They traveled from the port Salamaua on a treacherous 3 to 4-day hike through leech-infested territory, a trail that recently has been described as "suitable only for masochists and Israeli Paratroopers".
[2] Before Errol Flynn (who grew up in Australia and New Guinea) became an actor in 1933, he hiked this trail and commented that it was a rigorous march through leech-infested jungle, in constant fear of ambush, and lying awake at night wondering "whether that crawly sound you heard a few feet away might be a snake, a cassowary or maybe only a wild boar razorback ...
They tried to take the capital by going over the Owen Stanley mountain range, by the Kokoda Track, basing the operation out of Salamaua.
After a few months had passed, they made their final attempt at Port Moresby, the Black Cat Trail.
If they could capture the Allied Air Base in Wau, they could launch an offensive on the capital that would have overwhelmed the Australians, Americans, and Papua New Guinea Militia stationed there.
The Japanese attacked in force, but the Australian 17th Brigade, under Major-General Stanley Savige, held out until reinforcements (The three independent companies 2/3rd, 2/5th and 2/7th) arrived.
The 2/7th attacked The Pimple, with mortar support, after it had been strafed by four aircraft, but the Japanese were too firmly entrenched, and the Australian advance was halted.
Their tactics were so successful that Major-General Savige had to tell them not to attempt too much, as "premature commitments in the Salamaua area could not be backed at present by an adequate force."
In mid June, the allies started acting as if they were going to attack Salamaua, but really the target was Lae, on the other side of the Huon Gulf.