A truely great tribute written by Patrick Lindsay on a remarkable and magnificent Australian who will be sadly missed by many.

My sincere condolences to Gloria and family members who I have only indirectly come to know through a former work colleague, fellow Kokoda trekker, and current President of the 2/14th Battalion Association, Michael Ralston.

Geoff Hardie

Hi Dave,

Thank you for alerting this southerner to this article.

As you indicated, I believe Rory has written article with a fair amount of "tongue in cheek". He may very well be one of the lazy Australians who are basically too scared to attempt the Kokoda – Owers Corner crossing and along the way pay their respect to the scarificies made by our WW2 soldiers.

I have no doubt all readers/contributors to this forum have the highest regard and respect for everything about Kokoda and the local villages along the Track and PNG in general.

His comparison with Bali I find offensive however I am inclined to believe that with a very small number of trekkers, it is sadly, reality. I have never visited Bali nor do I have any desire to do so. I can only go by its well known unsavory reputation on many fronts.

Cheers

Geoff Hardie

Hi Gail,

It was my experience that all locals acting as Porters were always most obliging, courteous and could not do enough to ensure the safety and the very best experience for their Trekker.

There is no doubt the wonderful spirit of the "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels" remains alive and well in the current generation.

It was with alarm however to note from the above photos, the apparent overloaded nature of at least two Porters setting off from Owers on this latest trek

The current generation of the "Angels" are of course most appreciative of the employment opportunities afforded by the Kokoda Trekking Industry. I am sure we all respect their rights as fellow human beings and we therefore should follow reasonable health and work safe guidelines similar to those applying in Australia. In their endeavours to always please, we must keep in mind not to take advantage of their in built generous nature.

I do hope that reasonable weight limits (15Kg max.) carried by the Porters are strictly enforced. It must be remembered by Trekkers that the Porters themselves have their own needs which are usually minimal, but do add to this weight.

It defies logic why any Trekker would need to exceed this limit given a reasonable weight ( 8-10 kg. inclusive of 2-3 lires of drinking water) being carried in their individual day pack.

Cheers

Geoff Hardie

Editors Note: This year all packs are weighed by rangers so no porter is overloaded. The packs may have looked that way but they are very strict this year. Any pack found to be outside the track limits set down by the Kokoda Track Authority have to take items out of their packs before they can depart. One trekking company that started on one of the days we set out were forced to hire another porter to carry the excess. All our packs are weighed at the office and also again at Owers' Corner. The trekkers packs are also weighed at Owers' Corner. Including the porters own gear they averaged around the 17-18kg mark. The limit set down by KTA is 25kg. We aim for 15kg plus their own gear on top.

I also extend Seasons Greetings to all and wish everyone best wishes for the New Year.

As Lorna alluded too, it is an appropriate time to reflect on how fortunate we in Australia are to live in such a prosperous and stable country.

Friends of mine who also keep in touch with PNG affairs reported to me recently, quite disturbing cirtcumstances which continue to persist in PNG, many of which are all too frequently reported upon in the media and observed by us all whilst trekking Kokoda.
A recent report surrounded the cost of 8 Million kina to send a PNG government delegation of 30 to Copenhagen for the climate summit.
All this money whilst Popondetta Hospital, for example, servicing a larger surrounding population than Kokoda, has virtually no medical equipment or supplies.
Somehow I think PNG priorities are a little askew, not to mention the corruption which obviously goes on at the highest level. The reported attempted recent assasination attempt on their Anti- Corruption Commissioner is most disturbing.

Again, best wishes to all for the festive season.

Geoff Hardie

Past growth, prior to recent downturn, in my opinion, was simply not sustaintable without the prospect of further severe track degregation. Inevitably facilities will improve overtime, but hopefully, not too quickly that full scale commercialism takes over.

The global financial crisis has obviously been a major contibuting factor in this downturn which may turn out to have been a good thing to bring about this current analysis.

I agree with the view expressed by Brett that future growth must take into account what is sustainable. A similar situation was identified with Tasmania's Overland Track 20 years ago and group numbers were restricted to 15.

I have made my thoughts well known on this forum in the past about Charlie Lynn's trekking groups being excessive. Charlie, to give him his due, has achieved many good things for the Track over a long period however it is well overdue when he must be confronted "head on" about the overall adverse ramifications of his large groups. In our trek in 2007 we crossed paths with one of his large groups (100 plus inc. porters) so I know first hand what the consequences were.

Geoff Hardie

Hi Simone,

Like Brian said, your task will not be easy.
Our son Stewart, who walked Kokoda with his younger brother and myself in 2007 is also currently working and living in London (since Feb 2009) and may have some suggestions which I will pass on.
Provided you have a solid background in overnight hiking back in Australia, a good Gym program should be adequate. You have ample time to prepare.
Assuming you are travelling direct from London to PNG and your Aussie home is in the southern parts, I would strongly recommend you allow at least 2-3 days in PNG to acclimatise before commencing your trek. You will have have the moderate benefit of arriving out of the northern summer although London's summer will in no way prepare you for the heat & humidity of PNG.
I would also recommend you consider KTL as your tour operator. If you intend trekking Kokoda to Owers Corner, their Orohaven facility at Kokoda would be an excellent stop over for the 2-3 day accilmatisation prior to commencing your Trek.

Best wishes with your preparation,

Geoff Hardie

My heartiest congratulations go to Fluppy on her well deserved successfull completion of her Trek of Kokoda.
Her merticulous preparation to overcome her disabilities is an example for all to read and absorb to assist with their own preparation.

Gail, what a shame there is this rivalry from other Trekking companies. From what I have seen you have a first class facility in Orohaven which will overcome all this petty rivallry in no time at all.

Kind regards

Geoff Hardie