The Kokoda trail has some of the most spectacular and hazardous terrain most people will ever encounter. The trail has very steep single file sections both uphill and downhill, and swift flowing creeks and rivers.
It is important to trek with a reputable and experienced tour operator. Wild Trek tours has experienced leaders and local guides, and staff are equipped with satellite phone and first aid supplies.
This part of PNG is tourist friendly and quite safe, and we use local village guides and porters to make life easier.
It is a requirement of this trek that all trekkers have Travel Insurance prior to departure.
The Wild trek tour leaders step you through the history of the WW2 Kokoda Campaign from the first encounter to the last. History briefs are given at each significant location, and battle sites and landmarks pointed out along the way.
We hold a dawn service at Isurava, with all trekkers and all our local guides and porters.
You will come away with a good understanding of what our forefathers endured during the Campaign.
Each trekker will have a 2 man tent, room for you and your gear.
We utilise village shelters for cooking and eating and just chilling out.
All campsites have drop toilets and most have creeks to bathe in, or running water for rudimentary showers.
Wild Trek Tours actively encourage the use of local porters, and we provide a personal porter for each trekker. In most cases, the porter fees are the only income the locals receive for the entire year to support themselves and their families.
Trekkers will carry a day pack only with gear used along the way, such as water, snacks, suncream, purification tablets, eating utensils, etc.
A pre-trek briefing is held to also finalise packing requirements.
The Kokoda trail is quite arduous and exhausting, and the more prepared you are the more you will enjoy it and experience the trail, the scenery, and the villages along the way.
We can assist with training guides, but as a minimum we would suggest around 3 months of training and preparation, with up to one hour of physical activity at least 3 times per week. Your walking training should include carrying a day pack with around 5kg, and around 10km in hilly terrain.
Contact us for a more personalised plan.
Villages along the length of the trail are Seventh Day Adventists. Trekkers are asked to respect their religious protocols, and include simple things, such as respect for the locals, no swearing, no rough horseplay, and care for the village shelters that you may encounter.
Some villagers will have walked in supplies from Port Moresby such as soft drinks and twisties, and these are available for purchase – no haggling on prices due to the effort they have taken to get them there. At other places you can purchase local fruit (bananas, pineapple) and even doughnuts and locally made cakes.
The South Coast track is rated as a grade 4-5 trek. The terrain has its challenges with many inclines, including the famous Ironbound range, and the descent from the Ironbound is just as bad.
The biggest challenge is carrying all your own pack and gear (up to 20kg) over all the many ups and downs!
Mud is a constant, and can be knee deep in places.
This is a walk for the fit, and training is a must. The walk however is worth it, as the scenery is beautiful, and you will be in virtually untouched Tasmanian wilderness. You will not see many on the track and for days at a time you will think you are the only person on earth! In the right weather, relax with a swim on beaches where not many have swum before you.
The Overland Track is rated as one of the best 10 walks in the world.
You will see some of the best wilderness scenery anywhere in the world from pristine crater lakes to mystifying mountain peaks, beginning at the iconic Cradle mountain, through a World Heritage area to finish at Australia’s deepest lake at Lake St Clair. You will see ancient rainforest, cascading waterfalls, buttongrass moorlands, alpine meadows, eucalypt forests, and Tasmania’s highest peak – Mt Ossa (1617m).
You will need a good level of fitness, and will need to carry all your own pack and gear (up to 20kg), but the walk is worth it and you will see why it is rated so highly.
Rated a grade 4 walk, the Northern Circuit certainly has its challenges.
Day 1 is a fairly easy walk , and day 2 has some steeper sections, and some bush scrambling on barely defined tracks, plus some rock hopping that needs to be timed with low tide or you could be in trouble!
Day 3 sees you come to the dreaded Chinaman’s swamp. Here you will not find any discernible tracks, and will need GPS to assist to find your way through and across. The swamp can be wet and deep, and you will have a sense of relief when you eventually find your way across.
Finding water is also problematic, but the Wild Trek guides have done it all before and will get you through!
This is not an easy trek, and you will be lucky to come across another person on the track. Numbers are limited by Parks Victoria, and you will have the beaches to yourself.