This Blog has been setup to document the adventure my son (Andrew) and I are soon to undertake in walking the Kokoda track. We leave on April 14th 2010.
We are going the DIY path in terms of the trip.. ie no tour company ! Why you may ask ??? This seems to be heresy to most people we speak to !
Well, we are a Do It Yourself holiday family. For example, we walked the Overland track in Tasmania, Australia when our children were 9 and 11 years old. We packed and carried our own food etc for the 7 day walk. Part of the thrill is that sense you are out there with only what is on your back. Uncomfortable nights sleep on bedrolls, freeze dried camp food, long days walking...great moments our children (and ourselves) will remember forever.
What we found truly amusing was the people traveling the Overland as part of tour groups.. These people slept in huts with sheets at night. We climbed to the top of Mt Ossa (highest mountain in Tasmania) and ate stale crackers and peanut butter with crystal clear Tasmanian stream water to wash it down . Our upmarket friends ate hor douvres and a warm lunch with champagne to wash it down.
Now don't get me wrong, I'd rather be eating what they had. But at that moment, you realised what they were missing.... the true Cradle Mountain/Tasmanian experience.
I feel the same re Kokoda. In speaking to past walkers, some of their tour groups ran with 100 plus walkers. Many of these walkers had never walked and camped overnight. The tours generally started walking at 7.30 am after breakfast. The fitter walkers were told to stop walking around 1-2pm to allow the remaining, less fit walkers to catch up..ie the tours pace is set to the lowest common denominator.
These tours are ideal if you do not feel overly comfortable in the bush....ie have never been out camping for extended periods of time. Also, if you are less fit and capable with your walking.
Myself and Andrew are reasonably fit for a 14 and 44 year old (see our training regime in the blog). I am keen to carry my own equipment on the walk and better simulate what our troops experienced. Believe it or not, keen to wear the sale clothes for 8 days straight, get rained on, trudge though mud continuously, hopefully not get too lost, get sore muscles and eat the most primitive food imaginable. To me, this is the Kokoda experience I am hoping for.
