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KOKODA SPIRIT NEWS
www.kokodaspirit.com
“In the
footsteps of heroes – In the footsteps of our brothers”
January
11, 2007
Welcome to another Kokoda Spirit newsletter.
Season greetings and best wishes to all our readers and
trekkers.
I hope this year will be
as successful and exciting for you as 2006. On behalf of
Michelle, myself and the team we thank you for sharing
our passion for the Kokoda Track and helping us to share
the message and meaning of the “Kokoda Spirit.” I
believe it is very important for each of us to speak
about the track and the diggers that fought on the track
in defence of their homeland. The stories of Kokoda, the
Kokoda Spirit and many other battles have laid dormant
for far to long, unfortunately our young and not so
young Australians are unaware of the heroic battles
fought in our defence.
Kokoda Spirit opens and closes the trekking season.
Kokoda Spirit had the
great pleasure of opening the 2006 trekking season with
our first trek going out in February. We have had 26
treks out this past year with all our PNG Trek Masters
having a 100% success rate. The boys have performed
outstanding this year ensuring that all our trekkers had
a successful trek. Kokoda Spirit was also the last
trekking company on the track finishing its last trek
for the season in late December.
Kokoda Spirit Porters record songs on the trail.
The Kokoda Spirit boys
have become famous along the track, and with trekkers
for their wonderful songs about the track, the people
along the track and PNG in general. It is not unusual
for our boys to be entertaining not only our own
trekkers but other trekking companies as well. The boys
so impressed our trekkers that their songs were recorded
by the Channel Seven crew and one of our October
trekkers Mardi Mundine. With the assistance of Mardi and
Kate Camarena we hope to produce the CDs so the boys can
sell their music CD to trekkers. Stay tuned for the
release date.
New
Beach Trek Opens.
Over the New Year period I
had the opportunity to travel the full length of the
“Beach Trek”. This trek covers the area from Popendetta
to Oro Bay and back through the beach head areas of
Buna, Sanananda and Gona. This trek had never been done
in full by any trekking company. I was accompanied on
the trip by Adrian, Simon, Thomas and Sam who are all
from this area. The landowners and village chiefs were
very happy to see us and treated us like Royalty. Every
village we visited we were greeted by traditional
dancers and welcome feasts. The people in this area were
some of the happiest and relaxed that I have met in PNG.
The amount of war relics and battles sites in this area
is extraordinary. We discovered amphibious vehicles,
trucks, Red Cross ambulances, jeeps, landing barges,
ammunition, anti aircraft guns and an array of
ammunition and equipment. The scenery along the way was
spectacular with our Guest House at Beama Village
overlooking Oro Bay. We now have two purpose built Beach
Guest Houses built on the beach at Buna and Sanananda.
The swimming is great and the beaches clean with swaying
palms. All the meals are traditional and cooked by the
Villages and are absolutely delicious. We have developed
2 options for this trip. They are the 3 day and 4 day
trip. The trip encompasses a range of transport from
4WD, truck, boat and walking. They can be easily added
to your Kokoda Trek or done separate from Port Moresby.
See the Beach Trek itineraries here.
Threat of Track
Being Closed?
There has been some
publicity regarding the possibility of the Kokoda Track
being closed. I have just returned from PNG and had
numerous discussions with Landowners and my Head
Porters. My belief and understanding is that the Track
will not close. It generates hundreds of jobs for the
locals along the track and is the largest tourism
product in the country. The Landowners are concerned
that they are not seeing any improvements to the track
or their villages. They understand that the trekkers pay
a fee to the Kokoda Track Authority and some of this
money is tied up in administration. The KTA appear to be
doing a good in difficult circumstances. I believe that
the PNG Government will assist with funding and everyone
will benefit. Our first trek goes out in
February as business as normal.
A plan for sustainable
tourism on the Kokoda Track has been presented and
accepted to the PNG Government.
We will keep you up to
date if any developments take place.
Join Wayne Wetherall on the Kokoda Trail in 2007
Wayne will be leading treks on the Kokoda
Trail in 2007 on the following dates:
29th April-7th May
15th-23rd July
19th-27th August
3rd-11th September
15th-23rd October
Check out the web site for more information
or
contact us and we will guide you
along with the information you require.
We have a large range of trek dates on the
web along with information and suggestions
to make your trek successful and a whole lot
of fun.
If you cannot find the information you
require on the web or you just want to find
out more about the Kokoda Trail drop us a
line or give us a call, we would be very
pleased to assist.
Phone/Fax +61 07 54452758 Mobile +61
0437473900
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