Kokoda Spirit – An Oxymoron!
The four words etched in granite on the Isurava Memorial – courage, mateship, sacrifice and endurance – were selected to represent the qualities of our soldiers who fought in the Kokoda campaign.
The memorial was officially opened by PNG Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare and Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, on the 60th anniversary of the battle for Isurava in 2002. The event stirred a dormant interest in our wartime history as Australians from all walks of life were inspired to trek in the footsteps of our diggers.
Until this time only a handful of trek operators specialising in the wartime history of the Kokoda campaign led groups across the Kokoda Trail.
Since then the number of trek operators on the Kokoda Trail has expanded to 63. According to their various websites and other promotional material they have a ‘passion’ for our diggers and are ‘expert’ in the wartime history of the Kokoda campaign. They are ‘adventurers’, ‘explorers’, ‘historians’ and ‘expert expedition leaders’. They are ‘trained in advanced First-Aid’, ‘equipped with satellite phones/VHF radios’, ‘have public liability insurance’ and ‘a 24 hour rear link to Port Moresby’.
Unfortunately the Government of Papua New Guinea does not have a Department of Fair Trading to vet false and misleading claims otherwise the field of legitimate trek operators on the Kokoda Trail might be reduced to a single digit figure. Neither does the PNG Kokoda Track Authority have the legislative authority to address the veracity of the various operator claims so prospective trekkers have to conduct their own research using the age old caveat of ‘let the buyer beware’.
Prospective trekkers would therefore be well advised to conduct detailed research on each of the trek operators that purport to meet their needs. Some have military backgrounds, others have experience in leading eco-groups to adventure destinations but many don’t have either.
Since the opening of the Isurava Memorial in 2002 around 50 trekking companies have been established to exploit the commercial opportunities of the new industry. Not one of these operators has seen active military service or published any historical papers about the Kokoda Trail prior to 2002.
One of these latter groups, established in 2004, adopted the name ‘Kokoda Spirit’. The proprietor makes claims to be a Kokoda ‘explorer, adventurer and historian’. The Home Page of the website claims: ‘Kokoda Spirit has unlocked some of the great mysteries associated with the Kokoda Track, including the lost and forgotten Kokoda battlefields and the 68 year old mystery of the disappearance of Captain Sam Templeton.’
This claim is false and misleading. The battlefields of the Kokoda campaign have never been ‘lost’ or ‘forgotten’. A review of the Australian War Memorial website and a glance at the myriad of Battle Honours paraded on every Anzac Day march since 1946 will verify this.
The search referred to for Captain Sam Templeton was in this writer’s view a shameless publicity stunt and did nothing to add to the official post-war investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. The latest publicity however has had a devastating impact on Templeton’s now elderly son which resulted in him suffering a serious breakdown and being hospitalised as a result of the stress it caused. There have been no reports of any additional forensic evidence discovered to add to official post-war investigations into Templeton’s disappearance.
Kokoda Spirit claims to ‘see things as an explorer, historian and adventurer’ on their Home Page. This begs the question as to how one can explore tracks that Australians have trekked across since 1942? The unsourced material in the historical writings on the website also begs the question as to authorship?
The ethics of Kokoda Spirit were exposed in 2008 when the PNG Kokoda Track Authority responded to suspicions that some rogue trek operators were smuggling trekkers across the Kokoda Trail without paying for trek permits. A PNG ranger post was established at Efogi village, about half-way along the trail, to audit the numbers.
The Authority’s audit revealed that Kokoda Spirit applied for 477 trek permits but actually led a total of 855 trekkers across the trail. This meant that the company led an additional 378 trekkers in 32 separate trek groups without an actual trek permit. The figure could be higher than this because the website boasts that the operator led more that 1000 trekkers across and was the biggest operator on the Kokoda Trail. This claim was removed after the publication of the audit.
The audit resulted in recovery of somewhere between $37,000 and $51,000 in unpaid trek fees (a third of trek fees collected are allocated to villages along the trail for projects that deliver shared benefits to all). Operators who deprive subsistence villagers of these benefits by not truthfully disclosing trekker numbers are in the writer’s view corrupting the spirit of Kokoda.
An arrangement was apparently later struck by the new management of the Kokoda Track Authority with the operator so the full extent of the actual numbers paid for is still unknown. According to the Kokoda Spirit website the Authority has now selected this particular operator to solely ‘manage and facilitate the invitation only Kokoda Track Authority Chairman’s Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels Day trek in August 2011′.
Such ‘arrangements’ would undoubtedly be referred to a corruption watchdog if it were to happen in Australia.
Treks across the Kokoda Trail are special journeys for those interested in the wartime history of the Kokoda campaign and/or a personal ‘off the beaten track’ adventure. There are a number of legitimate trek operators who cater to both needs or a blend of each one.
Prospective trekkers should therefore have clear objectives for their Kokoda trek and then source an experienced operator best suited to meet their needs. More importantly, they should be aware that not all trek operators may conduct their treks in the true spirit of Kokoda.
April 12th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Having completed the track lat year and experiencing Kokda Spirit or lack thereof I fully agree with the authors comments. In my experience some porters were simply not paid and this ended up in a fight at Kokoda Airport amopngst the Kokoda Spirit porters, with the head porter Sigh suffering a deep gash on his forehead and being taken to hospital. When I advised Wayne the owner of Kokoda Spirit he and his Australian Laeder shrugged it off and denied it was their porters. After calling him everything I could possibly think of in the reception centre of the Gateway Hotel he finally agreed to look into the matter. He returned and once agian attempted to shrugg it off. But alas he picked the wrong person and I ahve told many trekkers about how they treat them and there porters on the track. Its a bloody disgrace and I hope when I tekk there next week that they at least have cleaned up their act.
October 19th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Having just completed a trek with Kokoda Spirit and having Wayne Weatherall as the trek leader I have to disagree with all your comments. He is an excellent historian and trek leader. The trip was one of the most memorable I have even had and I would highly recommend this company should you also be interested in walking the Kokoda Track. The porters are very happy, competent people who enjoyed the trek as much as the group. The meals were plentiful and yummy.