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Hi All,
Its seems that Trekon have stopped making their ration packs.
Does anyone know what Kokoda Trekking is using now?
I am trekking in July and was looking forward to trying out Trekons ration pack.Regards
ScottHi Scott, yes, you are right, we will not be importing ration packs from Trekon this year. Their business was set up some years back so my two daughters could work from home and raise their children. With the exception of one grandchild, all are now in school, so my two girls are ready to spread their wings and do something else. Also trek numbers have dropped for 2009/2010 and they need to be able earn more.
One daughter is studying to join the police force and the other one is working as a bookkeeper.
It was always more expensive to import from Australia but it was a way of a mother helping her daughters to survive as with three children each, child care was a large cost if they remained in the work force.
In 2010, we will be doing our own ration packs put together from store goods purchased in PNG. We have followed pretty much the same guidelines so be rest assured you will not go hungry.
At the present time we have four trekkers on the track with these new ration packs. It will not be as convenient for us to just reach for a ration pack out of a box as we now have to purchase the products and prepare packs, however to purchase locally will be more cost affective without import/freight and so on.
My house will just resemble a supermarket for part of the year but it already looks like a camping store so bring it on! haha
I really liked the hot chocolate mix. I used to look forward to that after dinner every night, and tuna with mayo for morning tea. yum. Breakfast was a cup of tea and some fruit and maybe some cake or a muesli bar. I'd give the rest away to the kids or swap it for more hot chocolate.
Thanks for the replies guys.
Will look foward to the new rations pack everyday on the track i'm sure
Scott
Thinking the above post is spam…
But anways… Peter – your ration packs had hot chocolate in them??? *Jealous*
Gail – do the new packs have hot chocolate in them? Please tell me they do! Or they will by the time I get around to trekking with you guys in 5 years!!!
fluppy
QUOTE(Fluppy @ 14 Sep 2010, 12:18 PM) [snapback]12441[/snapback]Thinking the above post is spam…But anways… Peter – your ration packs had hot chocolate in them??? *Jealous*
Gail – do the new packs have hot chocolate in them? Please tell me they do! Or they will by the time I get around to trekking with you guys in 5 years!!!
fluppy
lol Fluppy. I came off the track a couple of weeks ago and yes, there was hot chocolate in the packs. Well, it was milo in sachets, so I guess that is considered hot chocolate.
Plus plenty of chocolate bars and even chocolate desserts!Saloo8 – Oh thank the good Lord for that! Milo? Well that's even better!!!!
Thanks for confirming
fluppy
I just re-read these postings and thought I would add something. When trekkers hear the word 'ration pack' the thought of eating out of a pack for days on end might not turn them on. However, we introduced this style of feeding our trekkers for one main reason.
When it comes to confrontation, PNG people find it hard to approach a dim dim (us white coloured folk) and say hang on, if you keep eating like you are we are going to run out of certain things before we reach the finish line. No, they will just ignore…then when it comes to a day or so out…there might be no sugar….or tea….or coffee…or both….
Back before ration packs I would get a panic phone call….the trekkers want to come in a day early because we are running out of food! So no matter how we planned in head office it was all up to the boys on the track to control. On one such occasion we had a group of 11 come off the track a day early. I congratulated them for finishing a day ahead of schedule, when one trekker replied, you will have to pay for our nights accommodation as your boys ran out of sugar/milk or whatever and we just did not feel like roughing it without our morning cuppa!
So ration packs began being the order of the day. No matter how much you eat, you all know what you have to live on for a 24 period. You can swap it around; eat it; give it away to your porter; guide or whatever, but you will never run out! Its worked perfectly ever since and our boys and us at head office can relax in never having to get a phone call like that again.
Stan Bisset once said to Russell and myself – inform your trekkers that no matter what they eat on the track they are eating a damn site better then the 2/14th.
We do try our best to keep you all fed and your tummies full but its hard when you have to purchase food that does not need refrigeration! and the most important thing of all, when packed it has to be LIGHT in weight.
Gail, you have done a brilliant job. I am noted as a "big eater", but I had rations left over every day (mind you, fewer leftovers towards the end!). I loved the hot chocolate before bed, but I also loved the beef jerky to snack on when we got into camp. It also helped to keep salt levels up.
When I go on long walks now, I fashion my own ration packs on the sorts of things we had on Kokoda (because now I have to carry my own stuff!)
Cheers
MaryI agree Mrs Moo. I had heaps of leftovers at the end of each day as did the other trekkers in our group. We were able to pass on our leftovers to the Boys who were then able to trade in villages for bananas with what they didn't need from the pack. A win-win for all!
Gail – you have done a terrific job of local ration packs. Stan Bisset said it all when he said, '…no matter what they eat on the track they are eating a damn site better then the 2/14th.'
When i walked in May (using the local food packs) it became a daily ritual for Shane and i to go through our ration packs at night and lighten our load for the next day. Gail and her team do a great job and the way they do the evening meal is magic. I have taken on this method when going bush. i don't think any trek will go short of food again, especially if now and then there is a tin of tuna with no ring pull or opener….lol… I defy anyone to eat all that tucker and survive!!!
Craig http://www.kokodatrail.com.au/forums/style…icons/icon1.gif
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