Adventure Kokoda is the only Australian Kokoda Trekking Company to commit to investing in the business of pilgrimage tourism across the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea and to fully comply with their investment Promotion Authority (IPA).

Our PNG investments include an office headquarters with 24/7 backup communications in a high-rise apartment in downtown Port Moresby; the full-time employment of a PNG Logistics Manager; the part-time employment of his wife and a quartermaster to manage our camping gear, communications equipment, uniforms, etc.; rental of a house for them to live in and use as a logistics base; a small fleet of vehicles; and a pool of 180 guides from across the Trail.

The company engages prominent Leahey, Lewin, Lowing and Sullivan Lawyers to ensure full compliance with the IPA Act including our employment and taxation obligations. These include Public Liability Insurance cover and Workers Compensation for all of our guides, porters and support crews.

But is wasn’t always like this!

In the early 1990s, there was minimal infrastructure in PNG to support trekking operations across the Kokoda Trail. This meant that everything, including the purchase and packing of meals, had to be organised in our kitchen in Australia. As trekker numbers increased, this became more difficult.

I then met Warren Bartlett, a former Kiap, who owned a house with a small shop at Sogeri. To supplement his income, he worked as a relief manager for the late Mal Kila-Smith at his Jais Aben resort in Madang.

I asked Warren if he would be interested in helping to organise our in-country logistics in PNG through his company, Sogeri Enterprises. At that stage, we had no idea of the costs involved.

He agreed, and over the following 12 months, Warren, a meticulous bookkeeper as a result of his previous long-term work in PNG Provincial Government affairs, recorded everything.

We then agreed that he could meet all our requirements for $2,200 (K6,600) per trekker for an 8-day trek and $2,400 (K7,300) for a 10-day trek, plus hotel/lodge accommodation. This included a significant contingency element to provide for unexpected expenses in ‘the land of the unexpected’.

We also agreed that these funds would be transferred to his Sogeri Enterprises company account 30 days in advance of each trek to enable him to commit to the required resources.

We then added our business management, marketin and equipment expenses to arrive at the cost of conducting our treks. It was a win-win arrangement for both parties.

As a result of this arrangement, Warren Bartlett extended his house into a lodge (Sogeri Lodge), which could accommodate up to 40 guests and employed up to 30 staff during the peak trekking season. He also purchased small vehicle fleet including buses, trucks and several other small vehicles.

Unfortunately, this business opportunity for PNG entreupeners is no longer possible due to the current Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) management’s failure to enforce the provisions of the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) Act for conducting business in PNG.

This allows rogue and bogan Australian trek operators to treat their IPA obligations with contempt by registering a simple ‘business name’, using one of their village guides as a front, and retaining all their funds in Australia.

They are therefore easily able to avoid their employment and taxation obligations in PNG, as an audit of IPA/IRC records would reveal.

The current extent of non-compliance by Australian Kokoda tour operators is revealed on this link: Due Diligence Guide for Kokoda Tour Operators

The KTA is not doing anyone a favour by issuing trek permits to anyone who turns up at the office without conducting any due diligence checks to verify whether they have the expertise and resources to meet their legal obligations and the basic expectations of international tourists.

They are therefore denying PNG companies the legislative protection they need to invest in legitimate inbound logistic support for Australian tour operators. They are also denying the government the ability to collect taxes on profits in the multi-million-dollar pilgrimage tourism industry.

The 52 per cent fall in pilgrimage tourism numbers since Australia took control of the Kokoda Trail from PNG in 2008 is a reflection of the lose-lose situation that now exists for trekkers and village communities.

A comparison with the Milford Sound Trek’s success in New Zealand is instructive.

Both Kokoda and Milford Sound trekking commenced in the early 1990’s. By 2008, each destination attracted around 5,700 trekkers.

Since then, Kokoda trekker numbers have fallen by 52 per cent, from 5,621 in 2008 to around 2,700 in 2025, while Milford Sound has doubled and now attracts more than 10,000 trekkers, booked out 12 months in advance!

This is despite the fact that while costs are comparable for both destinations, Kokoda has a far more compelling story and a more authentic cultural environment.

The success differential between the two destinations is related to management.

Milford Sound is managed as a commercial enterprise to meet the requirements of international eco-tourists, with legislative protection from the New Zealand government for private investors.

Kokoda, on the other hand, is managed as a Provincial government bureaucracy with no regard for the needs of international tourists and no legislative protection for investors.

Sogeri Enterprises ceased operations after Warren Bartlett relocated to Cairns in 2019.

We then established Adventure Kokoda (PNG); employed key staff from Sogeri Enterprises; engaged LLLS Lawyers to ensure we fully comply with the IPA Act; purchased a headquarters unit in dowtown Port Moresby and a small fleet of vehicles.

Rather than use 5-star international hotel conglomerates such as the Hilton we have contracted with a PNG company, The Sanctuary Hotel, to ensure our trekkers interact with authentic PNG culture from the time they arrive; we purchase all of our food and medical supplies for our treks from local supermarkets; we ensure we employ an equal number of guides and porters from each village for each of our treks; we have more than 180 registered guides and porters who we aim to give six treks to each one per year. We provide full trek uniforms, a sleeping bag and a mat for each, a medic on each trek dedicated to their welfare, and a similar ration scale for our trekkers.

All it takes to replicate our win-win arrangement with Sogeri Enterprises for other PNG companies is for the Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) to complete proper due-diligence checks on companies applying for Commercial Tour Operators Licenses to ensure they comply with their IPA Act as stipulated in their 2012 Conditions for Commercial Tour Operators.