lol re packing into the day pack :-)It's not the clothing that I am worried about, or even the tent really, as I am using advice on this and other sites, its more the food that I obviously need to ensure I have enough room for. The 85L Black Wolf MCKINLEY is a similar weight to the 75L but as this is my first trip to Kokoda I am paranoid about…[Read more]

Hi Andrew, if you're carrying all your food for 10 days and not sharing tent, etc then maybe you should be looking more at the 85L. But I had a porter and a day pack so am probably not the best to advise on this.I'm sure there are packing nazis out there who could squeeze everything into a 25L day pack….

Thanks Rocky……….worried about pack size only because I will be carrying tent and food for 10 days so don't want to get caught short with a 75lt. Any thoughts?

Footnote: I was forwarded this article by Len Thompson of the Kokoda Memorial Foundation. After reading it, I knew I had to help this family come to PNG.If anyone like me reads it and has money to spare, please donate to this cause and lets get these relatives to PNG. Often trekkers mention they are going to locate and take photographs of…[Read more]

Gary Traynor is Administrator of the Militaria based website MEDALSGONEMISSING. The aim of this "NOT FOR PROFIT" website is to reunite families, with lost War Medals and other items of militaria which may have been awarded or issued to their ancestors. What Gary refers to as their "lost heritage". He has been actively involved in the preservation…[Read more]

Aboriginal_Flag.jpg

Mercury, showing the first media article that detailed Franks army service.Illawarra_Mercury_Private_F_251x300.jpg

Aunty_Grace_Gordon_Uncle__300x225.jpg

IMAGE BELOW: An image of the war service medals awarded to Private Frank Richard ARCHIBALD, 2/2nd Infantry Battalion, AIF. From left to right:- 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, 1939-1945 Australia Service Medal and the 1939-1945 War Medal.Aus_Six_39_Afr_Pac_Def_Wa_300x108.jpg

Bomana_War_Cemetery_300x225.jpg

Sanananda_7th_Division_Cava_300x225.jpg

Kokoda_Trail_between_Isurav_300x225.jpg

Australian_weapons_pit_on_I_224x300.jpg

2nd_2nd_battalion_colour_pa1_300x197.jpg

Andrew, I took a 3 man dome tent and shared it with my father. It was a cheap Kmart jobby and was perfect.We had 6 nights on the trek and only camped "outside" once. All other times we were either in fully enclosed huts or lean-to type huts with no walls. On these nights we erected the inner part of the tent only to keep mossies out, but it was…[Read more]

Don't lose any more sleep over your boot decision Kate. You were right, erring on the side of too big is by far the better option.Your feet do get mashed about coming down hills especially as it's very steep. You may want to consider a thin pair of socks underneath a thicker pair, that's what I did, as my boots were also slightly too big too. Try…[Read more]

75 or 85 lt pack?

I'm thinking Black Wolf Mantis 11……more room than the Mantis 1 and similar weight.

I'm not going until June/July 2013 so general fitness work at the moment…..although I admit to spending waaaay too much time looking into packs, tents, boots etc etc.Looking at BLACK WOLF MCKINLEY HIKING RUCKSACK 75L and Black Wolf mantis tent, not sure whether to get the Mantis 1 or 2. The 2 is a similar weight but bigger. Not hiring a porter…[Read more]

Hi Rocky and Andrew,Thanks for your advice – you've both been really helpful!I totally agree about the day packs, they do seem quite small so I think I might look into purchasing a separate day pack as I'll probably get further use of of it and can use it as carry on in other trips. It's good to know if I don't have a cover for the harness straps…[Read more]