Having been back a few weeks now, I have had time to reflect on the pros and cons of having organised our own trip versus going on an commercial tour. If I did it all again, I would DEFINITELY organise it again myself. Main reason was the flexibility it gave Andrew and myself on the trek ie we could come and go as we
could come and go as we pleased.
Many other trekkers constantly commented tat everytime they saw us, we were always swimming, eating, resting, playing etc. Being such a small group, our breaks and lunches were always real short, allowing us to get to the next village much earlier than the groups with 30 plus etc. Also, whenever we saw and nice river, we would stop and swim/hang for a while.
Other thoughts.
1) Culture.
With Tony(our guide) knowing guesthouse owners in each village, we spent far more time interacting with the villagers. This included eating meals with their family etc.
2) Food
Commercial trekking companies tend to have basic freeze dried meals (rice/mashed potato etc). Also, they did not eat local foods. We regularly ate village food and had similar/better quality freeze dried food.
3) Knowledge of trip
Due to the amount of pre walk preparation required for the self organised trip, we tended to have a better knowledge of the trip/area. Note though that this is also a downside to most people as more prep required
This blog has been set up to cover the training and actual Kokoda walk for Rick and Andrew Klink
