Trek the Kokoda Trail Travel Blog

Archive for May, 2010

Looking for a little rest time before you go back to work after your Kokoda Trail Trek?

Just off the coast of Port Moresby is Loloata Island resort.

It has been a getaway destination for many years for ex pats living in Port Moresby.

The friendly staff from Loloata will pick you up from the Holiday Inn after your trek and transport you  to their sanctuary of peace and tranquility. Great fishing and snorkeling are just some of the attractions. A 3 day 2 night stay is recommended to help you wind down before heading back to reality in Australia. The Island staff will transfer you back to the International terminal for your departure flight. Learn more at www.loloata.com

It’s always difficult for those at home wondering how their friends, partnets, family members are going on the Track.
Team 3 arrived at Naduri Village yesterday the 26th. Naduri is half way along the Kokoda Track and is the village where most of our support crew live. It is always good fun to arrive at Naduri as the crew get to spend a night at home and we the trekkers get to meet some of our crew’s family.
All Team memebrs are doing well. Visit again soon for an update.

Our trekkers health and safety are a major concern for us all. The Track is a remote location and if any problems are encountered along the Track it is essential that we have systems in place to handle any emergency situation.

The most important requirement is that our trek leaders have ready access to outside assistance should it be required.  Just a quick call on the satellite phone will put the Leader in contact with a Doctor back here in Australia and if there is a real medical emergency,  systems are in place to arrange for a helicopter evacuation.

From the moment one of our trekking teams departs Australia, our back up emergency operations  plan comes in to play.  24 hours a day, our operations managers  in Australia and in Port Moresby carry with them  mobile phones  linked through to our Trek leader’s satellite phone on the Track. If a call is received at any time the Operations manager carries with him a complete list of all the details of each trekker from their insurance details right through to their emergency contacts.  From back in Australia the Ops manager is therefore able to  assist the Trek leader in any emergency situation.

An enormous effort has been made around the Kokoda airstrip in March.  The entire airstrip has been slashed and mown, the new terminal area has been surveyed and cleared, 60 safety cones and 2 windsocks installed, and a signal circle cleared and painted.

The airstrip has now been cleared to the northern end of the market road. Part 2 of the safety package will see  the airstrip extended further, a new terminal building and apron and navigation and weather equipment installed later this year.

A team of Doctors, in conjunction with the Kokoda Track Authority, have recently returned from the Kokoda Track with a wealth of research information.

Over 185 trekkers on Anzac Day treks  volunteered to give a blood sample to the research teams who were strategically placed  at Iorobaiwa and Isurava .

The study data is yet to be statistically analysed, but the general message to come from the study is in keeping with similar research in competitive endurance events. Put simply to drink when you feel thirsty. The Kokoda Track places the body under significant physiological stress and a consistent, sensible fluid intake is required. Trekkers need to avoid dehydration but must resist the temptation to force themselves to drink too much fluid while on the Track.