- This topic has 15,356 voices and 23 replies.
- Posts
I did the Anzac Day trek this year (not with Ktl)and found the trip a great travel experience. Yes the toilets are different and yes the smells are a bit challenging but remember you are travelling through remote country and you should be glad you did not have to dig your own pit each time you needed to go. Having travelled widely through Asia including repeat visits to Vietnam and Cambodia, I found the toilets to be a variation of the norm. In australia we have porcelain sewered toilets, in vietnam and cambodia you have sewered,septic or pit squats some with porcelain some without and sometimes especially in your bigger towns and commercial hotels a western style sit dowm porcelain toilet. We should be so lucky that we have thatched under cover toilets on the track This is all about life, infrastucture, comfortable lifestyle versus monetary poor remote village lifestyle.
Enjoy everything on the trip, the hard trekking, days end with a swim/wash, company and camaraderie of fellow trekkers, carriers and villagers, the beautiful countryside, food and conversation around a smoky fire and yes even the toilets because once you get back to Australia you will miss it all so much. I can't wait to go back.
hi,
I am going for 13 days 9 walking and 3 after at Kokoda in September and am really looking forward to it, at 70 it will be one of the great expereinces of my life I hope that it is also yours.
I didn't think the toilets were THAT bad. I took several packs of anti-bacterial wipes which I bought in Coles. I used these instead of toilet paper, and if I felt I had to sit on an unclean seat, I cleaned it thoroughly with my wipes first. I did not suffer any problems.tnkx.
Hey, if you are worried about the toilets just ask the guides where you can dig your own hole and use that. I have seen worse toilets in public schools in Australia. Just hold your breath and do your business and get out. I wouldn't go there to read the morning paper and have a coffee, if that is what you want to do – don't leave home.
Dani – I heard you survived your toilet experience in Kokoda! Congratulations. In fact, I heard you did so well, toilets no longer faze you!
I just wanted to let others know about a product recommended by another female trekker. Called a "whizbiz" http://www.whizbiz.com.au/, it allows a female to pee standing up! No more embarrassing "exposures" at the side of the track, balancing over questionable holes, and, when your legs are too tired to squat, makes peeing standing up a breeze for the gals. It needs some practice before you go, but works a treat. It was also very handy in September when the bees were particularly active – very scary to squat over a hole, start to pee, and have a swarm of bees head for your exposed bits! Also helped when the beams on one toilet had rotted, so when I squatted, they gave way – very embarrassing with my pants down. Now, if I'd been standing still clothed, it would have worked much better!
We did learn that the toilets that were just holes in the ground worked so much better than the others (kept cleaner etc), but we really appreciated the real sit down one at KTL in Kokoda!
Editors Note: Even more reason to trek with us! When staying at Orohaven, you have a nice clean sit on flushing toilet.
Toilet_2.jpg
Guesthouse_1.jpgHi
We walked the track in 2004 and the worst toilet was the one at Nauro where they built a hut around it and a plastic tarp for a door (smell was horrendous) only toilet seat i saw was a wooden bench in Efogi and proper toilet at Popondetta & Buna, when bush camping a hole in the ground was a lot better. As far as toilet seat covers and wipes (carry toilet paper for sure) get real, basic hygine consists of washing your hands with "Soap" it is just common sense, you are in the jungle and once you are there you adapt.
Paul
The disposable toilet seat covers from http://www.bluelinehygienics.com are excellent, they have a waxed side to prevent moisture penetrating and they are made from 100% recycled paper.I always take them when I am travelling!
As long as you can find a seat of any sort to use them on, cannot see them being much good for the many holes in the ground.
Just grit your teeth, hold your breath and go for it.
All part of the Kokoda experience and I think if we checked all through the forum from start to finish perhaps the subject most talked about
Brian
The toilets are not THAT bad. We came off the track just over a month ago. Sure…if you're expecting flushing toilets and wash basins all the way along the track, you'll be in for a bit of a shock. It's holes on the ground except for the flushing one at Orohaven. We didn't get ill at all while we were away. Be sensible…clean your hands after going, and clean your hands before eating. If all your fellow trekkers follow the same rules, you will be fine.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.