new bar looks good…a good cold beer is the first thing on your mind after completing a trek…and to start a discussion how about this ?……on the current affairs program with Brian Freeman finding the lost battle site at Eora Creek. Which I presume is on the northern side of Eora Crrek and looks down from the high ground to the village and creek crossing. I visited this spot in 2007. A local has set up a small area of collected items including the ammunition for the mountain guns. On the tree is a laminated picture of the mountain guns used…..so if this the same area I dont think this has been a great secret. I have photos of the weapon pits, connected with tunnels, ammunition piles, and other war relics. In fact the locals have a good setup which they charge 5 kina to look at the area. Is this the same lost battle site of Eora creek?

Was thinking about another trip…time to get back into some training and go back and check it out

All good advice, however Kokoda is a tough ardous trek in hot and Humid conditions. One of the people tested said that he had drunk 10 litres of water. That sounds extreme until you analyse it….if he had been walking for 5 hours thats 2 litres of water per hour……Most advise for fluids in hot humid extreme physical conditions is that two litres of water per hour should be drunk….advice offered is to listen to your body and drink when thirsty……also very difficult in conditions such as Kokoda…..its a fine line between Dehydration and Hyponatremia with Nausea, dizziness and vomiting common symptons to both….Are the electrolyte drinks such as poweraid and gatorade sufficient…..I think that better supplements may be available for endurance atheletes which may provide better protection against low sodium levels
At the end of the day its good advice to build up into walks of this nature with "acclimitising" this allows you to get used to how your body will cope….what sort of drinks / supplements will work….Its worth noting that most walkers are coming from a temperate climate (hopefully with lots of training) into a hot humid climate….than add the nature of the terrain. Whilst in the Army we were subjected to this type of climate change and it was very obvious that a great percentage of personel suffered heat stroke / heat exhaustion until the body had adjusted to the conditions….this was normally 4-5 days

do your training on hills or stairs…the steeper the better….aclimatise as best you can…..enjoy the trip it will be rewarding in many ways……good luck

Hi Wokabaut Meri

thanks …yes it was a good trip….the gods were kind to us as it rained the first day and night and 1 hr after we had finished at cockle creek the biggest downpour / thunderstorm occurred for at least 4 hrs…we had planned to camp at cockle creek but decided it was too wet…we headed back to Hobart…it was still raining in Hobart all of that night…..so I imagine that the track conditions would have worsened…in fact a canadian chap that had started his walk from cockle creek (met him about 1 hr from Cockle Creek) informed me of the impending storms….he said the weather forecast for the next 4-5 days was not good….I enjoyed the trip but because of the wet feet on the first day through the bog ( Melaluacca to Louisa River)…suffered blisters….enjoyed Deadmans Bay and South Cape Rivulet the most….although on the trip we camped at Surprise Beach and 3 young guys had walked in with their surfboards….the climb over and down the south cape range would have been interesting with surfboards….alot of day walkers into Track Cutters Beach with surfboards…great surf as well

and yes certainly good training for Kokoda….especially the eastern side…

Regards Craig

Peter

I agree, time is always critical….a lot of people have the luxury of time and can spend 8-10 days doing a 80-90 klm trek….I cant afford the time away from my business so I plan faster trips…sure it is a bit harder but I find that by being organised and having early starts and reducing pack weights I can always find time to take photos and have a good look around and normally arrive at intended campsites with plenty of time to explore. Cradle mountain and the Overland track is a good walk…side trips to Mt Ossa are good as well….I climbed Mt Ossa in November and encountered thigh deep snow…the Huts on the track are good as well….the next trip I'm planning is to come in to Mt Pelion from the Walls of Jerasulem (Arm River Track) do the back section of the Overland up to the Acropolis.
I have thought that with our coastline on the east coast it would be good to have a long distance walking route similar to the AT or PCT trail in America…

Wow….just back from Tassie….completed the South Coast Track….yes Gail you are right the Ironbound range is great training for Kokoda…in fact the west side approach is quite clear and the track is visible from the bottom to the top…it is quite steep but the views are fantastic….the eastern side was very Kokoda like…dense vegetation / canopies…lots of mud and water and plenty of obstacles to climb over and under…and just like Kokoda I found the down harder going than the up…..Knees tend to get pounded by taking the strain of stopping body and pack hurtly downwards …the walk sections along the beaches were great and going to sleep listening to the waves of the southern ocean each night were very calming…… one of the most interesting walks in Tassie so far…..and yes the famous bog track got me a few times up to my thighs

does anyone have any info on the black cat trail ?…I think the Sandakan Track would also be another good trek…..

I have managed to talk my wife into a trek ( first ever) Queen Charlotte Track in NZ….they have lodges, hot baths and fine dining at the end of each day…she agrees it is a good compromise for both of us….

Its horses for courses….best to experiment and see what you prefer best…Ive done hootchies (army) bivi bags (army) and tents lightweight…… heavyweight…….. I've slept in snow, water, mud sides of hills, leech infested swamps…hot tropical jungle…and after decades of bushwalking i have found the comforts and weatherproofnesss of a hammock to be second to none….I can set up my hammack in less than 1 minute…it weighs less 500 gms including weatherproof lightweight tarp…I have gone bushwalking with plenty of people who have seen my setup and been converted to hammock camping….one important fact is that you should experience whatever method you prefer before you venture out into the wilderness…get used to how your preferred method functions and setting up and dismantling…its amusing to see people in the bush setting tents up with one hand and the instructions in the other hand…..a good website for more information on hammocks is hennessy hammocks….no I dont sell them or am I affiliated in any way