Reg's adventure guide to PNG a wonderful gift to trekkers
14 March 2017
KEITH JACKSON
The PNG Adventurous Training Guide 2017 by Reg Yates RFD, self published, Melbourne, February 2017. You can contact Reg Yates here
Download PNG Adventurous Training Guide by Reg Yates
RETIRED Australian Army Captain Reg Yates RFD, one of the most experienced trek leaders operating in Papua New Guinea, has produced a first-rate guide for people planning to walk through some of the most difficult and interesting country in PNG.
The 48-page guide is for experienced trekkers, familiar with walking in Papua New Guinea or who work with knowledgeable with PNG villagers, and for Australian Defence Force personnel.
It covers 14 land and water-borne expeditions which can be undertaken by small groups over periods of up to two weeks.
Reg has completed many treks since 1984, including leading adventure training for the Australian Defence Force and many expeditions with Sydney-based high schools.
He has walked just about all World War II routes in PNG including the Bulldog-Wau Army Road, the Wau-Salamaua Tracks, the Saruwaged Crossing, Shaggy Ridge, Rabaul-Tol Plantation and the Hindenburg Wall section of Karius & Champion’s epic 1928 patrol.
The guide also includes notes on trekking in Bougainville, Huon Peninsula, Rabaul-Bita Paka, Mt Wilhelm, Walindi Plantation, the Sepik River, white-water rafting on the Watut River and the Mt Victoria trek.
Bonus information includes Reg’s advice on recommended reading, maps and local contacts.
While the guide, available for free download from PNG Attitude, will be a continuing work in progress, it seems certain to fulfil its purpose of stimulating adventure and providing appropriate situational information to people thinking of tackling the fantastic treks that PNG has to offer.
“Individual trekkers must be absolutely clear about the activities for which they seek insurance, to cover personal injuries, emergency treatment and medical evacuation from remote areas back to Australia,” Reg says.
Reg frequently visited PNG between 1984 and 1998 and has continued as a trek leader since then.
He served for 36 years as a paramedic with the Melbourne Ambulance Service and has 30 years Army Reserve service, mostly as an Infantry Captain. In recent years he has worked as a paramedic on mining sites in PNG.
His catchphrases are the five Ps (‘Planning & Preparation Prevent Poor Performance’) and “Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted”.
Wholeheartedly agreed Lindsay. And there’s the nearby Collingwood Bay-Musa contribution to the War in Papua. Have a look at Tufi Walkabout and Village Stays facebook group for a taste of how much more is waiting to be discovered - not just the wartime connection!
Posted by: Doug Robbins | 14 March 2017 at 05:46 PM
Reg Yates is Australia's foremost expert on the practical wartime history of PNG. He is fluent in Tok Pisin and well respected by clan elders along the Kokoda Trail because of a long term relationship he has established with them over the past 25 years.
He is also a qualified and experienced Ambulance paramedic and a Captain in the Army Reserve. He is willing to assist in setting up a proper ranger system along the trail but he is considered persona non grata by our Canberra bureaucrats who have contracted a group of Queensland Park Rangers who are ignorant of the local language and customs to do work the local villagers have been doing for generations and to fix problems they will never understand.
While Reg might be the best man for the job he is disadvantaged by the fact that he is white, male and military.
Posted by: Charlie Lynn | 14 March 2017 at 01:58 PM
Add some historical Oro Treks, say from lower Mambare to Kokoda revisiting early miners' camps, and say around Mt Lamington as a trek Popondetta, Sewa, Natunga, Joure, 'Wairope', Awala revisiting a patrol by US troops. Many other wonderful walks to suit a range of capacities.
Thanks for 'PNG Adventurous Training Guide' by Reg Yates. What a gift. Sensational and free.
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 14 March 2017 at 12:00 PM