Black Cat Track The Black Cat Track or Trail is a rough overland track in Morobe Province , Papua New Guinea . It runs from the village of Salamaua on the coast of the Huon Gulf , south into the mountains to the township of Wau . History . Gold Rush . The track started out in the 1920s and 30s as a trail for prospectors seeking to get rich on the gold in Wau . 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 " . 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 . . . I have seen Central Africa , but it was never anything like the jungle of New Guinea . " World War II . On 8 March 1942 in World War II , the Town of Salamaua was captured by the Japanese . They had tried to take Port Moresby by sea , but were defeated in The Battle of the Coral Sea . Now they were going to take it by land . They tried to take the capital by going over the Owen Stanley mountain range , by the Kokoda Trail , basing the operation out of Salamaua . They almost made it this time but were pushed back 30 miles short of the city , in a series of bloody battles . After this they converted Salamaua into a major supply base . 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 . Then on 23 April , the allies struck back along the trail , taking it until the hills called The Pimple , and Observation Hill . The Japanese were firmly entrenched there . 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 . The next day , they attacked again , supported by aircraft and the 1st mountain battery , limited to fifty rounds a gun , but again the attack failed . On 7 May , they attacked again , but again were driven back . Then on 9 May , the Japanese launched their own attack in the Pimple area . They surrounded the foremost Australian Company and started closing in . The Australians were not relieved until the afternoon of 11 May . By this time they had withstood eight attacks from parts of two Japanese battalions . The following day , they took The Pimple , supported by field guns , where before there had been only two mountain batteries . The 2 / 3rd battalion had been pressing along while the 2 / 7th tried to take The Pimple , and in early May , they came to the Bobdubi Ridge . Seeing that it was only lightly held , they attacked it , and captured it on 4 May . They then held off all Japanese trying to retake it . From Bobdubi , the 2 / 3rd battalion severely harassed the Japanese . 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 . ” Then on 14 May , the Japanese launched a full - scale attack , supported by guns and mortars , forcing the Australians to withdraw . On the 15th , over 100 Japanese planes attacked Australian positions in three raids , and on the 17th and 18th they raided the Wau airdrome . In late May the 2 / 6th battalion arrived to relieve the 2 / 7th , and the 15th brigade headquarters and another battalion of that brigade started arriving in Savige ' s area . 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 . The Japanese fell for this and on the 19th and 20th , they seemed to anticipate an attack , and started patrolling aggressively . The plan worked as planned , but the allies didn ' t attack until early September . On 26 August , General Milford relieved Savige , with his 5th division headquarters . Salamaua was captured on 11 September 1943 , a week after the Lae offensive began . Five days later Lae was taken . 2013 Attack . On September 10 , 2013 a trekking epedition was attacked by bandits known as " Rascals . " Some expedition porters were hacked to death in the attack . Six people have been arrested .