Black Cat Track

I recently returned from a 7 week trip in Papua New Guinea, I was working on a community project on the Black Cat Track. I'm sure all of you have heard of the Kokoda(or you wouldnt be in the PNG section right?) but I'm not sure many people know about the Black Cat, well Lonely Planet describes the Black Cat as 'Extreme' and suitable only for 'Israeli Paratroopers'. It runs from the township of Wau to Salamua in the coastal highland province of Morobe.
Much like the Kokoda, the Black Cat is steeped in WW2 history. Originally, the track was used by gold miners, but during the second world war intense fighting occured between Japanese and Australian forces along the track. The Japanese pushed from the coast and the Australian forces from Wau.
Today the track is relatively unknown, it was only walked by 35 people last year, which pales compared with the numbers on the Kokoda. The terrain is pretty tough, we walked it with guides but carried our own equiptment in 5 days, we were held up for 2 days when the Francisco river was too treacherous to cross due to heavy rainfall. I wouldnt say I was super fit, but I am used to walking comfortably with a heavy pack and I managed fairly well with the long days. The biggest problem was some of the river crossings and extremely high drop off's on the track,like all jungle tracks it was slippery and muddy, not ideal when walking with a 200 foot drop on one side.
The project I was involved with, was the construction of a guesthouse on the track. The project is ongoing and in the next few years the track should be much more accesible to trekkers.
I just thought I would put this out there, I have some contacts for anyone who is thinking about giving this trek a go.
One more thing, it is always great to have the Black Cat under your belt for the next time you meet an Ozzie Soldier who thinks he's the man for walking the Kokoda without a pack..just kidding.

Gavin, so nice to hear a positive report about the Black Cat. I worked for sometime with the local tourism bureau to help reopen the track to tourism, a slow hard slog but pleased to know that some intrepid trekkers are tackling the track and enjoying a most amazing part of PNG - did you enjoy Salamaua when you reached it?

Yeah Salamaua was great, had a 3 days there - we rafted down the Francisco to the sea at dusk and had a BBQ, great way to end the trek . I spent the whole time fishing and swimming, lovely chilled out place.

I hope more people give the trek a go, its the best trek I have done by far - not just a slog, but a really interesting route. When were you out there?