Bomana War Cemetery is the largest in the Pacific with 3779 graves. The cemetery lies in a serene tropical garden 19 kilometres north of Port Moresby off Pilgrims’ Way. The cemetery was begun by the army in 1942 and formally dedicated by the Governor-General of Australia, Field Marshall Sir William Slim, on 19 October 1953. Those who died fighting in Papua and Bougainville are buried here.  The official ANZAC Day Service is attended by veterans and dignitaries from across the Pacific.  The Australian Defence Force provides the Catafalque Party at the Cross of Sacrifice and Papuan soldiers form a Guard of Honour. The service includes a martial band and the angelic voices of a local school choir.

The solemn silence of the pre-dawn is a time for quiet reflection on your trekking experience.  The first glint of light on the endless rows of polished marble headstones is a humbling reminder of the price of freedom and the sacrifice involved to secure it.  The candle-lit faces of more than a thousand Anzac pilgrims bow in silence as an army bugler sounds Reveille. A lone bagpiper then moves among the headstones  to the haunting tune of Flowers in the Forest which bids farewell to the dead.

Our ANZAC treks follow the original wartime trail and include authentic historical briefings at all battlesites and other significant areas. They also include a moving battlefield Dawn Service at the Isurava War Memorial and a Remembrance Service at the 21st Brigade Headquarters position on Brigade Hill.

At Bomana the Cross of Sacrifice, the Memorial to the Missing and the Stone of Remembrance are built of a particularly beautiful golden-coloured sandstone.  The graves are marked with polished marble headstones and dressed in uniform rows on sloping lawns between the Stone of Remembrance and the Cross of Sacrifice.

On a rise at the rear of the cemetery is the Port Moresby Memorial to the Missing which consists of a rotunda of cylindrical pillars enclosing a circle of square pillars with bronze panels engraved with the names of 703 Australians as well as Papua and New Guinea local forces listed as missing-in-action. The names of the battlefields on which the men died are carved on the entablature above the pillars. In the centre is a topograph with a bronze compass showing the direction of the distant New Guinea battlefields.

The ANZAC Dawn Service has its origins in a military routine which is still followed by the Australian Army today. During battle, the half-light of dawn was one of the most favoured times for an attack. Soldiers in defensive positions were woken in the dark before dawn, so by the time first light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert, and manning their weapons; this is still known as the “stand-to”. As dusk is equally favourable for attacks, the stand-to was repeated at sunset.

After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they had felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. A dawn vigil, recalling the wartime front line practice of the dawn ‘stand-to’, became t

Linking Kokoda with the official ANZAC Dawn Service at Bomana War Cemetery is the ultimate Kokoda experience.

ANZAC Dawn Service at Bomana War Cemetery

Isurava Memorial

Isurava Memorial Service

Brigade Hill – 1942

Brigade Hill Service

The recent desecration of a significant wartime site along the Kokoda Trail by the Australian Government is a blatant act of historical vandalism.

The site I refer to is an abandoned mortar position adjacent to Lake Myola about halfway across the trail. I found the position approximately 10 years ago whilst I was investigating this particular area with a local landowner. It was off the side of a remote track that was used by local hunters. It was part of an ammunition storage system that supported the mortar baseplates out on the lakebed of what is called Little Myola. The mortars would have been positioned to support the Australian hospital and logistic support bases on Big Myola.

The position comprised a large ammunition storage pit and a large quantity of mortars, M36 grenades, clips of .303 ammunition, detonators and fuses. Lying around the area were rotted army boots and a couple of rusted shovels. The ammunition was stacked in rows beside the pit and covered in moss that had gathered over the past 60 years. This gave the position a haunting appearance in what is known as the moss forest. I reported the discovery to the PNG Kokoda Track Authority but at that stage it was operated by an expatriate manager and a part-time secretary and there was little interest in the preservation of historically significant sites along the Kokoda Trail.

It was not until a public outcry over the threat to mine a large part of the trail in 2006 that the Australian Government finally took more than a token interest in the area. Unfortunately, the Howard Government miscalculated and allocated responsibility for the preservation of the Kokoda Trail to the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, most probably because the Heritage Division was responsible for the List of Overseas Places of Historic Significance to Australia. The status of Heritage’ has since been dropped from what is now the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Arts has recently been added to the Minister’s responsibilities but does not yet rate a mention in its acronym.

Since 2008 Kokoda has been used as a subterfuge for the department to pursue an environmental agenda in PNG. Its guise was to embed staff in the PNG Department of Environment and Conservation to assist PNG to develop a submission  for a World Heritage listing of the Owen Stanley Ranges including the Kokoda Trail. A joint agreement with an emphasis on global warming was signed with considerable fanfare. Terms relating to military heritage did not rate a mention. One can only speculate how ‘joint’ the agreement was in the framing process. Highly paid Canberra envirocrats with tax exempt salaries and generous allowances were dispatched to advise and assist the PNG Government to save the Kokoda Trail. For most of those involved, it was their first trip to PNG and the trail quickly became a lucrative honey-pot for a coterie of anointed consultants. They came; saw; held talk-fests; produced five-point plans; and left with a wallet full of booty.

Experienced Kokoda pioneers were excluded from what can only be described as a ‘closed shop tender process’ that clearly favoured ‘friends’ of the envirocrats.

The results speak for themselves. When the envirocrats arrived in 2008, 5,621 Australians had trekked Kokoda. After three years of ‘assistance’ resulting in a ten-fold increase in staff; a conga line of consultants; and more than $20 million of taxpayers’ money; the numbers have decreased by almost half to 2,914.

Projects initiated without any reference to PNG authorities or the trekking industry included the construction of massage parlours; a failed $3 million Village Livelihood Project; and a dysfunctional management structure. Australian managers and staff engaged during the period 2008 to 2012 have left the PNG Kokoda Track Authority without any management protocols. There is no master plan to protect and develop sites of military historical significance; no legislation to support their authority; no campsite booking system; no credible trek operator licensing system; and not a single sustainable outcome from their ill-conceived Village Livelihood Project.

The only winners thus far are those who received generous tax-exempt salaries and even more generous overseas living allowances; the consultants they engaged to solve problems they don’t understand; and a bevy of aid-funded non-government organisations who continue to reinforce local beliefs in cargo cults.

An AAP report in May 2009 revealed that a single consultant receives $10,517 a month in tax-free allowances under AusAID’s Advisory Support Facility in PNG. If the consultant brings their partner along they get $14,239 a month for accommodation, hardship, medical or utility fees. Consultants on short stays under 180 days receive $469 per day for the first 28 days then $400 a day for the rest. If they work 180 days that earns them up to $74,000 in allowances. An agreement between the Australian and PNG governments gives aid advisers tax-free salaries, putting a married senior consultant in PNG on approximately $30,000 a month, netting them $360,000 a year. Junior single consultants gross approximately $20,000 a month, adding up to $240,000 a year in salary and allowances.

What the AAP report did not reveal was that these consultants are a law unto their own.  They are not accountable to the people they are supposed to serve and are adept at fending off criticism until the expiry of their term.

As a result the wartime integrity of the Kokoda Trail is now facing the same level of threat as that posed by the establishment of a goldmine in 2006. The historical integrity of the mortar position at Lake Myola has been destroyed forever by the senseless decision to build a steel-wire cage and lock all of the ammunition within it.

Trekkers have no need to visit the site and the local custodians are now denied the opportunity to earn a respectable income from it. I have always argued that the Kokoda Trail should be developed as a model for a wartime tourism industry in PNG because the local people are the custodians of battle sites sacred to our military heritage. Unfortunately, Australia’s attempt to assist PNG in this regard since 2008 has been an unmitigated failure. I am happy to debate this statement with anybody at anytime in any forum.

I believe that responsibility for the protection and development of the wartime heritage of the Kokoda Trail should be transferred to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs at the earliest opportunity. We need to start again with a management plan that acknowledges Kokoda as a wartime pilgrimage for most Australians and not an environmental levitation for eco-trekkers or a bottomless pit of booty for aid-funded consultants and non-government organisations.

The Kokoda Trail is now enjoying a cycle of wealth it has never experienced before and villages along the way are capable of enjoying a sustainable future as a result of the Kokoda trekking industry that has emerged over the past decade. All it needs is a master plan based on the wartime heritage of the Kokoda campaign and an effective corporate management authority.

AusAID funding and NGO activity should now be moved further north to ensure the wartime integrity of other significant battlesites at Goiari, Oivi, Awala, the Kumusi, Buna, Gona and Sananada is properly protected and honoured with an appropriate memorial plan. Almost three times as many Australian soldiers lost their lives on these battlefields as Kokoda. It is now time for their sacrifice to be properly honoured by the country that owes them so much.

Lest We Forget

Charlie Lynn

The Mortar Position at Lake Myola when it was first discovered in 2005:

As it is today after four years deliberation and $20 million ‘investment‘ in advisors and consultants by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities:

2002 - 60th Anniversary of the Kokoda campaign:
Department of Veterans Affairs honour the Isurava battlesite with a significant memorial:

2012 – 70th Anniversary of the Kokoda campaign:
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities ‘honour‘ the Isurava battlesite with a ‘massage parlour’:

Surely enough is enough!

Before the transition to darkness each day soldiers would lie still during ‘stand-to’ in shallow pits lest the enemy used the cover to launch a surprise attack.  The silence in such an environment is deafening – until battalions of 6 o’clock crickets pierce the air with shrill buzzing calls lasting for up to half-an-hour.  For the first-timer in the jungle it is an unnerving sound but soon becomes part of the normal cycle of activity as they acquaint themselves with the sounds of nature.

Speak to any veteran of the Templeton’s Crossing campaign and they will quickly ask if the 6 o’clock crickets are still around. They are – but their status is under challenge from a new creature, the ‘chanting bogan’.

Chanting bogans are keen to tick the Kokoda trek off their bucket list and get across as quick and as economically as possible.  Some of the Kokoda eco-operators seem to target the bucket-lister market because they are low maintenance. They don’t want anything more than a superficial introduction to the wartime history – in fact they don’t want anything that will detract them from their egotistical mission of ‘doing Kokoda’.

Just as the peace of a ‘stand-to’ was often shattered by the 6 o’clock crickets during the Kokoda campaign the solemnity of a battlefield presentation or service is now disrupted by chanting bogans shouting ‘Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie – Oi, Oi, Oi’ to keep cadence as they stomp on by. Those on a historical pilgrimage across the trail have cause to cringe.

Six O’clock crickets have endured for centuries and will continue their shrill orchestra for centuries to come. It is hoped that the new bogan-chant, ‘Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie – Oi, Oi, Oi’ will not be as long lived.

Our corporate treks expose young managers to the environment where examples of Australian leadership and teamwork are the stuff of legend. We tailor each one to meet the needs of endividual trek groups.

Some may want to use the physical challenge of Kokoda to get to know each other better and improve their team esprit de corps. Others may wish to draw upon the lessons to be learned from our battlefield leadership during the Kokoda campaign – and there are lessons aplenty at all levels in this regard.

Participants learn about themselves in a way that is only possible when they are tested to their limits in a challenging and unfamiliar environment – and they learn more about their colleagues than they would after a lifetime association within their normal corporate environment.

Team bonds established last well beyond the memory of the hardships shared during the program. Witness Australian Diggers who sometimes only knew each other for a short time on the Kokoda Trail in 1942 – but who meet annually ever since to commemorate that experience.

Our leaders are well qualified for these treks because of their practical experience in command leadership.

Commodore Simon Hart was Captain of two of our frontline battleships (HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Hobart) during his distinguished career in the Royal Australian Navy.  Both ships were awarded ‘ship of the year’ under his command and he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross for his outstanding leadership.

Major Chad Sherrin was decorated for his combat leadership as a Sergeant during the Vietnam War.

Lieutenant-Colonel Rowan Tracey commanded a unit of 1000 men during his tour of duty in Papua New Guinea – he is regarded as Australia’s most authoritative historian on the Kokoda campaign.

Major Charlie Lynn is a Vietnam Veteran, graduate of the Army Command and Staff College and instructor in outback survival.

As a group we have led more than 100 expeditions safely across the Kokoda Trail over the past 20 years.

We have watched with wry amusement as some past trekkers have ‘borrowed’ our material, mixed it with some well-worn leadership clichés, met an old digger or two and sought to establish themselves as ‘experts’ on the Kokoda campaign. They seem to operate on the old adage that you can ‘bullshit some of the people some of the time’.

We work on the adage that you don’t have to work on Kokoda – Kokoda works on you. For some the impact of their trek will be immediate. For others it will be longer term as they digest the experience.  The only certainty is that the outcome will be positive.

Our corporate trek leaders have spent more than 100 years in the military – they are experienced in the ‘military appreciation’ process for the formulation of battle plans; they understand the phases of warfare and the principles of each phase; and they know how to relate this information at each of the various battlesites along the way. They didn’t read about it in books – they helped write the books!

Their command experience allows them to facilitate dialogue in their ‘leadership reflections’ around the campfire at the end of each day. Their leadership is based on reality – not theory.

That is our major point of difference.

Our corporate trek leaders are experienced in real-time emergency management.  They are qualified in remote area first-aid and have a 24/7 rear link in Port Moresby.  The rear-link is managed by Warren Bartlett, a former PNG Patrol Officer who has been in PNG for more than 40 years. He is fluent in ‘tok pisin’; is equipped with VHF radios; satphones and emergency power back-up. He has a close and respectful relationship with the PNG emergency services.

“We have no doubt we are now invincible. We have plummeted to our worst lows and soared to our greatest heights. there is nothing physically or emotionally we cannot endure. We had set off as 34 individuals, half of us Australians and half of us Papuan villagers. when we part we are friends – an inadvisable and strong unit for whom farewells come hard. If the spirit of Kokoda is strength in adversity, courage and mateship, that spirit has been seeded in us all.”

Marian Frith
The Canberra Times

My first backpack for Kokoda had an external frame – I still have welts in my back to prove it.  Never again!

If you intend to continue your adventures off the beaten track after Kokoda you should outlaying a bit of extra money and look at brands such as Osprey, One Planet, Deuter, Macpac or Wilderness Equipment. You can check them out by clicking on each link. You need to be prepared to spend $250 plus on these top of the range backpacks.

I have been using an Osprey pack for the past few years and cannot think how it can be improved. It is light, strong and well-balanced. I believe the other brands are of equal quality but I can only report on what I carry.

If you are looking for a good quality reliable backpack I would recommend a Caribee 65 or 80 litre. These range in price from $130 upwards and you won’t get better value than that for the price. We purchased a few hundred of an earlier model around four years ago and they have been used by our PNG guides and carriers on a continuous basis ever since.  They have lasted at least a year more than I expected so I have no hesitation in recommending them.

You might like to keep the following hints in mind when you venture into your nearest camping store to purchase your backpack:

Fit

This is a very important consideration. Most backpacks have adjustable hip belts, shoulder harness, and stabilizer straps but even then, the basic shape of the hip belt and shoulder harness might not be compatible with your body. In particular, women might want to look for backpacks that are developed for the female body.

Frame Comfort

The Frame comfort category determines how well the frame transfers the load from the pack into the waist belt and to a lesser extent onto your shoulder straps. You should also ensure your pack has good quality adjustment buckles.  There is nothing more frustration than cheap buckles that allow pack adjustments to ‘slip’.  This will inevitably result in your shoulders carrying the bulk of your load and can result in a great deal of discomfort for the neck muscles. That’s my experience anyway.

Weight

The weight of your backpack is an important consideration for a trek across Kokoda.  Higher end backpacks are usually more expensive because they use lighter and stronger material in their construction.

Adjustablity

The higher end backpacks usually offer more flexibility in catering to your body size. You can therefore swap the shoulder harness  and waist belts to ensure you have a good fit before you leave the store. However I have found that even most basic packs now provide the ability to fit well by allowing adjustments for the height of your body frame and then allowing you to personalise your adjustments.  I always tighten my waist strap to the max, then bend forward slightly to pull my shoulder harness in until it is snug. I then straighten up and adjust my two shoulder straps then connect my chest strap.

If the plastic buckles are good quality it will retain the adjustment however the cheaper ones don’t and you therefore need to constantly adjust them. This can lead to bad thoughts about what you are going to say/do to the sales assistant who gave you an assurance they would not slip as he asked you whether you would like to enter a Pin number or sign!

I often had to adjust my Caribee but I have never had to adjust my Osprey.  I guess it reflect the old adage about getting what you pay for!

The following links might help with your research:

1. Backpack Features

2. Caribee Backpack Review

We welcome any hints you might have in regard to backpacks – or any links you think might be of assistance to trekkers preparing for their Kokoda experience.

In the past many trekkers wanted to do it ‘as the diggers did it’.  They were therefore advised they would not need a tent, a sleeping bag, spare clothes, toiletries or food.  They would also have to go to a disposal store and buy some hard leather hob-nailed boots.

Some persisted and made an unrealistic attempt to carry their own backpack regardless. Unfortunately we then had to try and recruit local villagers to help them complete their journey. This placed an unfair burden on the guides and carriers we had recruited as they then had to share their food and shelter as there was no prospect of a resupply.

The trek itself is hard enough without the unnecessary burden of an extra 12-15 kg.

For those who engage a Personal Carrier we recommend they purchase a small daypack – between 10 and 35 litres – to carry your water and snacks.

It is wise to do some research to ensure you get one that meets your needs for the trek – and for years to come.  Please don’t borrow or bring a cheapy – it might not last the distance and it will certainly not fit well. If it doesn’t fit properly you will curse your decision from about day 2.

It should have a good suspension system, a hydration sleeve, an outside pocket and a rain-cover.

Some of the links below will assist in your research:

Osprey Sirrus 24 Women’s Daypack

Osprey Daypack

Osprey Talon 22 Daypack

Osprey Manta 24 Daypack

Osprey Stratos 24 Daypack

One Planet Daypacks

Wilderness Equipment Daypacks

Blackwolf Daypacks

Caribee Daypacks

Macpac Daypacks

DAYPACK REVIEWS:

Outdoor Gear Lab Review

Adventure Journal Review

Hydration bladders are a much more effective aid in avoiding dehydration because of ease of use. All you have to do to have drink on the move is put the bite valve, which hangs beside your cheek, into your mouth and suck on it. Waterbottles placed in a pocket of your backpack or hanging from a clip can be a bit more fiddly to use and therefore some prefer to wait for a restbreak before they have a good swig from them. This is not a good approach to avoiding the perils of dehydration in a hot, humid, tropical environment.

Quality and convenience are two of the most important factors in choosing a hydration bladder. If the bite valve just fits on the tube there is a chance it could slip off – if you don’t have a spare valve (and companies like Camelback charge like a wounded bull for spares) then you are beggared.

I have used most of the brands over the years and I believe the Osprey is the best – by a long shot. It has a rigid spine which helps maintain its shape and prevent the reservoir from folding on top of itself, and the AquaGuard anti-microbial formula makes sure you don’t taste anything but pure, clean water. It has 180 degree on/off pivot bite valve with magnet which clips onto the strap of an Osprey pack for convenience.

Following are some useful links to allow you to do your own research:

Hydration Systems

Review: Camelback Vs Osprey

Video: How to choose a hydratiion system

Video: Hiking 101: Hydrations Systems

Osprey Hydration Bladder

Camelback

Platypus

Preventing mould in a hydration system

Please let us know your preferences.

It is then a good idea is to cluster similar small items, such as eating utensils, toiletries, 1^st Aid items, clothing, sleeping gear, etc and pack them in zip lock or stuff bags. I use different coloured bags for these items.

I pack the things I am likely to need during the day in the zipper compartment on the top of my pack i.e. head-torch, mosquito repellent, snacks, spare torch batteries and lighter.

I pack my cup, eating utensils and a small chamois in the side compartments.

When loading my pack I obviously place the gear I do not need during the day at the bottom of the pack i.e. sleeping bag (which is packed in a waterproof stuff-sack); sleeping gear and clothing.  I then pack my 1^st Aid Kit, rain jacket, plastic plates and toiletries at the top of the pack for easy access during the day.  As a guide you should place your items so that 80 percent of the weight is sitting on your hips.

If you have a foam or therm-a-rest sleeping mat you can strap this to the outside of your backpack – if the ground is wet when you take a break you can easily unstrap it and use it as a mat.  I also hang my sandals on the outside of my pack for easy access for creek crossings.

After your bag is packed, tighten all compression straps to limit load-shifting while trekking.

Click here to watch a vidio on how to pack your backpack

Click here to check out a review on the Vasque Breeze boots I have been trekking with.

Click here to review a video on ‘How to choose hiking boots’

Review of hiking boots for women

How to lace hiking boots to prevent blisters

We invite comments from trekkers who might like to include some more advice based on their own ‘hepi trekking’ experiences

Good quality trekking poles such as Leki are light, strong and easy to adjust. I shorten my poles for the steep climbs to allow me to leverage off my arms and ease some of the weight off my legs. I lengthen them on the steep descents and use them as a break to ease the pressure of my knees which give me a bit of curry from time to time. I adjust them to just above waist height for flat sections and I find they provide good leverage and allows me to use my upper body to share the workload.

But most importantly, trekking poles are grear for balance.  The trail can be muddy and the rocks can be very slippery.  After awhile your trekking poles, because they are so light, become virtual extensions of your arms to be used instinctively to correct your balance if you take a wrong step.

They can also be used to dry your socks and jocks over the fire at night, hang your hat and sweat rag on when you take a break, etc, etc.

I simply wouldn’t trek without my Leki’s.

You can check a YouTube video on Leki Trekking Poles by clicking here.

Please let us know what you think about trekking poles – and tell us about your favourite brand.