Trek the Kokoda Trail Travel Blog

Posts Tagged ‘safety on the track’

If I had one dollar for everytime I have been asked this question, I would be a wealthy man.

The best time is anytime during the Kokoda trekking season. The Kokoda trekking Season commences in April and is usually heralded with treks we have designed to be on the Track for  Anzac Day the 25th April. The season officially finishes after the completition of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Commemorative trek which we have coordinated to be at Kokoda Village on November 3 each year for the big celebration which is held there on that date.

The numbers who trek during December through to the end of March can be counted on your hands and toes.  ( Stats available from the KTA)  The reason being is that the Kokoda Track ‘region’  experiences the most rain fall during this period (monsoonal) and high summer heats and humidity.  Though you can trek during  that time, it is not at all  reliably pleasant and therefore we do not recommend it as an option.

For some reason there is a perception with many Aussies that the  best  time (climatically) and therefore the only time to trek  has to be in the middle of the official winter and near winter months, these being May, June  and July.   These are the treks that usually book out first each season. 
 After personally completing 25 treks over the Track in all months and having organised nearly 100 Teams over the Track,  from all those reports  I can honestly state that weather wise, temperature wise etc,  etc, you have as much chance of having a fine weather, low rainfall,  low humidity and all round great  trek in  August, September, October or November as you do in June or Jul . You could  ’toss a coin’ as to what month you booked during the trek season and make a decision that way if you wished,  it would be just as ‘scientific’.
I have trekked in June and it has rained just about every day and next year at the same time it has been fine.  During your trek you will spend 90% of your time in the Owen Stanley mountains. Mountains alone have a significant influence on weather changes.  There are so many variables that can change the trekking environment from one month to another, one trek to another, that they are 2 numerious to mention.
I  trekked in July one year and  had good weather and little to no rain. The following year I did the same trek and had high humidity and after a very brief and heavy downfall, we found our Team  stranded for a couple of hours on the south side of Ua Ule Creelk late in the afternoon with our campsite tantalizingly close about 100 metres away on the other side.  The water rose too high for us to cross while we stood there watching.  It dropped eventually and we could then safely cross. 

In summary, my advice to all potential trekkers is to select your trekking team by the  Team departure time which is most suitable for you. If you stay within the trekking season , April to November and trek with Back Track Adventutres you will have a wonderful , safe  and memorable trekking holiday that you will cherish forever.

See you on the Track anytime that is suitable for you during the trekking season.
Happy trekking

As our trekking season nears the end for 2010, we implore all potential trekkers to book now with us if they wish to be on the Track for Anzac day 2011. We have 3 treks fully booked for Anzac day and have just opened a fourth and last Team and already this new departure is half full.  Dont miss out, book now.

On Tuesday the 28th, I was at Brisbane Airport to welcome home Team 13. While talking with the trekkers who had just had a wonderful trek, I was delighted to hear them speaking with such high praise for the organisation along the Track. Campsites were clean, village welcomes were enthusiastic and friendly and ongoing  maintenance all  along the Track  was clearly visible  as were the newly appointed Track Rangers. It was pleasing to hear trekkers talking about the “professionalism” of the entire Track operation.

This is what we want to hear. Many years ago, it was  easy for the media to pick faults with PNG infrastructure and to highlight social problems and carry all these issues over  to the newly developing Kokda Track Tourism industry.  The Kokoda Track was subjected to sensationalised negative stories.

But in recent times, Tour Operators, the Kokoda Track Authority and the local people living all along the Track have been working very hard improving trekkers facilities,  Track maintenance, safety issues and public relations.

The kokoda Track is destined to become one of the great walks of the world.

The Kokoda Track Maintenance Committee was formed to define what it was that has drawn 20, 000 trekkers to The Kokoda Track since 2001, and once defined, ensure that this experience – The Kokoda Experience, will be preserved.

The Committee consists of a small team of  trekking guides, historians, local Kokoda Track land owners and is chaired by the CEO of the Kokoda Track Authority.

All committee members have a long history of involvement with trekkers walking the Track and most importantly a desire to ensure that the magic experience that trekkers have while walking the Track, defined as the Kokoda Experience, is protected and maintained for ever. A Back Track director is a committee member.

The inaugural meeting, agreed, that a trekker will have had a true Kokoda Experience if on completion of their trek they have:

• An accurate understanding of the truly remarkable war time story of Australian mateship, courage, endurance and sacrifice. The epic story slowly unfolds each day as your Trek Guide relates the war stories on the exact locations where history was made.
• An appreciation and respect for the remarkable jungle eco system the Track encompasses. The plants, orchids, trees, the wildlife, birds, the creeks and rivers, nature in all its most beautiful jungle clothing. To live- eat, sleep and pass through this natural wonderland for 9 days while experiencing the sunrises, sunsets, the rain, the heat, the cool dark jungle is for most trekkers a once in a lifetime experience that is exhilarating and rejuvenating.
  Note: Currently the Kokoda Track and the entire Owen Stanley Ranges are considered so unique that they have been presented for listing as a World heritage area.
• An appreciation of the culture of Australia’s nearest neighbor. The Koiara and Orokaiva people who inhabit the 23 villages along the Track corridor are the direct decedents of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels who carried to safety and cared for our wounded soldiers. Interacting with their culture in the villages and with your PNG trekking crew who live along the Track is a highlight of the Kokoda Experience.
• And last but definitely not least, the Kokoda experience is knowing that you have faced and conquered your own physical and mental challenge and with your fellow trekkers depart PNG having had a once in a lifetime experience – The Kokoda Experience.

In practice, the Kokoda Experience will be preserved by initiatives that will ensure:

• all the war time relics that remain along the Track and in the jungle and all important war time sites are preserved and protected.
• the jungle, trees, waterways, camp sites, tracks etc are preserved and where damaged, plans put in place to repair or rejuvenate. All future development should be environmentally sensitive and only enhance the jungle experience. A yardstick of our success will be when the “moss on the rocks” has rejuvenated at the Track crossing over Ofi Creek. The moss at that crossing has disappeared over the last few years due to environmental damage from trekking.
• all stakeholders including trekking companies, land owners and all the village people along the Track corridor understand that the financial benefits of the Kokoda Track Industry is dependent on total cooperation and understanding of the importance of maintaining the Kokoda Experience for trekkers.
• a licensing system is in place to ensure that trekking companies maintain a minimum standard and have correct insurance cover, provide all necessary safety and emergency equipment and have emergency evacuation procedures in place. The true Kokoda Experience must be a safe experience for all trekkers.
  Note:Though it will not be compulsory for trekking companies to have Australian Trek Leaders to obtain a license, the Kokoda Experience for all trekkers is greatly enhanced and safer by having a properly trained Australian Trek Leader accompany a trek Team.

Back Track Adventures is committed to the above initiatives and will be participating in every aspect of the plan to maintain the Kokoda Experience for all trekkers yet to trek the Kokoda Track.

For more detailed information visit our dedicated Kokoda website:  trekkokoda.com.au

Despite the overall 54% downturn in trekkers booking on the Kokoda Track in 2010 in comparison with the 2009 numbers;  Back Track has experienced an  increase in bookings for 2010 and has not followed the downturn experienced by the trekking industry . Our 2011 forward bookings are also very encouraging.

We can only thank our past trekkers for this as the vast majority of our bookings have come through referrals from past happy trekkers. Thank you to all our past Back Track trekkers who have recommended our company to their friends.

It was great to see the Channel 7  presentation and the subsequent news paper stories referring to the latest  ‘discovery” along the Kokoda Track.

The story was a welcome change to the recent  negative articles  regarding trekker’s health and safety issues. Hopefully exciting and interesting stories such as this will only encourage Aussies to get  up and get out on the Track.
Back Track trek leaders would like to point out to all interested in trekking the Kokoda Track, that this lost battlefield is included in all  2011 trekking itineraries.