Not yet 5:30 and ready for breakfast!

All a bit bleary eyed.

Early morning mist fills the bottom of the valley.

... and it is off we go after the motivation chant.

A couple of kitchen porters make haste to catch up.

Up again - we always seem to be going up!

We reach the top of the climb.

Time to catch our breaths.

Mike, Andy, Luke, Rob, Deb, Peter, John and Chris - all still here and no significant injuries.

Mid morning and our briefing is due.

Gibson describes the campaign in this area.

This is my porter, Dick Tao.

This is the master map being used by Gibson and it shows our route and various stops.

Off and up again past a bonfire of tree cuttings in the jungle.

The large village we are passing is Naduri

After a very long descent we arrive at the river's edge where the cooks are preparing a hot lunch of ham and noodle rolls - delicious! I am at my lowest ebb here, the long downward stretch has hit me hard. Thank goodness for a long rest.

When we arrived there was no table but the cooking staff and porters constructed this rough table for our lunch in minutes.

Here we had our first rain while walking, a long very heavy shower lasting for about an hour - we got soaked through, but we delighted in the refreshing coolness of it all.

After perhaps the most difficult ascent so far up an almost vertical slope of mud and rocks we take a breather and enjoy the rain.

Eventually we arrive at Launumu village where we buy a cool coke from the vendors here.

John lags behind a little but with Tony's help keeps going, despite his debilitating stomach trouble.

After a brief stop we head off for Efogi, our next overnight stop.

Another river, another crossing.

I felt sorry for this gorgeous parrot confined in this small cage.

Our dormitory for the night, complete with mats on the floor and even scraps of cloth as curtains.

John feeling a bit under the weather this afternoon, catches up on some sleep after lunch

Some soft drinks and traditional home made bilum bags for sale in the village.

The village centre swept clear of vegitation

Near the accommodation was this small museum holding various relics found in the bush and some donated to the village.

Luke has discovered some interesting photos.