Gday Gail….and all the KTL team!

Thanks for your note and best wishes.

Yes – Michelle and I are now over 6mths into our Big Lap around Australia and enjoying Perth at the moment. It's such a great country and we know that we're very lucky to be doing what we're doing.

I do drop in on your web site from time to time and always enjoy reading the wonderful stories of so many others that have enjoyed a great life experience on The Kokoda Track. Walking The Track, as you know, is not easy by any stretch, but is one of the most rewarding things anyone can do – on several levels. The treks with KTL remain the most memorable treks I've ever done and I continue to (very genuinely) recommend KTL to any that enquire. I would certainly go with KTL again should I ever return for another trek. I know my trekking buddies feel likewise. In fact, I'm about to catch up with Ruth & Barry Bishop in Perth who trekked The Track in Apr 2007 – the first time I've seen them since Kokoda '07. Can't wait!

I continue to get about two requests per month for my video of our 2007 trek. Although a very amature DVD with highly specific content to our trek, people who recieve a copy do seem to appreciate an insight into what it's like – especially the tunes from The Boys, the toilets/showers and river crossings!

Well done to you Gail for continuing to run such a great company (KTL) – providing an amazing life experience to so many Aussies and in recognition of our wonderful diggers (like my own father) who did us proud in the PNG campaign of Kokoda and its surrounds.

Good on you Gail and thank you!

Kind Regards
Dan

I'm no expert but happy to share what I know. I personally found and saw others with packs like BlackWolf, which fell apart on The Track. Maybe just a bad lot but they certainly didn't go so well. Eg. the metal back support struts push through the retainers at the top of the pack and so the whole back slides down! Another, the stitching and zips gave way. The packs also don't have much padding around the waist band – where most weight should be taken.

On my second trek of the track, I purchased a Deuter. It was brilliant and quite reasonably priced.

A few key points worth considering when looking around for a pack:- (just a brain dump for you)
1. make sure the pack is for hiking – not for touring. Hiking packs don't protrude beyond your shoulders and so don't catch on trees and bushes.
2. make sure that pack had a rain hood. A wet pack holds a lot of weight. Many put the rain hood over the pack as routine each morning. On average, it rains 2 out of every 3 days.
3. I found it valuable to have an exterior pocket/pouch that accepts your hydration pack (like the 3ltr Unbottle mentioned). Being able to whip out the water-pack quickly means easy-street at each refill.
4. I found it useful that the shoulder straps running over the chest had some solid anchor points. I used these to strap on my camera so it was always in easy reach for a snap/video grab.
5. Possibly most importantly – especially if carrying your own pack – it needs to be comfortable. The el-cheapo packs typically have el-cheapo padding (thin etc) and not good for hiking hours and hours, day after day. Often trekkers buy these type of packs, then get their personal porter to carry their pack. Of course, the poor porters end up with nasty blisters and abrasions carrying such packs. Their hips and shoulders cop a beating. I had to treat most personal ports every night with wound dressings etc. The Deuter's aren't expensive like the boutique-hiking-shop packs but I found to be excellent quality.
6. My packs also had a second compartment at the bottom. This was handy for keeping wet stuff away from the main pack.
7. All good hiking packs are top load and the rain pouch unravels from the base of the back to extend around and over the top
8. I plastic-wrapped my pack before airline check-ins wherever I could – just to protect it from getting wrecked and from tampering. If no wrap, then I crossed over the shoulder straps and pulled them as tight as possible in a cross-formation – just to keep lose bits from snagging and tearing it in transit.
9. A pack having the link-strap between the two shoulder straps is tops. Most do. It's the one that runs across the chest to keep the shoulder straps from spreading apart and causing your shoulders to tire too quickly.
10. I also found that the good packs have a superior method of adjusting pack's back height. Most allow the pack height to be adjusted to match the distance between the top of your shoulders to your waste – giving best load distribution and comfort. The better packs have a really robust way of doing this. The cheaper ones – well – you compare them!
11. Better ones have a water-proof outer/lining on the base of the pack. This is useful because dropping your pack to have a break or get water is often done onto wet ground. The outer helps prevent water entry.
12. I used a large dry-sack as my pack liner. This way, no matter what creek I had to cross (or fell into!), my gear was guaranteed to stay dry. A wet sleeping back and night clothes could be a real problem – especially in the highland areas where it gets quite cold at night. The dry-sack is excellent "insurance".

It helps to know exactly what to look for when shopping around. I hope you find at least some of this info useful. But as always, this is just what worked for me. I'm sure others far more experienced than I could add some gems of their own to this lot. I welcome such input.

Gday Efrat & Pedler.

I'm delighted that my prep' notes provided some assistance. Having originally written these notes for my eldest brother, who was to join me on my 2nd trek of the Kokoda Track, they are a very candid account of what needs to be done to prepare well.

I remain in debt to Gail and her KTL crew for the wonderful job they did and continue to do. You cannot find a better company than KTL to trek the track with. I continually get updates and emails from trekkers who have experienced the highs and lows of The Track thanks to KTL – and never a bad word is written. All credit to Gail.

For a life-changing experience, it's quite a simple formula: KTL + Prepare well. It doesn't make it "easy" but it makes the experience one that can be appreciated in context of our wonderful diggers. They and the Fuzzy Wuzzy angels are the true hero's. We must never forget this.

On a personal note:
Gail – I again wish to forward my deepest sympathy to Rusty and his family for the recent loss of their brother and legend. I spoke with the Barai family the evening prior to the funeral – having had their mobile phone tower just activated in Kokoda for the very first time. Sylvester was at Rusty's family block at the time of my call. I felt their deep sense of loss of a pillar in the KTL & Kokoda communities. Please pass on my best regards to the family and that all of we "two-time trekkers" who have stayed at Rusty's block pass on our sympathies.

Best regards to you Gail & Rusty
Dan

Note from Gail: Hi Dan, thanks for your kind thoughts as always. Together with the Kokoda Track Foundation we have now in place the:

Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel Scholarship

set up to honour the memory of someone truly missed in Kokoda.

Message from Dr. Genevieve Nelson of the Kokoda Track Authority:

In memory of Kingsley’s life, and in paying respects to the ‘Eroro’ family, the Kokoda Track Foundation is honoured to announce the ‘Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel Scholarship’. This scholarship will be awarded to Orokaivan students from the Kokoda district region who are embarking on secondary studies in 2010. The scholarship will be awarded to students from Grade 9, who have demonstrated exceptional ability and promise for the future and who are committed to returning to Kokoda after their education to make a living and contribute to their community.

The Foundation will announce recipients of the Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel scholarship in February 2010 when it conducts its annual audit of the 23 schools supported by the Foundation.

Friends and colleagues of the Eroro family can make donations to the Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel scholarship through the Foundation and all donations will be directed towards the education of Orokaiva children from the Kokoda region. Please contact Genevieve Nelson if you are interested in making a donation or would like any more information about the scholarship or the work of the Foundation in PNG.

Alternatively, please click here to make an online donation and write "Kingsley Eroro" in the "Purpose" box.

You're very welcome Chloe. I've had countless emails from people who found these "Average Joe" prep' notes very useful on their trek. As always, you do what's best for you – but a few tips can make a huge difference.

If these tips can save someone getting air-lifted out or convert a miserable trek into a manageable one, then all the more Aussies who will have a chance to fully absorb the true hardship and sacrifice our diggers made for us in PNG – including my father and his two brothers. I remain in awe of our diggers – I'm humbled and so grateful.

Brian Beamish (70yrs and fellow Bris-Vegas resident) used these notes extensively to prepare and do the track. He's just returned and I now see his contributions on this forum with all the same reports of highs and lows that most experience – but he made it through like a champion. Brian won't catch a train or bus in BNE, but has done The Track. How ironic is that?! Well done Brian!

To be honest, I originally wrote these Prep' Notes for my brother, who was to join me on my 2nd trek of the track – to help him prepare. So, the notes were as frank, comprehensive and helpful as possible. He lives 3hrs flight from me, so the notes served to consolidate all my thoughts in one spot for him. In posting them originally, I offered Gail the opportunity to tone-it-down and all editorial rites, but to her credit, she left it word for word as you see them now.

Delighted you were able to make use of them.

A follow up note on KTL:
I continue to be thoroughly impressed by Gail's KTL crew and especially Gail herself. She does Australia proud in everything she does for the trekkers but what most don't know is the huge additional contribution she makes to the PNG people – especially to those in Kokoda itself. She is exceptionally generous to them and ever cognisant of eco' implications of trekkers on their world. She goes well beyond what you would expect or ever know, and probably well beyond the collective total of all other trekking companies engaged in this business. But it's not just a business to Gail – it's a passion for the PNG people and to see trekkers get the best possible experience. It's not about making dollars. That's why you'll find her pricing very reasonable by comparison, yet having some of the best guides, the best food and the best supporting infrastructure on the track. You just can't go wrong with Gail and KTL.

The most admirable thing of all is that Gail tells no-one about her generosity – all at the same time other trekking companies bag her for whatever silly reason.

I have said before and reiterate having had repeated interaction with Gail and Co over the past few years – that there is no other trekking company to go with – KTL is brilliant for all the right reasons. I recommend KTL to my own family and my dearest friends who want to walk here in the steps of our amazing diggers – in the full knowledge that they will get the best care and that the greatest possible benefit to the Kokoda people will come of your trekking fees etc.

Anyway – I'll get off my soap box now and behave (for a change)! I just felt it important to share my thoughts.

Kind Regards
Dan

Hi.
Posting updated version of these prep' notes. New version includes useful PNG (pidgin) words, how to pronounce village names and how you can help our PNG friends (pre and post) your trip.
Kind Regards
Dan

GPS Points
By the way – if anyone is interested, I captured the Kokoda Track on GPS in Apr07 and have converted that into Google Earth format – so you can now traverse the track on Goodle Earth – even do a fly over of the waypoints. I can email these routes if anyone wants them. The Google Earth resolution of the track is not flash so it's not as amazing you might first think it should be. Regardless, it's done.

I also converted the old-format waypoints from the Kokoda Books – points which denote key spots/battles etc along the track. So these are also overlaid along the route – as is where we camped, Rustie's block in Kokoda, the trek start-point near the Kokoda hospital etc etc.

Be aware though, the GPS had trouble detecting satelites at times because of the heavy cloud cover and forest canopies – so sometimes the GPS did a quick divert to some little place in the UK and back again! 🙂 But in any case, the vast majority of the track is captured and these diversions have been removed to clean up the route.

Also a word of caution – don't think you can use these waypoints to do the track by yourself (without KTL). As mentioned above, the GPS frequently "gets lost" and therefore, so would you!

Bye for now
Dan

To continue reading this article prepared by Dan, please click on page (2) below left on this page.