TOP 5 EXPEDITIONS
Kokoda Short Dossier
SHORT KOKODA TRACK EXPEDITION
CODE XPD06A
6 DAYS
GRADE - MODERATE
ITINERARY – COSTS – INCLUSIONS
For more General Information about your Kokoda Trip please click here.
EXPEDITION OVERVIEW
The Kokoda Track was the scene of bitter
fighting in 1942 as the Japanese advanced towards Port Moresby. Many
Japanese and Australian soldiers died along the Track, both in battle
and from malaria. As interest in Australia’s cultural identity and
recent history grows, walking the Kokoda Track has become a rite of
passage for a new generation of Australians.
Walking the
Kokoda Track involves 50 hours of hiking over 90km of steep climbs
and descents. Vantage points along the Track reveal magnificent
mountain landscapes, and a wide variety of flora and fauna is
encountered. Trekkers pass through local villages where descendents
of the wartime “fuzzy wuzzy angels” continue to live simple
traditional lifestyles while providing a warm welcome to passing
trekkers.
The best time of the year to walk the Track is the
dry season, from April to October. Walking during the wet season is
also possible but is much more challenging because the Track is muddy
and slippery, and river crossings may even be impassable after
rain.
No Roads Expeditions offers 2 types of guided Kokoda
Track expeditions. The first is our Australian led trips where you
will guided by a trained and informative Australian Guide who will
look after all your trekking needs as well as give you an oral
history of the Track. The second type of trip is led by one of our
well trained and professional Local Guides who will look after you on
the Track and pass onto you basic information of the Track. With this
trip you will also be given a copy of the Bill James “Kokoda A
Field Guide”. This will supplement the information your Local Guide
gives.
Our expeditions can be booked for any week of
the year for any group size from 4 upwards. We also have scheduled
departures that anyone is welcome to join. All food, equipment and
guides are provided. You only need to bring your personal gear and
bedding.
We take a slightly different approach from some other
trek operators who camp out every night of the trek and fly all food
and drink in for the occasion, thus almost needing a camel train to
carry all their supplies. We engage village guest houses along the
Track to supply accommodation and some meals for our trekkers and
porters, thus not only reducing the amount of food and equipment
carried by the trekking party, but also injecting greater economic
benefits into the micro-economies of the village communities along
the Track.
Our food includes coconut milk curries, vegetarian pastas, fried rice, prawn crackers, damper etc. We use no rehydratable vegetables and we don’t supply baked beans, just delicious and nutritious meals.
No Roads also supplies a portable shower tent so you can either wash in the rivers without soap or in our shower with soap which is kept away from water courses. We supply the soap. We can even provide a hot shower anywhere along the Track.
Our Porters are well paid, well fed and motivated to provide you with a great experience. They set up tents, boil water, help you along the Track and at night, sing songs. On our trek you will sleep in village guest houses for half the nights along the Track. The other nights involve camping in locations where there are no villages (bush camps).
EXPEDITION GRADE
This expedition is considered difficult as there are long walks over elevated terrain and up and down narrow jungle trails. Accommodation is in tents or basic huts (guest houses) on the expedition and standard accommodation in Port Moresby. Some days are long hauls of 7 to 10 hours through humid and hot terrain. The expedition gives clients a real sense of what Australian Diggers had to deal with during WWII.
ITINERARY
Day 01: Arrive
Port Moresby and transfer to Hotel. Free time to yourself. Expedition
briefing with your Australian Guide late afternoon and then off to
dinner.
Day 02: Depart Port Moresby 0700am on Airlines PNG
flight to Kokoda. At Kokoda Village you will be introduced to your
local trek guide and porter/s, who will accompany you on a brief
walking tour of Kokoda township, including the Kokoda museum, and
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel memorial.
We will then head off through the
plantations to Hoi and finally Deniki, which overlooks the Kokoda
Valley. (3 hours walking).
You will be accompanied on your trek by
your Australian and local guide and one or more porters (carriers)
who will carry camp food and equipment.
Day 03: After a
billy tea breakfast with fruit and cereals we will start the hike to
the Isurava ANZAC war memorial via New Isurava (4 hours). The
memorial was opened by Australian Prime Minister John Howard in
August 2002 to commemorate 60 years since the ferocious four day
battle was fought there in 1942. We will camp here for the night.
Day 05: Our flight will pick us up from Kokoda and
fly us back to Port Moresby where we will overnight again.
Day
06: Transfer to airport for your flight home or transfer to
another destination.
Note: Those joining the Short Kokoda Expedition will be joining the start of a full Kokoda Expedition. You will be part of this group up until Isurava Battlefield. From there you will be escorted back to Kokoda by one of our local guides and a porter assist. You will only have an Australian Guide until Isurava.
To make your preparation better we have set up our own Kokoda Preparation site www.noroadskokodainfo.com.au. With over 80 pages of information, there is no better resource on the market and it is exclusive to No Roads Expeditions.
INCLUSIONS
-An Australian and/or Local Guide for the
entire expedition
-Kokoda Track Trek Permit
-Electrolyte
supplement such as Endura for expedition portion
-All domestic
schedule and chartered flights
-2 No Roads Tshirts. One for you
and one for your Porter Team as a gift.
-River rescue team and
procedures
-Government Taxes (except visa charge and civil
aviation terminal facilities charge)
- AED Defibrillator in all
First Aid Kits for Australian Led trip.
- Free Facebook posts
while on expedition through Trek Traka.
-Shower tent to wash with
soap and protect the environment. Hot showers are available.
-All
meals on expedition (including Curries and Pasta not baked
beans)
-All transfers including those from the airport and from
Owers Corner
-Visit Bomana War Cemetery
-Food for Porters
including rice, noodles, biscuits, bully beef, milo and
vegetables
-All accommodation outside of Port Moresby
-Guides
and porters (who carry all group equipment, food, set up tents
etc)
-1 to 1 Porter-Client ratio
-A rubbish Porter that takes
all our rubbish and other operators rubbish from the Track
-Tent
hire and floor mats. Twin share.
-2 nights accommodation in Port Moresby twin
share at the Holiday Inn.
-Snack Pack for each expedition day to
get you between meals
-Satellite Phone for Emergency Purposes
-VHF
Radio contact with Port Moresby, Kokoda and 10 other Track villages
for emergency purposes.
- Porters Workers Compensation Insurance
-
Bill James book “Kokoda A Field Guide” (only for Local Guide)
-
Access to the most comprehensive Kokoda site on the Internet.
EXCLUSIONS
-Travel insurance (appropriate insurance can be
purchased on our website)
- Items of a personal nature (i.e. art,
drinks etc.)
- International flights to and from Port Moresby
-
Charges incurred as a result of delays beyond the control of No Roads
Note:
- Travel insurance including medical evacuation is
considered mandatory
- Visas are available from the nearest PNG
consul (or Australian consul if a PNG one is not available) or a visa
is obtainable upon arrival (however this is not advisable as it is
meant to be for emergency reasons only and can cause long delays).
Visa is AUD$35 and takes approximately 3 days to process.
- Excess
baggage on scheduled flights ($10 per Kilo over 12 kg)
EXPEDITION DATES
Please check our website for the latest expedition dates and availability.
Closed Private Expeditions are not included in this schedule.
PRICE
Short Kokoda Track 2012 XPD06A AUD$1800 per person twin share, ex Port Moresby
FLIGHTS
As a Licensed Travel Agent, No
Roads Expeditions can also arrange all your flights to and from PNG.
We will take the hassle out of organizing your travel arrangements so
you can concentrate on getting the students prepared.
PRIVATE EXPEDITIONS MINIMUM 12 PEOPLE
We are able to organize private expeditions for those that want familiar people to join them or our scheduled departures don’t suit. If you would like to go on a particular day, we can arrange a charter flight direct to Kokoda or we could go on the daily flight to Popondetta. Another alternative is to begin the expedition from Owers Corner and end the trek in either Kokoda or Popondetta.
Note: For those unable to take 2 weeks off work, we advise you to start your Kokoda expedition on the Friday. This way you will only need to take 1 week and 1 day off.
NO ROADS PREPARATION SITE
To make your preparation better we have set up our own Kokoda Preparation site www.noroadskokodainfo.com.au. With over 80 pages of information, there is no better resource on the market and it is exclusive to No Roads Expeditions.
ACTIVITIES
