were cracking up laughing, Tanya trying to shield me with a very small Australian flag, lucky I'm little. It was sooooo funny, I still laugh thinking back.

After a wash and something to eat we finished the walk to Menari just before lunch.  It was still a bit of a climb and I was almost dry by the time we got there.

Coming in

There is an airstrip at Menari. If you can call it that. About half an hour after we arrived a plane landed.  Holy cow this was perhaps one of the scariest things I have ever seen.  A small plane coming down the side of a mountain and hurtling down a tiny grass airstrip. At the end of the airstrip was a bunch of kids sitting right in the path of the plane.  I was standing next the the Adventure Professionals boss Glenn watching all of this unfold. 

Landing, note the kids at the end of the runway

Glenn is a 42 time Kokoda veteran so he's seen it all before. Me, no. As the plane landed and was charging towards the kids, I may have let the F word fly rather loudly.  Glenn was in hysterics. I was running to save the kids or do something. Everything was fine obviously I was just getting a bit maternal. The take off was almost as bad.

The plane was carrying ration packs (yeehaaaaaa), Andrew the bugler and Piper Joe the bagpiper for the service tomorrow.

The rest of the day we had free, it was almost like a holiday.  Kerri and I walked to market up the hill and bought fresh fruit, I also bought a bilam and carried all the produce back on my head just like a local. I love this place. Joey and Blake went hunting with a couple of the porters.  They didn't catch anything despite the porters efforts at tree lopping to find bird of paradise eggs. Joey stopped them thank goodness.  

Later the afternoon Sam and I decided to do some karate. We found a quiet spot away from everyone (so we thought) near the school, even took our shoes off!! Sam at a 3rd Dan Black Belt is a few belts higher than me so he was boss, even on Kokoda and with no belts in sight.  Sam taught me a kata, which is basically a choreographed series of martial arts movements. The kata we did was a very beautiful one, with lots of breathing, standing on one leg and hands in the air with fingers in exact positions.  It hit me after a few minutes  how amazing it was that Sam and I were performing a Japanese martial art in the very place where our Aussie soldiers had so brutally fought the Japanese.  Another epiphany about acceptance.

I was really embarrassed to see a whole bunch of villagers watching us when we turned around to leave. Anyway, I have practiced it often since I have been home.

After dinner we had a little surprise.  The kids from the local school gave an impromptu performance to raise money for their school. It was so awesome.  Everyone can sing here it's really unbelievable. 

Menarie school kids giving an impromptu performance

Bed time again.  I fell asleep fast and had been asleep for what seemed like forever when I woke up to flashing torchlights and voices.  I think I already said I don't wear a watch. I had no idea what time it was but it was obviously morning with all the racket going on, we were getting up at 4.30 for the dawn service.  So I got up and headed towards the fire where Kat from my team and Paul from Team 3 were sitting.  Paul looks at me perplexed, 'Hey Jen, what are you doing?' me, fully awake, pumped, ready to go told Kat and Paul that, well I was pumped and ready to go.  Paul and Kat nearly fell over laughing, then Paul said, 'Jen, sweetheart, it's 2200 go back to bed'. Oh OK. I did, but I did not sleep very well. It had also started to rain.