thumb|250px|negotiating steep sections in 1970s the bulldog track, also known as the bulldog-wau road and reinhold's highway, in the year 2004 is a foot track crossing the western end of the owen stanley range of central papua new guinea. the track begins near a small settlement on the upper reaches of the lakekamu river on the south side of the ranges. after penetrating dense equatorial rain forests it winds up around jungle clad ridges for some sixty kilometres to over 9,800 feet (3,000 metres) on the central ranges before dropping down to the township of wau in the bulolo valley. the track is some one hundred kilometres due west of the famous kokoda track and crosses some of the most rugged and isolated terrain in the world, combining hot humid days with intensely cold nights, torrential rainfall and endemic tropical diseases such as malaria. bulldog track was longer, higher, steeper, wetter, colder and rougher than kokoda track. for the moment it is one of the few great treks in the tropical montane regions of the world. constructed sixty years ago, it was the only vehicular road ever to cross the central ranges of new guinea. in order to reach the bulldog track it is a short drive south east from wau to the village of winima. a six hour walk will take you along a divergent track that was used as an alternate line of communication, during construction of the track, commonly referred to as the kudjeru track. the villagers at winima will be able to provide guides and directions for the kudjeru track. the hidden valley gold mine has cut off the highest sections of the track,which are now only accessible from the papuan side. ==history== in 1943 australian army engineers; the 2/1 and 2/16 field company rae, 9th australian field company (aif), veterans of syria, palestine, egypt, greece and crete, the 1st and 3rd australian pack transport companies and local papuan labour cut the road with pickaxes and dynamite over a period of eight months. the chief engineer, w. j. reinhold, was later to write "every foot of progress made on this road exacted the ultimate in courage, endurance, skill and toil. its construction took a toll from surveyor, engineer, labourer and native carrier alike." during five months of operations over seventy per cent of the 2/1 australian field company contracted malaria. {{cquote|along many sections, road-surfacing materials was practically non-existent. the climate ranged from torrid heat to icy cold. the annual rainfall ranged between 150 and 200 inches. these wet conditions combined with the topographic features made construction extremely difficult. in a few minutes a landslide would destroy weeks of labour. the construction gangs would stop, repair the work and move on. as work progressed the problem of maintaining a supply line became formidable. work was often suspended for lack of petrol, oil, grease, explosives, drill steel
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