Walking with Ghosts in Papua New Guinea: Crossing the Kokoda Trail in the Last Wild Place on Earth

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Rick Antonson has lots of miles under his belt: from the summit of Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey, to the abandoned stretches of Route 66, from going to Timbuktu for a haircut, to travels in Iraq and Iran. He didn't think twice when one day a chance Australian acquaintance invited him for a "walk across the country" of Papua New Guinea.

The "walk" turned out to be a grueling trek on the notorious Kokoda Trail a narrow, 60-mile footpath featuring rough jungle, 6,000 feet in elevation change, and punishing weather extremes.The Kokoda Trail featured some of the fiercest fighting of World War II among the Australian, Japanese, and American armies. The stark history unfolds with each conquered mile, as Antonson's astute asides bring out real names and people from the faceless fog of history.

Antonson sets out to understand the magnetism of Papua New Guinea, a place both misunderstood and lionised by the likes of Amelia Earhart, Errol Flynn, and Michael Rockefeller, whose cameos add vibrant colours to his journey. Antonson struggles with his own demons summoned by the unforgiving trail: travelling with a mostly Australian group, he catches himself sympathising with the Australian war casualties over the Japanese ones, despite being intellectually aware of the impartial horrors of war.

Further, Antonson fights the temptation to carry on the sensationalist reportage of headhunting and cannibalism, the scourging stereotypes the young country is still trying to shake off. His writing shows that dated imagery in sharp contrast to today's realities, and Antonson's new-forged friendships with the expedition's porters, Bowrie, Winterford, and Woody, who represent the best of Papua New Guinea: proud of their land and eager to share it without sacrificing their dignity.

Walking with Ghosts in Papua New Guinea is like the Kokoda Trail itself: a winding path that glimmers with beauty one moment, and darkness the next, illuminated by its inhabitants, both living and ghosts.

Reviews

"Walking With Ghosts In Papua New Guinea is among the best travel narratives I have read. Rick Antonson beautifully creates a sense of the environment in New Guinea as well as the local people he encountered. He effortlessly weaves in the dramatic wartime history of the Kokoda Trail as his party treks across rushing streams and up and down the mountainous terrain. I highly recommend this book to armchair travelers anxious to experience life in a truly wild, and in many ways primitive, world."
--James P. Duffy, author of War at the End of the World

"Antonson vividly recounts a two-week, 60-mile journey on the formidable Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea . . . An absorbing account of a physically and spiritually challenging journey." --Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Rick Antonson
"Antonson is an evocative and perceptive travel writer."
--Booklist

"It's not just about the journey, or standard travel writing. It's about story-telling, and Rick takes us on a magical, almost mystical adventure to destinations once only shrouded in mythology."
--Peter Greenburg, travel editor, CBS News, on Full Moon Over Noah's Ark

"The remarkable combination of Rick Antonson exploring the ancient mysteries of Timbuktu matched with the rich culture of Mali that he captures so well . . . makes a page-turner from start to finish."
--Jerry W. Bird, editor, Africa Travel Magazine on To Timbuktu for a Haircut

"One of the best books of the bunch."
--The New York Times, 2012 holiday travel book roundup on Route 66 Still Kicks

Author Bio

Rick Antonson is the author of Route 66 Still Kicks: Driving America's Main Street, To Timbuktu for a Haircut: A Journey Through West Africa, Full Moon Over Noah's Ark: An Odyssey to Mount Ararat, and Walking With Ghosts in Papua New Guinea: Crossing the Kokoda Trail in the Last Wild Place on Earth. Rick is a past chair of Destination International, based in Washington, D.C. and past deputy chair of the Pacific Asia Travel Association based in Bangkok, and the former president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver. He and his wife Janice live in Predator Ridge in Canada's Okanagan Valley.