P-MAN II - 10 
On
this day we also had plans to go after another target. Joe took us up
to Ngatpang Bay to meet Lazarus, who had an airplane crash site to show
us. Lazarus and his hunting partner Dwight proceeded to take us by boat
up into a river on the northeast end of Ngatpang Bay.
As the river narrowed, the jungle encroached on the boat, necessitating using machetes to clear the way until the dive boat could go no further. Lazarus then ferried us in a much smaller boat to a landing area, deep in the jungle.
We walked to a narrow trail, which Lazarus
said had been a well-used Japanese "highway" during the war.
Time
has whittled the road to a barely identifiable path. With Lazarus and
Dwight leading, we maintained a steady northeasterly direction, traveling
for the most part along a stream. Dwight said it would take about an hour
to reach the crash site they had found while hunting. Along the way, we
saw several abandoned Japanese vehicles (actually pre-war Ford trucks)
and one sedan in a revetment. About halfway, the trail disappeared and
the hunters took us up, over and down a series of hills - although we
appeared to generally be gradually going upward.
