Unlike facilitating trekking tours, the Village Stay component of our trip was still a very new thing for our guiding company. Adventure Out is currently in the early stages of setting up a partner company that will help boost the economy in Papua New Guinea, and empower Papuan women to start up and run their own businesses.

Adventure Out offers the village stay as an extension program after walking the Kokoda Track. However, it is also an option for those that may not want to (or may not be able to) walk the track. This allows people to still share in the incredible experiences this country has to offer.

Vicki, Kendal and I were (for lack of a better word) the test-dummy clients, asked to offer opinion and suggestion on how to help build the project towards a large and prosperous future.

After leaving the end of the track in the rear view mirror, our stop was a bottle shop where we bought a couple of beers to share in celebration. We were then driven to The Plantation, home to Johnkay’s family, and the first of our four villages .

Located in Kokoda, not far from the end of the track, we arrived to the warm welcoming presence of the villagers. We met Johnkay’s bubbly wife Jocelyn and their three beautiful kids, along with many other smiling family members. It didn’t take long to settle in.

As soon as seemed appropriate, we went for a refreshing dip in the creek that ran through the village. It was amazing! We washed our bodies of all the sweat and dirt that had accumulated over our time on the track.

While we did this, our hard working porters set up our tents for the night and locals gathered wooden poles and a tarp, and used it to set up a little change-room for us! I found this extremely considerate.

I couldn’t tell you how long we sat in that water for but it was revitalising. For the last 9 days we’d been wearing the same two pairs of clothes, our walking clothes and our dry, night time clothes. So when we eventually got out, it was the best feeling to be able to change into some FRESH CLOTHES!

Dinner was served soon after we had changed. The spread Jocelyn and her family had whipped up was incredible. It could’ve fed the whole village! We ate until our stomachs were way too full, then the locals had a share in anything that was left, in addition to their own dinner.

After dinner we all sat together and spoke for a little while before we climbed into our tents. We slept in these because the guest house was still in the process of being built.

The following morning we gifted Johnkay and Jocelyn with small tokens of appreciation for hosting us, before we loaded into the PMV (Private Motor Vehicle) and waved goodbye to everyone at the Plantation.

We stopped briefly at Ilimo Village to use the toilet, stretch our legs and met Michael, brother of our driver, Murray. Michael kindly gave us a pineapple to share later. We thanked him and put it in the back of the car.

Terry showed us a plant while we waited, which I believe was called mimosa pudica. Its leaves fold inwards, close and droop instantly when touched and after some time they’ll re-open. It’s regarded as an invasive plant or weed most places it now grows, however I still managed to find it pretty entertaining.

After Ilimo, we stopped in Popondetta to have some lunch. We wanted to buy a few more little things that we could later donate to the schools, like colouring pencils and erasers, and I was on a desperate hunt for chocolate but was unsuccessful in finding any.

The weather then took a threatening turn. The wind blew stronger, the rain belted down, branches and trees were falling all around us. It was pretty wild! We gathered everyone amidst the commotion and continued on our way.

The roads in Papua New Guinea are pretty bumpy, and sitting in the back of a PMV with 9 other people meant you had to squish up. As we drove, Kendal and I were sitting opposite each other and simultaneously felt something spiky touch our legs. The pineapple we had been gifted had fallen between us, lightly brushing our legs on the way down.

We looked at each other in absolute shock before we’d realised what it was, then burst with laughter. I said “I thought that was your leg touching mine! I was about to say I know we haven’t been able to shave in a while but holy sh*t!” We cried of laughter.

After Kokoda Village we switched back and forth between villages; Buna, Sanananda, back to Buna, Ilimo and Buna once again.

Buna Village was somewhat the base we’d always come back to between locations. One reason for this was that most of our porters lived in Buna with their young families.It was also home to our guide, Terry’s family. Although every one of these places holds a different place in my heart.

Located on the coast of Papua New Guinea, consisting of two parts, Buna Village is the home to roughly 800 people. The original village was rebuilt after being destroyed during the war, known today as old Buna. What is now commonly known as Buna, developed post the war to accommodate the growing population, and is located slightly south of the original village.

We arrived in Buna to a unique, traditional experience as we were welcomed by the locals with cultural song and dance. It was so special and beyond memorable as they led us through the village to the beach. Every person involved was wearing traditional clothing and it was amazing to see a wide range of ages involved.

After the initial excitement, the rest of our time spent here was all about relaxing and enjoying the village lifestyle. Two lovely young ladies led us around the village and showed us their school, the museum and the new medical facilities.

The children were never too shy to come and play. We taught them some games and they never failed to entertain us. They asked if we wanted to see them climb the coconut trees, of course we said yes.

Without missing a beat, several kids were high up in the trees kicking coconuts out. The kids showed us how they husk their coconuts, using a stick buried in the ground, then swiftly cut them open for us to drink.

The weather could not have been more perfect during our stay. Whenever we got too warm we’d take a refreshing dip in the ocean, always accompanied by lots of little humans. It was grounding to see how much joy they took in such a simple activity.

Every couple of days the surrounding villages will come together and hold a market where they would sell all kinds of local produce. The ladies of Buna village also love any opportunity to sell their handmade bags and jewellery.

Another way to put some money into the village was to have the local women clean all our trekking gear. They wash everything, and they do a great job! It gave us more time to relax and enjoy the trip and it made getting all our gear back into Australia a piece of cake.

Life was slow in the village, it was simple and easy to settle into. We spent time teaching the kids how to play some games, and in return they took us out on handcrafted canoes and made sure we never got too lonely.

One of the unique activities in Buna includes a war time Buna History walk where Terry showed us what evidence remains from WWII. First was the craters left in the ground, at what is now the school, from the bombs dropped there.

Second, we were shown a large Japanese gun left there, we could still see where it had been shot. We saw remnants of the war planes and lastly, we were led to the final resting place of an Australian soldier whose remains were only discovered a few years back.

Among the things recovered were his gun and fragments of helmet/sheild. There was also a letter of appreciation from the family of the soldier and a medal.

One of my favourite moments of the entire trip was the journey from Buna to Sanananda. To get there we could have walked along the coast, instead we each jumped in a hand crafted canoe and were paddled upstream by Buna locals.

I was paired with a kid who was no more than 7 years old named Noah. He was adorable and I had a great time talking to him while we all paddled alongside one another.

It was so peaceful and I felt more calm as I had been in a long time. We listened to the birds, and the soft splashes of water as the paddle moved us along, and the trees gently rustling in the breeze.

We traveled by water until we came to the mouth of the river where we said goodbye to our ferrymen and walked the rest of the way to Sanananda, cleaning the beaches as we walked.

I can’t give Sanananda an in depth review, because our stay here got cut slightly short due to Terry and I becoming quite unwell. A lot of the two days we spent there I was flat on my back with intense abdominal pain. Terry was not well either so the decision was made to head back to Buna early. We knew the loving families of Buna would take great care of us.

It seemed to be a much more ‘touristy’ village than where we’d stayed previously. The people here were very used to having guests around. They hosted large markets where tourists could buy handcrafted items and they had organised to have live music on the night we were there. The voices of the band were soulful and a pleasure to listen to.

The village itself was beautiful, we had a cute little building that sat right on the water where we would come together for meals and to drink tea (we drank a lot of tea). The view over the water took my breath away, it was just stunning at every moment of the day.

On the day we arrived we ate amazing food, and had a beer with dinner, which went down way too easily. We played chasey with the kids until we were knackered then watched and listened to the bugs drill their way through the wooden structures.

Because Terry and I were in no state to walk back to Buna, our amazing Trek Leader, Basil, had a boat organised for us that took us on a very speedy, ridiculously bumpy and slightly scary drive back down the coast. It took a while to get the boat going but once we started it was full speed ahead.

We hit a wave so hard and fast at one stage, the seat I was holding onto lifted off the boat and we were all momentarily airborne. I was laughing so hard because it was thrilling and exciting, but I suppose a lot of that was nerves too. By the time we arrived we were all soaking wet, and thankful to be back on dry land.

This village holds a special place in my heart. I will always consider Buna as our PNG home, but this village really went out of their way to make sure we felt as at-home, comfortable and protected every second of the day.

Firstly, the cultural welcome into the village is something you have to experience to believe. It had me in tears. The whole village were out shouting “Oro” (Welcome) as the rest sang and danced, we made our way into the village. Once again the cultural dances and songs had me in awe!

The effort the village went to to decorate everything and have activities organised for us was incredible, they even had a programme! We were welcomed with an abundance of food, prepared by the whole village and with a prayer.

My host family was a lovely couple by the names of Julius and Lino, who had a beautiful little girl named Geminiahlee. I was introduced to every family member and shared stories about my own life in Australia. I also met a smart, young lady named Molissa.

We changed into bathers and went down to the beautiful clear river that runs from high up in the mountains through Ilimo. Vicki and I couldn’t help but splash each other, the local kids joined in and it became a splash war, and ended with high-fives all around.

There was a small cliff jump for the thrill seekers (like myself), but also steps to get down for the less tempted. The villagers were hesitant to let me jump because they were so protective of us… but I had to, I couldn’t resist.

The jump wasn’t the only exciting thing about this river. The locals love to float, swim and run about 1.4km downstream to where it meets another river. We were taken on a float adventure, and I could swear the whole village came with us. I tried to tell it as best I could in my journal:

This experience was unreal! We were floating down the river on tubes, each accompanied by a local swimming alongside us. How these men, women and kids were literally running through the rapids was beyond me. They held onto us, and would float with us in the deeper sections, all through fast moving water. Some parts were very shallow, my guide Eso, told me to keep my bum up but it was still hitting the bottom in some parts. A lot of the kids were floating with us on banana rafts (made from banana tree I guess) that were loosely held together and most came apart.

Kids were running and swimming ahead, scouting the area, warning us of rocks and obstacles to avoid. They’d be standing on the fallen trees, running along them and jumping off into the flow of the water. The rocks beneath us were so sharp their feet were cut up by the time we finished but that didn’t wipe the smiles off their faces. Everyone was so happy and excited and it was just an incredible experience we were able to share with the whole village!”

Just down the road all he surrounding villages would come together and host a food market. We said “Ifo Akari (Good morning)” to every person there, and we were given a few things at no cost, such as nuts and bananas, which was very sweet.

We made a visit to the school where the whole school was outside to greet us. Vicki said a few words on our behalf, then Kendal and I presented the principal with some small donations of rugby balls and stationary supplies.

Then we were taken on a tour around the school by one of the teachers as the kids were straight off with the new balls. It was so different to our schools but it was similar in many ways too. They make great use of what they have.

We made our way back to the village where the locals had set up a series of demonstrations. We learnt about traditional cooking methods, roof-making (very interesting and satisfying to watch), a traditional fire lighting method (which we had a go at, but didn’t do so well) and threading techniques used to make bags and other crafts.

Once again we were shown how they climb the coconut trees and husk the coconuts. The kid that demonstrated this was a bit of a show off, he climbed up with a knife the size of my lower arm in his mouth. On the way down he held on with only his hands, swinging both his feet in the air!

They demonstrated a few other tree climbs and how to chew buai (betel nut). At the last demonstration they sang and danced for us again which was always a pleasure.

I took our Buna-boy Vincie, for a small float in the tube because he had never done anything like it before, with my host Julius looking after all of us. Then we were all cold so we warmed up by playing games with the kids.

I taught them how to play camouflage, they taught me how to play the butterfly game. We played a few other games like cat and mouse, and duck duck goose, and Kendal and I taught them how to play Noughts and Crosses (Tic-Tac-Toe) with petals and sticks.

On the day we left Ilimo my goregous host family surprised me with a gift. It was a beautiful tapa handbag made from treated bark that had the Oro Province tribal print on it. I couldn’t believe their generosity. I said “Eh eh” meaning thank you. Julius had also written me a list of words to learn for when I came back.

It was time to say goodbye, we each thanked them for their hospitality and kindness and they cheered “Oro” 3 times for us. We shook hands and said farewell.

Each of these villages had their own impact on me and each hold their own special place in my heart, especially Buna and Ilimo. If you’d have asked me at the beginning of 2019 where I was going to travel that year, I wouldn’t say Papua New Guinea had crossed my mind.

Now… I think about it more often than not and I see myself going back and walking the track again as soon as possible! I found this post very difficult to write because there was always so much more that I wanted to include.

Since October 2019 we have all stayed in contact with our Buna boys, we’ve sent gifts over with Terry for each of the boys, their families and their villages. And I’ve had letter correspondence with Julius and Lino from Ilimo. The friendships we built will not end because the trip is over.

I owe this incredible opportunity to Terry Hewett at Adventure Out, who took a chance on me and planted the seed in my mind when I first met him. So thank you Terry.

I also want to thank Vicki and Kendal for being the greatest travel companions! The moment we met I felt as though I’d known you two forever and as I said in Part 1… I knew there was never going to be a dull moment.

Thank you to all our porters. Basil, our fearless leader, Desmond, Bowen, Vincie, Johnkay and Johnson. And thank you to every single person at The Plantation, Buna Village and Ilimo village for taking amazing care of us. You are all very special to me.

I left this country with more than I ever could have imagined. I left with a sense of achievement, feeling physically and mentally stonger. I left having grown as a person and having formed new friendships. And I left knowing I’d be coming back as soon as possible.

To finish, thank YOU if you read this whole thing! I hope I did this wonderful place some justice…