A Survival Guide: Kokoda

Imagine walking the Kokoda trail. It is the second day of your journey, and you have just walked for 24 hours to get to where you are. Your shirt, clinging to your chest, is so soaked with sweat that it seems you have walked through a thunderstorm. You are knee-deep in soft mud, but that does little to lessen the pain you are feeling since the skin has entirely fallen off the soles of your feet. You suspect you have malaria.

You are also hungry, and it is finally time for lunch. You reach into your backpack and pull out the first thing you can get your hands on - a scuba diving mask and snorkel. Bugger!

How did you get into this situation? And worse, how are you going to get out of it now that you are so far from home?

Most Australians have heard about the awe-inspiring challenge of walking the Kokoda trail but only a rare few venture to take it on. Of this rare few it is even less who can meet the Kokoda trail head on, and conquer it. These exceptional people have managed to change their lives. They have grown into men and women who fully understand the words renowned throughout the Kokoda trail: courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice.

These people have strong minds and bodies. They are proud and confident. And they have earned this right. They have trained long and hard to do what was necessary. They have put their minds and their bodies to the test time and time again. All of this for the Track.

· But how did these extraordinary people know what was necessary?
· How can one find out what the Kokoda trail holds in store when they are about to embark on a journey that is unparalleled?

There are no reliable resources for those who are preparing themselves for walking the Kokoda trail. Apart from a one-paragraph handout from the tour company and the word-of-mouth of those who have done it before, you are left on your own.

Over 3700 Australians walked the Kokoda trail in 2006 with no means to prepare themselves. A Survival Guide: Kokoda is specifically designed to prepare people for taking on the challenge of walking the Kokoda trail.