| See
our 11-nights NORTH-SOUTH Kokoda trekking package See our 7-nights SOUTH-NORTH Kokoda trekking package |
See
our Kokoda Track 2009 trek dates See booking information See feedback from past trekkers |
| Been there done that? Kokoda is a walk in the park compared to the BULLDOG TRACK. See 2009 Bulldog Track details | |
Our environmentally friendly, historically inspiring and culturally stimulating small-group Kokoda walks are a low-key alternative to the large military-style groups of up to 100 trekkers and porters (carriers) that some trekking companies take crashing along the Track using the impersonal boot-camp approach. Our small group treks cater to discerning walkers who are seeking a more personal interaction with the local people and a greater understanding of the significance of the Kokoda Track that can only come with a slower paced, smell-the-flowers type of trekking experience. We are especially experienced in catering for the 40+ age group and we host a high proportion of lady trekkers. Our oldest trekkers so far were a sprite couple b74.
Both our 11-night north-south package at $3350 and our
7-night south-north package at $2890 include everything at the PNG end. Just add on the best available airfare to Port Moresby or use up your frequent flyer points.
See 10 good reasons for walking the Kokoda Track with Ecotourism Melanesia.
WHAT
IS THE KOKODA TRACK?
The 96km Kokoda Track is a rough,
unmade pathway between Kokoda and Sogeri, two little townships on either
side of the rugged Owen Stanley Ranges, a mountain chain running down
the
spine
of
New Guinea.
The Track was first used in the late 1800s
by mail runners, miners and planters - connecting Kokoda with the
fledgling
colonial town of Port Moresby. The Track - and the prized airstrip at
Kokoda - was the scene of bitter fighting in 1942 as
the Japanese advanced towards Port Moresby. They were later
pushed
back
to the beach
heads
at
Buna, Gona and Sanananda. Over 600 Australian soldiers and thousands
of Japanese died along the Kokoda Track (both in battle and from malaria
and septis). Many more were lost at the beach heads. Most of the
Australian casualties of the Kokoda Campaign now lie buried in Bomana
War Cemetery outside
Port
Moresby (see left) where almost 4000 Commonwealth
war heroes are laid to rest.
In 2002 Australian Prime Minister John Howard opened a new memorial at Isurava (see below left) to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the most fierce of the battles along the Kokoda Track, the Battle of Isurava 26-29 August 1942. Private Bruce Kingsbury was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for heroic action during this battle. (Isurava Day is commemorated on 29 August and is included on one of our treks.)
In 2008 around 5000 Australians will have followed in the footsteps of our courageous diggers and walked the Kokoda Track. Some do the walk for the physical challenge but an increasing number are taking time out to do the walk as a rite of passage in the quest for cultural identity. Kokoda stands firmly alongside Gallipoli as an icon of Australian military history.
You may have noticed both names Kokoda Track and Kokoda Trail in common use. We prefer to use the term Kokoda Track because campaign veterans that we have spoken to are adamant that in 1942 they always called it "the Track". In 2006 we hosted two veterans who have been mates for 60 years: Ron Phillips and George Gwilliam (see left, being welcomed at Kokoda). They were gunners at Owers Corner in 1942 ("we pumped 700 rounds in to the Japanese position at Ioribaiwa Ridge until they turned tail"). Ron and George say they never heard it called it anything else but the Kokoda Track during their tour of duty in 1942. However over the years the term Kokoda Trail has also come into common use. The memorial gate at Owers Corner uses both.
\
WALKING
KOKODA WITH
ECOTOURISM MELANESIA
Unlike
some gung-ho trekking groups that seem to think it is some kind of
race, Ecotourism Melanesia operates moderately-paced treks suitable for
physically fit mums, dads and grannies. Our oldest trekkers so far
were Rosalyn Hadley who had her 71st birthday at Alola village
in June 2008 and Malcolm and Rosemary Hay, both 74, who walked the Track
in August 2008. Our north-south
treks average about 6 hours walking a day and
our
south-north
treks average
about 8
hours walking a day, though the actual walking speed is the same either
way. Our guide sets a steady, sustainable pace that most people with
good physical
fitness
are able
to
maintain without
getting
into
difficulties. Our assistant guide always walks at the back with the
"the rear guard" (ie the slow-pokes!) and everybody always
makes it to that day's destination before nightfall. Nobody walks in
the dark
on
our treks so leave your miner's head-lamp at home!
The walking distance is about 90km and much
of this is steep climbs and descents, which is punishing for the ankles
and calf muscles
on the ups, and tough on the knees on the downs, so you must be physically
fit and also undertake some serious hiking training for a couple of months
before you attempt
this trek.
During
wet weather the Track is slippery, and flooding can
make river crossings
tricky: guides
use axes and machetes to cut logs from the undergrowth, and tie these
together with ropes to make a crude bridge. Then of
course after crossing the torrent you have to dismantle your log
bridge so that the next group of walkers is not denied the challenge!
Most of the heavy rainfall is in the wet season from December to February, but there is regular rain throughout the year so there is no month when it can be guaranteed to be dry. In 2004 in the month of June which is the middle of the dry season, there was a week of heaviest rain on the Kokoda Track in 50 years. One of our trekking groups was out there in the middle of it and they said it was very exciting (hmmm... an interesting viewpoint!) Those who have walked the Track during wet weather often say they found it more meaningful as they were able to empathise with the young Aussie diggers who trudged through the same mud in very trying circumstances in 1942.
The track can be traversed commencing at the southern end (at Owers' Corner which is near the township of Sogeri, 40 minutes drive from Port Moresby) or commencing at Kokoda at the northern end. Ecotourism Melanesia operates back to back treks in both directions - our porters originate in Kokoda, walk to Owers Corner with a north to south trek, rest for a few nights in Port Moresby and then walk back again from south to north with the next group of trekkers. Our guides all believe that walking in either direction is much-of-a-muchness as the net climbs and net descents are broadly equivalent either way.
Magnificent mountain landscapes are visible from vantage points along the Track. There is great plant diversity along the Track but not much obvious animal life within 200m of the main Track due to frequent human presence.
OUR SUSTAINABLE
TOURISM FOCUS
Ecotourism Melanesia
is privately
owned company that was established in 1997 with the aim of channelling
more tourists into rural areas of Papua New Guinea and Solomon
Islands.
We
wanted to
see
local village people benefitting more from tourism, instead of all the
money going into foreign-owned hotels and
resorts. Since then we have become PNG's largest ecotourism
company and as you can see from our website menu at left, we now offer
a wide range of soft adventure tours all over PNG that have a strong
rural tourism focus.
It is our policy to support sustainable community-based ecotourism by not only "treading softly" on the environment and local culture, but also by creating employment and supporting local enterprise wherever possible. All the tours we operate throughout Papua New Guinea include rural village experiences that put money into the pockets of locals at the grassroots level. See our mission statement and sustainable tourism policy here.
Initially we were not involved in operating Kokoda treks, but in 2003 we responded to requests from under-employed porters in Kokoda and under-patronised guest houses in villages along the Track to run small-group eco-treks that would give work to more Kokoda-based porters and utilise the available village guest houses for accommodation and food. Previously most trekking companies operated from the Port Moresby end, hired most of their porters from Sogeri, and tended to carry tents instead of sleeping in village guest houses.
In recent
years the commercial trekking industry along the Kokoda Track has
become almost cynical with some companies
operating
huge
treks comprising 50 trekkers
and
over 100
porters,
crashing
through
the jungle like a herd of elephants and flattening large areas of vegetation
where they camp. Participants on these military-style operations are
given imported 24-hour ration packs to eat every day, trekkers and porters
walk and
camp separately
and hardly talk to each other, and the whole experience is quite mechanical
and
anonymous. So many times our small-group trekkers have overheard the
same complaint from people walking with these larger trekking groups:
"they told me I would
be walking with a small group
of
10 people
but when I
arrived
I
found
that my "platoon" was actually part of a much larger "battalion"
that camped together every night. I felt like I was just a serial number
at a boot camp."
In contrast, Ecotourism Melanesia takes a low-key approach, leading smaller groups that have less physical impact on the environment and place less pressure on the culture and resources of the local villages. Our limit of twelve trekkers per group for open treks (although we will take up to 20 walkers for private / corporate groups) facilitates a more intimate and personal experience of the Kokoda Track and our trek groups are always warmly welcomed in the villages that we pass through. We are small and innocuous, we pay cash to the village people for the accommodation and food they provide to our groups ... and we clean up after ourselves. All our hard rubbish is carried out, as opposed to some other trekking companies who apparently see no harm in filling up the village garbage pits with tonnes of empty cans...
ACCOMMODATION
AND FOOD ON OUR TREKS
Instead of camping in tents, wherever possible our trek parties
sleep in the trekkers huts ("village guest houses") operated
by local people along the Track, which makes a big contribution
to the village micro-economies because the guest house operators
in turn spend money within the village on labour, bush materials
for building, and fresh
garden food to feed their guests.
Instead of taking the easy way out and doling out 24-hour ration-packs, we engage village guest house operators to supply and cook local food for dinner, which we supplement with our own customised menu of camp food based on supplies purchased here in PNG (another instance of supporting local enterprise).
Many of our trekkers say the village food most evenings is the high point of each walking day - a variety of tropical fruit and vegetables cooked in local style, with some packet pasta or spicy noodles on the side for a little zest. The carnivores among us may find the trekking menu rather meat-less apart from tinned tuna for lunch some days, but you'll survive and the barbeque waiting for you at the end of the trek will satisfy any craving you may have developed!
Your porters will cook damper, pancakes or porridge for your breakfast and we provide packed lunches each day for you to eat as you walk along. Ecotourism Melanesia treks include plenty of food for all trekkers and porters - everybody has enough to eat and there is no need for you to bring any additional food apart from your favourite candy.
EQUIPMENT
AND PORTERAGE
We provide an experienced local guide to lead each trek group,
and a team of porters to carry the food and equipment that we supply - which
includes
tarpaulins, ropes, machetes, lanterns, cooking gear, camp cutlery, crockery,
two-way radio, satellite phone and tropical first aid kit. (You only need
to bring your own sleeping bag and hikers mat or light-weight inflatable
mattress).
We also supply the backpacks that our porters carry so you do not need to
bring any large backpack with you.
On the trek, each of our porters carries a backpack with a 20kg load, comprising 2kg of his own clothes, 10kg of food and equipment that we supply, plus 8kg of a trekker's personal gear. This 8kg of porterage is provided free to our trekkers as part of the trek package. If you pack frugally, and carry a small day pack for your water bottle and Minties, you won't need to hire a personal porter to carry your stuff at the additional cost of $500. However the 8kg limit is strictly enforced and there will be a weigh-in at the time of loading the porters' backpacks.
If you do plan to carry a day pack, keep it as light as possible (no more than 5 kg). It's a long hard walk and you'll enjoy it more if you're not teetering over backwards as you scramble up steep inclines with a fully laden pack on your back! The diggers in 1942 also had porters to carry their supplies, remember.
OUR
TEAM
Many visitors
from Australia come to Papua New Guinea specifically to walk the
Kokoda Track, and often the guide and porters they walk with are
the only Papua New Guineans they have the opportunity to get to know
during their visit. While walking along the Track and talking around
the fire at night, trekkers are able to learn a lot about the culture
and lifestyle of Papua New Guinea through interaction with the guide
and porters. Time
and again our clients feed back to us that the highlight of their
trek was the camaraderie and bonding between them and the porters.
There are often tears at the end. Our guides and porters characterise
the Kokoda Track. Without them, it's just another bushwalk.
Our senior guide who leads most of our treks is PHILIP ARARI (pictured left). Philip is a high school graduate, speaks good English and is trained in first aid and radio procedures. He has a good knowledge of the history of the Track and is able to explain what-happened-where as you proceed along the Track. Philip makes daily radio contact with Ecotourism Melanesia's office in Port Moresby while on-trek. Philip's wife and children stay home at Kokoda while he is away trekking, but they also keep in touch via radio messages.
We have a pool of 30 porters that we use for our treks in various combinations. Most of our porters are from the Kokoda area and many of them are descendents of the WW2 carriers dubbed "fuzzy wuzzy angels". They are a mixture of personalities, some quiet and some outgoing, but all exhibit the typical humility of the Kokoda people. Notwithstanding, their humorous streak brings plenty of laughs along the way and their talent for singing with the ukelele provides for great entertainment around the campfire - the porters will teach you some local songs which you'll find yourself humming away long after you return home.
Our porters all
speak and understand basic English. The main communication problem
that occurs is when Australians ask questions using the double
negative format or statement-question format and porters invariably
respond with what seems to be the wrong answer.
Trekker asks porter, after a meal: "You aren't still hungry, are you?"
Porter: "Yes".
But he means no. He is agreeing with the statement "You
aren't still hungry" whereas the trekker is expecting a response
to the question "Are
you?"
Visitors should try to ask questions directly ie "Are
you still hungry?".
Sadly, the rapid growth in employment for village men living along
the Kokoda Track has also had some detrimental effects. Alcohol
abuse in PNG is similar to that seen in aboriginal communities
in Australia (ie binge drinking by those who can least afford it)
and we have observed many Kokoda porters (not ours, cross fingers...)
spending
their
entire
wages
in Port
Moresby nightclubs
and Popondetta bottle shops. We at Ecotourism Melanesia don't like
to see our porters' hard-earned money go down the drain. We are
keen
to see them
take their wages home to their villages to support their families.
Feedback from our trekkers
indicates
that they/you also like to feel that their/your contibution as a tourist
to the local economy is benefitting the local community and
not exacerbating social problems.
Ecotourism Melanesia is dealing with this situation by (a) giving recruitment preference to porters who make a commitment not to spend their wages on alcohol (b) providing supervised accommodation at our company compound in Port Moresby during between-trek layovers, with an endless supply of Bruce Willis and Shwarzenegger videos to keep our porters occupied while they are resting up (c) applying a zero-alcohol policy for our porters before, during and immediately after our treks - to avoid generating the spark that starts the fire, so to speak.
This may sound paternalistic but when we bring rural village men into the big city we believe we have a responsibility to both them and their families to look after them and send them home with a full pay packet and without HIV. We will appreciate your support of our policies on the ground, eg please don't invite porters back to your hotel for drinks after the trek. Only a small amount of alcohol is supplied for trekkers-only at the barbeques we host before and after the trek.
Maclaren Hiari MBE
Maj. Bruce Copeland
Military
history advisors
Maclaren
Hiari MBE is the founder of the Kokoda-Buna Historical Foundation
and lives in Popondetta. He always accompanies all our trekking
groups to Buna, Gona, Awala and Kokoda to provide on-site briefings on
the Kokoda
campaign.
Maclaren is a retired history academic who hails from the Popondetta
area. His research has focused on the role played by the Papuan
people in the
Pacific
War,
including
the Papuan carriers (fuzzy wuzzy angels), Papuan infantrymen and Papuans
forced into the service of both the Australians and Japanese as labourers,
interpreters and informants.
Due to age and infirmity Maclaren is not able to accompany trekking
groups along the Track.
Major Bruce Copeland (Australian Army, retired) lives in Port Moresby and is a local expert on the Kokoda Campaign. Although now in his sixties he is still an active trekker and available to accompany trekking groups along the Track as military history advisor for an additional fee of $200 per trekker.
Max Kaso is an experienced trekking guide from the Sogeri area who specialises in the military history aspect of Kokoda trekking. When available, we can include Max as a historical guide for our trekking groups for an additional fee of $100 per trekker. (Max Kaso no pic available)
2009
TREK PACKAGES
In 2009 Ecotourism
Melanesia is offering 26 open trek dates which anybody can sign up for.
When you sign up for an open trek you will join other like-minded responsible
travellers to walk the Track in a group of up to 12 trekkers plus up to
20 porters. If you have your own group of 10 people you can close
off
an open
trek and make it a private trek.
Click here to see our schedule of trek dates for 2009 and click here to read our booking information with details on deposits etc. Note our theme treks for ANZAC DAY in April and BATTLE OF ISURAVA commemoration in August.
Our 7 night South-North package is our "Basic Kokoda" trekking tour and comprises a shorter 6-days / 5-nights walking with only one overnight in Port Moresby. This trek is for fitter individuals who can cope with longer periods of walking each day (8 hours on average) although the hiking pace is basically the same as for the north-south trek.
Package
inclusions common to both north-south and south-north itineraries:
- short drivearound tour of Port Moresby and visit to Bomana War Cemetery
-
1 night twin share hotel accommodation in Port Moresby with meals
- 1 night guest house accommodation and meals at Kokoda
- air travel from Port Moresby to Popondetta or Kokoda to Port Moresby
- all road transfers
- all trekking accommodation along the Kokoda Track sleeping in
village huts or under canvases
- all food and camping equipment for the trek (just BYO sleeping bag, sleeping mat and personal gear)
- experienced trek guide from Kokoda
- porters to carry all trek food and equipment
- free 8kg porterage
- safety gear including tropical medical kit, VHF radio and satellite phone
- 24 hour trek monitoring from our Port Moresby office
- welcome BBQ and cold drinks at the end of the trek
- commemorative polo shirt with our unique Kokoda Track design
- commemorative walker's certificate
- laminated cross-section map of the Kokoda Track highlighting the villages you passed through
Additional inclusions for North-South package:
- 1 more hotel night in Port Moresby
- 1 night village guest house accommodation at Buna
- battlefields tour of Buna, Gona, Awala up to Kokoda
Note that our trek packages include everything at the PNG end but do not include airfares from Australia.
Rest assured that Ecotourism Melanesia carries full public liability
insurance.
PACKAGE
PRICES
11
night North-South package $3350
7
night South-North package $2890
Extra hotel nights: $160
per room
Some trek packages centred around ANZAC Day (April
25) include a
peak season surcharge and additional charges for extra nights and the excursion
to the dawn service at Bomana War Cemetery. See our schedule of open
trek dates for details.
Note that our trek packages include everything at the PNG end but do not include airfares from Australia.
10% discount
applies for 10 or more people booking together on an open or private
trek.
See our schedule of 2009 treks
See our booking information
See comments from past trekkers
Download
our trekking contract
Download
our trek itinerary NORTH-SOUTH
(NB
Our arrangements always include guide, porters and supplies: we
do not offer "budget" treks for trekkers who want to
bring and carry their own supplies etc as we believe this not only
defeats our aim of supporting the micro-economy along the Kokoda
Track but puts us in an awkward position as the trek operator if
things go wrong due to people bringing insufficent supplies, inappropriate
equipment etc or when somebody has an accident and there are no
porters to carry him/her out.)
PNG now has two international airlines operating services to Port Moresby from Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. You can find flight schedules and make online bookings for Air Niugini at www.airniugini.com.pg or www.qantas.com.au and for Airlines PNG at www.apng.com .
To secure a place on an open trek, or to book a private trek, select your preferred trek date from our Kokoda trek dates 2009 page (or choose your own preferred date in the case of private treks) and send us an e-mail with the names of proposed trekkers. We will then send you an invoice for the trek and you will need to remit 20% of the invoiced amount as your deposit. After payment of your deposit, your booking is secured. The balance of your payment is due 8 weeks (2 calendar months) before the trek begins. Booking conditions are detailed on our Kokoda Track booking information page and in our Kokoda trekking contract which you must download, print out, sign and return to us by fax or mail at the time of paying your deposit.
More detailed information about the trek itself is contained in the detailed trip notes at the bottom of our generic Kokoda trek itinerary which you can download in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format (NORTH-SOUTH or SOUTH-NORTH). If you can't open this type of document file we can e-mail you a Word version.
To discuss your plans for walking the Kokoda Track, or to request an invoice for your trek, e-mail us: ecomel@online.net.pg
EM203 ESCORTED ANZAC DAY PILGRIMAGE TOUR (6 nights)
Designed for Australians with an interest in the Kokoda Campaign who are unable to walk the Track. Our 2006 tour was a sell-out. Includes Kokoda Campaign lecture, visit to Sogeri and Owers Corner, Anzac Day dawn service at Bomana War Cemetery and gunfire breakfast at Australian High Commission, low altitude charter flight over the Kokoda Track to Kokoda, Kokoda battlefields walking tour, fuzzy wuzzy angel village experience, Kumusi River, Popondetta War Memorial and Girua wartime airfield complex, Buna and Gona battlefields. No strenuous exercise involved.
EM14 Kokoda Battlefields Package for independent travellers - 6 nights Port Moresby, Bomana War cemetery, Owers Corner, Popondetta, Gona/Sanananda, Kokoda. No trekking involved. Suitable for individuals, couples or groups, old or young.
EM30 Southern New Guinea Battle Sites Tour 9 nights
Port Moresby, Bomana, Owers Corner, Alotau, Lae, Salamaua, Popondetta, Buna/Gona, Kokoda
Day trips from Port Moresby to Owers Corner - by road, with a short walk down to Goldie River and back to give you a taste of the Track
Short 2-3 days trips to Kokoda/Buna/Gona can also be arranged.
MORE INFORMATION
Articles
*Published in "Paradise",
the in-flight magazine of Air Niugini
Mainland Invasion (the Japanese advance in Papua)
Victory in Papua New Guinea - the story of Kokoda
Along the Kokoda Track
Recommended
books
"Kokoda Trek" by Clive Baker
This book is all about modern day trekking of the Kokoda Track rather than the military history. A useful day to day guide to what you'll see and do during the walk. First published about 15 years ago and recently updated. Available by mail order from Australian Military History Publications
13 Veronica Place, Loftus NSW 2232
e-mail warbookshop @ bigpond.com www.warbooks.com.au
Recommended
videos
"The Kokoda Challenge: A Walker's Guide to the Kokoda Trail"
A recently produced video with footage of most sections of
the trail, track notes and map, advice on gear and getting fit. Includes
a promo for various trekking companies including Ecotourism Melanesia
at the end.
POM Productions 2007 www.kokodaguide.com.au
CONTACT US
Ecotourism Melanesia Ltd
Lot 25 Lokua Avenue, Boroko
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
(Postal address: PO Box 531 Gordons NCD)
Phone & Fax (+675) 323 4518 Mobile (+675) 686 8917 (all hours)
E-mail ecomel@online.net.pg