David Moffatt » The Lost Battlefield

We made it!

David Moffatt — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 08:32:17 +0000

A safe end to an epic journey today. The team arrived at Kokoda having completed the track in two and half days flat! The team traversed the thirty thousand feet of climb at a solid pace camping at Brown River and Templetons before decending to Alola Village and the war memorial at Isurava.

Tonight we will camp at the guest house of the mayor of Kokoda before returning to Australia on Monday. We would like to thank all who have supported the Journey to the Lost Battlefield of Kokoda. Please consider making a donation to the trust by clicking here.

Neil Mitchell radio interview with David for 3AW

David Moffatt — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:39:51 +0000

3AW radio broadcaster Neil Mitchell talks to David Moffatt about the discovery of The Lost Battlefield of Kokoda and the efforts to raise funds for ‘The Lost Battlefield’ Trust.

Owers’ Corner

David Moffatt — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:25:14 +0000

Even a transit day can be an adventure as we made our way from Daru to Port Moresby. A routine banana boat trip to Daru quickly evolved into a three hour sea epic with battering winds and high seas!

Collecting our kayaks (having been dispatched by sea ferry to Cairns) we navigated coastal waters to our customs clearance point in Daru just in time for our scheduled flight. Only to spend the next six hours in a shed waiting for a delayed flight! We did manage to pass the time with some contests, bets and quiz games.

Last night was spent at Owers’ Corner ahead of our pre-dawn start on the Kokoda track. We aim to reach Kokoda early afternoon on Sunday.

See all the action!

David Moffatt — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:21:14 +0000

More footage of the kayak leg. There is also plenty of action shots of the kayak leg via this album.

Landfall on Daru

David Moffatt — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:31:28 +0000

The team have made landfall on Daru, the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The completion of the second leg in two nights and nearly three days has been an amazing feat. Shaking off our sea legs the next stop is Port Moresby, thankfully by plane!

Let the kayaking begin!

David Moffatt — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:08:41 +0000

Exclusive action footage of the adventure taken from camera phone.

Suarji Atoll to Gabba Island

David Moffatt — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:48:44 +0000

Today we will set a bearing of 13 degrees from Suarji Atoll to Gabba island, a distance of approx. 45km. While the distance would not normally present too much problem to us the strong, predominantly South Easterly winds, with strong Easterly gusts, will test us. The sea conditions are approx. 1.2 to 1.5m, confusion and whitecaps abound. We have had to construct a makeshift hatch cover on David and Chris’ boat having lost the original in last nights high winds.

Repair and reflect

David Moffatt — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:45:31 +0000

After a very windy night on the coral atoll of Suarji were have taken the morning to repair boats, record thoughts and reflections on the journey so far and even get in a little “beach” football. We are all well pleased with yesterday (reflecting on it on a warm public holiday morning!!). More than 65km of open ocean paddling with seas to 2 metres and very confused, high winds gusting to 30 knots. Chris and David “practiced” capsizing and re-righting their boat about an hour and a half into what turned out to be 8 hours on the open water. In a high wind and confused sea this uses a lot of energy however as testament to our fitness, and a bit of mental toughness honed on our bike leg, we finished the day strongly.

Setting the course

David Moffatt — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:09:25 +0000

John setting waypoints for Day 1 of the paddle – this is detailed, close work requiring a high degree of accuracy – unfortunately John’s glasses got burnt in the trailer fire so special thanks to Lindsay because without glasses we are worried he might plot a course to New Zealand!

First day of paddling

David Moffatt — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:51:46 +0000

After 880km and 38 and a half hours riding on mountain bikes, today we get a taste for fast tides and high winds. It blew 25 plus all evening so we will be tested in seeking to get 65km of paddling behind us today. At least after our trailer fire we are not carrying any excess weight!

We rely on the Bureau of Meterology for our wind, tide and weather outlook. This mornings forecast, for our first long paddle day is testing (and hopefully favourable). Testing in that seas will be 1.2 to 1.7 metres with swells to 2.0 metres and winds to 30 knots. Favourable in that the winds are South Easterly. With a northward journey our challenge will be avoiding drifting too far west!