Kokoda Porters

The Porters of Kokoda are the back bone of our operations in Papua New Guinea. They are the soul, the heart and the body of what we are doing there. Trekkers come for the Australian History and go home feeling attached to the people that live along the Track and the Porters that help them achieve a personal goal.

As part of our transparency we want to explain to you our Porter Policy in PNG. Not to make others look bad, but for you to understand that the people you will be walking with are being looked after, that they are happy for many reasons and one is that No Roads Expeditions treats them all with respect, not just a handful of lead and influential Porters but all of them.

No Roads Expeditions has been one of the leading Operators to promote the protection of its Porters. This culminated in the 2009 Tour Operators Code of Conduct that all Operators must agree to before being issued with a Licence. While this is often abused by many Operators it does form the benchmark for what Operators should be doing at a minimum. The Code of Conduct can be downloaded here but its' basic outline is as follows:

- Minimum pay of 50Kina per day for Porters
- Paid no later than 4 days after the trek
- Maximum of 20kg Carried by Porter
- Supply good equipment including blankets for Porters
- Promote good post trip behaviour after treks

The following is an outline of what No Roads Expeditions provides its' Porter team. We have also included the contracts that each Porter, Lead Porter and Local Guide sign so that both they and No Roads know what is expected from each other. Links to these contracts are at the bottom of this page.

The basic outline for our Porters contract is as follows:

- 75 Kina per day for Porter, 100 Kina per day for Lead Porter and 110 Kina per day for Local Guide
- 25 Kg Maximum pack weight (this is in contrast to the KTA Code as they have changed it to 25kg to comply with the International Porters Protection maximum pack weight)
- Individual bank accounts so pay is made within 4 days of trek (this sometimes doesn't happen due to bank issues)
- Sleeping bags etc
- River Rescue Procedures for trekkers and Porters too.
- Great nutritious food on the Track including steak on the first night
- Buffet Dinner at the Holiday Inn at the end of the trek (this is only for Australian Led trips as the trip ends in Port Moresby)
- Transport fee back to Kagi
- Chance to participate in the International Porters Exchange Program
- Chance to come to Australia at the end of each year (so far we have had over 30 Porters travel to Australia)
- And more

No Roads Expeditions has approximately 65 Porters, 8 Lead Porters and 6 Local Guides. All team members are asked to sign their contract and as proof that they have signed it we take a photo of them with their contract.  All have contracts and all have a understanding that they are part of a team that together we will look after each other and you on the Track.

Click on the following to see the PNG Teams Contracts:

- Porter
- Lead Porter
- Local Guide.

2012 Contracts will be viewable at the end of March early April.