Rising at 2:00 am on our first morning to catch a 3:00 am bus to the airport is a tough way to start any journey – let’s face it you’re sleep deprived and groggy and so it was with this fog that I boarded the Ballarat bus with my mate Craig to begin our Kokoda adventure. Clearly I hadn’t picked up on the subtle yet interesting fact that on our expedition we had two different family groups on the bus that morning. Okay I come from a family of five siblings, and never would it have crossed my mind to undertake such a monumental trip with my real brothers or sister (no offense – we’re just aren’t that interested in the same stuff, or close enough given that I’ve lived out of Australia for so many years). That being said I truly consider Craig my brother so even a deep friendship can, in some ways be construed to be “family”….. Well, that’s not what I’m talking about here. Nope, we had a father and son and two brothers undertaking the adventure as part of our group.
There are some interesting anecdotes that I want to share about our father and son duo. It was the morning of day three and I was starting to feel good and therefore a little more talkative with those around me. As you walk you get to talking to the person either in front or behind as you can really only walk single file along the track. That morning I was fortunate to be walking behind Ron Verlin – father of the father and son duo. As we talked we discovered that we had attended the same country secondary school (Maryborough Technical College) - clearly quite a few years earlier than me though eh Ron? As well, he had worked for many years at Patience & Nicholson (P&N as its more commonly known in Maryborough) with one of my brother-in-laws (Graeme Palmer). As well, Ron had at one time been heavily involved with and past president of the Learmonth Football Club, which coincidently was another team in the league where I had played football as a kid. It was strange to think that our paths had likely crossed many times over the years prior to this trip but unbeknown to us. What a small world I thought particularly given that I was now living 10,000 miles away in Canada, yet our paths crossed again here in Papua New Guinea.
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| Ron and Aaron Verlin at one of the many creeks |
When I asked Ron about his motivation for the trip, it was about undertaking something very special with his son Aaron. Aaron now lives some distance away in Canberra (Australia’s political capital) with his family so they don’t get an opportunity to spend a lot of time together, especially quality time. Aaron wasn’t shy per see, although next to Ron even Dame Edna Everage would look quiet and reserved! With Aaron it was clear that the apple hadn’t fallen too far from the tree and he was a truly genuine and likeable bloke.
On our final morning, just before we started our hike Ron and Aaron had their backs to the group and were looking off into the jungle, they spoke a few quiet words to each other and in that moment of quiet reflection they put their arms around one another, oblivious to the world around them. They had made the journey of a lifetime and were about to conquer the Kokoda track together – what an accomplishment! Clearly this was a very special moment for them and one they equally cherished. It was at that moment that I felt the loss of my dad more than ever, knowing that I would never get the chance to do anything like this with him or to be with him again brought tears to my eyes. If only we’d had the chance I thought……but as I reflected on our relationship I realized that even if he were alive he wasn’t that kind of dad. Nope, he was a no-nonsense, non-emotional old fashioned gent who kept everything in check and he definitely wasn’t sort of dad that would head off on an adventure like this with his son. I thought how lucky Aaron was to have a dad like Ron.
I guess with such a large group (25 in all with guides); it is somewhat inevitable that we would be blessed with a set of brothers. Ben and Nathan Ryan reside in Ballarat where they operate a chain of eight family run supermarkets Ryan’s Supa IGA. During the expedition whenever I we had a break, even just a ten minute stop in the jungle I would inevitably see Ben perched on a stump with his pen and paper balancing on his sweaty knee constantly writing. I realized then that Ben was no ordinary Supermarket executive, but a serious and passionate writer, although none of us knew it at the time how talented he really was.
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| Nathan and Ben Ryan (far left) at Owers Corner we'd made it! |
A few days into the trip he confessed at tribal council that he had written a poem that day, and asked if we’d like to hear it. It was just any poem; it was a tour de force! He had included observations about each and every person in our group, and we were completely floored at the expert turn of phrase, his luminating insights and the hilarious observations that he’d woven together about each one of us. The cheers were long and loud with many a pat on the back and a “well done mate” echoing around the campfire. It was clear that Ben was a prolific and talented writer and indeed poet, what a wonderful surprise!
His brother Nathan, was the guy that everyone universally liked, including Mr. Ovuru Ndiki. (Mr. Ndiki is believed to be 106 years old and is considered a PNG National treasure - he is the oldest “fuzzy wuzzy” still alive from WWII. The “fuzzy wuzzy angels” as they were more commonly referred to by our troops helped the Australians carry wounded and supplies back and forth over the Owen Stanley’s during the long and arduous Kokoda campaign). We met Mr.Ndiki in the village of Nadoori one afternoon, and he took quite a shine to young Nathan. I like to think it was cos he’s a nice bloke, although I rather think his eyesight is failing and he may have thought Nathan to be a young lady with his long flowing locks…..hence Mr.Ndiki’s omnipresent smile throughout the visit.
Now Nathan was a tad forgetful at times which was evident in the fact, that he quite often, after a break would walk off without his poles, or put his pack on before we had the go ahead from Mudman or make a comment at tribal council when the fines were being doled out that made you think “no, he can’t be serious can he?” However, what made me smile most was his innate curiosity and sense of innocence with the world; it truly felt like he was looking at the world for the very first time each day. What can I tell you other than I was quite envious of his wonderfully positive disposition and frame of mind.
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