February 2, 2025 • 38 mins
This week Heidi and myself answer some FAQ's which will hopefully help you in your Kokoda prep.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Apodjay Production. This podcast is proudly brought to you by
Adventure Professionals www dot Adventure Professionals dot com dot au.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
For me, Mission Ridge and Brigade Hill.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
The whole Kakoda campaign more people need to know about it,
or know everyone knows someone who's trek Kokoda, but to
actually understand the stories of what these young guys did,
it's harrowing what they went through.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
They were staunched to the end against odds uncounted and
they fell with their faces to the.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Welcome to the Kakoda Track Podcast, hosted by former Soljet
Glen Asa. This is the place to hear stories from
those who've trecked Kakoda and gained tips of knowledge about
what to expect on the track, or to relive your
own amazing experiences. The Kakoda Track Podcast keeping the spirit
of Kakoda alive.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Glenn here, walking back to the Kokoda Track Podcast. This
week we're going to do a frequently asked Questions with
Heidi and myself. So I'm just about to give Hides
a call and we'll jump on and we'll go through
the ten most frequently asked questions around the Kokoda Track.
Now before I do that just quickly as we're coming
up to the ANZAC twenty twenty five period, just remembering
this is also the fiftieth year of independence for P
(01:28):
and G, so it's quite an important year for P
and G, and P ANDG is very close to my heart.
It means a lot to me, my partners from P
ANDNG and so we have such a tight connection with
the country, particularly over the last twenty years, but certainly
even in my own personal life, it's important to me
that we remember not only the war history, but the
history of P and G itself. So it is the
fiftieth anniversary of their independence this year, so that's something
(01:51):
we should all be celebrating as well. Whilst over there.
The other thing is I've had quite a few people
sending me emails just about the fact that they're doing
Kakoda and they found this podcast by listening, sorry, by
having booked and then looking for information, then for the
podcast and sending through some really lovely feedback.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
So thank you.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
If you get the time, I'd love you to give
it a rating on Apple or whatever platform you listen
to it and write a few words, because it just
helps other people find the podcast and you know, it's
like you look at reviews and decide if it's even
worth listening to, and the feedback, and the consistent feedback
is that it is. So thank you for that, because
it's just information to try and give people the best
(02:30):
experience they can possibly have whilst over on Coakoda. So
without further ado, I'll get onto hides and we'll chat
about all things frequently ask questions that hopefully will help
answer your questions on your upcoming Cocoda track experience. We're
going to talk about frequently ask questions, but I thought
(02:52):
before we do that, because this is where the podcast
will kick in, I'd love to obviously because we've talked
about your training in the last episode. Just an update
on how your training's going at the moment. And the
reason I asked it is because you've also been away
on holidays and how do you maintain your training when
you're on holidays? And the reason I asked that is
because people always tell me how my training's been a
bit off because this has happened, and that's happened, and
(03:13):
then we went here and you go, yeah, that's called life.
You have to find room in life to fit in
your training. So yeah, update on your training if you
don't mind.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Yeah, so, yeah, that's absolutely right. I have been away
for fourteen days actually, and I actually loved it. It
was great because I had lots of time to train.
It's kind of like my thing, I do, you know,
people might go we get coffee or go shopping or
when I go away, if it means I've got no distraction,
(03:43):
I can actually train. So I actually up to my
cave last week, and I think while I was away,
about twenty five k's done in the weeks rather than
the twenty so I didn't get my pack walk in,
so I guess that made up to that. But other
than that, my training kind of stayed right on points.
The only thing that did when it did suffer was
(04:04):
pack up day, Like when you know those couple of
days where you were packing up and then unpacking when
you get home, you just like snowed under with washing
and trying to get things organized.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Because you've got all the boys and like one thing,
I know, boys are messy, like.
Speaker 5 (04:24):
Yeah, yeah, and they you know, lucky. Then they really
got home and went straight back to their dads, so
there wasn't a lot of unpacking for them. Mum gets
to do it while they're you know, back bactly been
a comfortable life.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
But Dad, it's just magic. It just happens.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
Yeah, it is just magic. Yeah, but no, it was
a lovely It was a lovely couple of weeks away,
and I am ready to get stuff back into it now.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
When you don't stick exactly to your training plan obviously
due to life, do you add stuff in or what
sort of adjustments do you make?
Speaker 5 (04:59):
I used to beat myself up about this all the time,
and I get really terrible anxiety if I missed the
training session. And I don't actually plan my sessions anymore.
I just I listen. But I have enough, I guess
discipline to just do something. And most time I know
(05:22):
if I get up and I'm going to go do something,
then I'll end up doing something productive. I'm not. I
don't tend to. You know, half the battles is just
getting out and getting it done. So once you're there,
I don't put a lot of pressure on myself to
do exactly what in my head thinks I should do.
If I go for a run and I want to
do a long run, but then all of a sudden,
(05:42):
I feel real tired or I don't think that my
body wants, you know, should be doing that that day.
Then I'll just cut it short and I'll make it
up the next day. The chances are the next day
I'll feel better and I can I can punch out,
you know, a few more kilometers, and I am very adaptable,
like I'll just adapt if I you know, if I've
(06:03):
got a bit of a saw here, for I've got
less time, I'll still get out there and I'll do something,
whether it's you know, I might switch the run for
a training session, or might switch it just even for
you know, shorten my run and then go for swim.
That was the best part about being near the ocean,
I guess, was being able to get in the ocean
after nearly every run and have that recovering time as well. Yeah,
(06:26):
but I've just I think I've learnt over the years
to not beat yourself up because life does throw lots
of I didn't get any training in yesterday, but then
you know, I mowed lawns and rode a couple of horses,
and you know, moved a bit of hay around and unpacked,
so I feel like I still had a lot of
active calories just by being busy, so yourself, I.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Give to the point though you've got a long training
history obviously, and then doing kokoda as often as we do.
But for people that have, you know, well, there's different
top people. Some people love a structure and some people don't.
But if you've been sitting in an office for ten
or twenty years, every session you miss, I guess is
chance that you're not putting a deposit into the bank.
(07:08):
Because that's how I view training, like I'm training for
that thirty nine hour at the moment, and I'm the same.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I have a lot of flexibility.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
So last week we like MILLI writes my training programs,
as I get bored writing training programs after all these years,
but she writes mine, and then it'll have like a
mount Kuther or a climb or an off road sort
of trek on there because I tell her what I
want to do as well, and then she just structures it.
And then we didn't do that last week. We just
literally around our times. The last week at the school holidays,
(07:34):
we still wanted to fit in all the stuff with
the boys, so we just threw the boots on a
pack on and just did our normal sort of walk,
which is you know, five to seven k's. Now, if
you stack those two sessions up, they're not even closed.
It's less than ideal, but it's better than doing nothing,
and it was from home, so we didn't because our
other walk, we've got to drive forty five minutes to
an hour to get to it. Then you've got to
(07:55):
do an hour and a half or so, then you're
forty five minutes an hour back, So that becomes a
whole three hour of three and a half hour commitment
that we just didn't have on top of everything else
we're doing. Plus we've actually got some png people living
with us at the moment, so there's a young Olympic
box he's a two time Olympian, John Hume, who's coming
over here for me to train and manage into the
(08:17):
professional ranks. He's a very very talented kid. And his
wife's currently living with us because she's got a job
already working in Brisbane working in disability support, which is
really cool. And then he comes over next week. So
of course, then when you've got other people living with you,
there's all that stuff. But for those people listening, if
you're training for ANZAC in particular and you're not got
(08:38):
a good training background, or you've been largely sitting by
on a desk for ten or twenty years, you definitely
have to be structured and you have to think, yeah,
I can still hear.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
You, you just could near me for some reason. Weird. Anyway,
we're still rolling.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
So I was just saying that for people that are safe,
you're coming up to ANZAC because you're you've only got
a certain amount of sessions left in the bank, and
so I like to look at things across that whole
in the next two months. If your plan is to
do three sessions a week and you've got eight weeks,
really that's only your twenty four sessions, So everyone you
miss does become one less that you have the capacity.
(09:17):
So if you can fit in on a different day
or but if you start to miss two or three
or a whole week, that's where if you don't have
a good training background, you're going to get yourself in
a bit of strife.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yeah, So I guess there's a you know, we're lucky
enough that we do this a lot, and that helps
you know. There's nothing better than doing the thing that
you're training to do.
Speaker 5 (09:37):
Yeah, Yeah, absolutely, that's going to give you the best,
I guess experience. But yeah, it's a super handy also
having a very physical job. You know, it must be
a lot tougher for people sitting behind a desk because,
like you said, you know, they miss one session, then
it's not like they're actually getting up and getting moving
doing something else either, so it's completely missed for them.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Yeah, one hundred.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Now, last week or the last session we spoke about,
I was just saying that we're are going to go
through the ten most frequently asked questions and I've done
FAQs before on this podcast, but I've had quite a
few emails at the beginning of this year from people
who were booked on ker codas not with us, sadly,
and that's I always get this feedback that I hadn't
(10:21):
heard of you guys, because you know, we're a small
boutique company, I guess, but I hadn't heard of you
guys until I booked and then I listened, started looking
for information, couldn't find anything, found the podcast, and one
of the emails I got was amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Just so this is the most.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Phenomenal resource and your passion for the country and for
PNG in general, not just a track is so obvious,
and had I have heard of you, I would have
absolutely booked with you guys first, which is cool, but
that's not the case. But it's cool that people are
getting good information from us. And then I think, if
we put out an FAQ, you know, semi regularly people
who are new to the podcast a little bit at
(10:55):
the top of their feet. And that's really why people listening,
mostly because they want to know about fitness, because they
get a bit nervous and they want to know about
all the things that maybe isn't in their info. And
that's not to say companies don't put it in, but
I don't know. Sometimes it's easy to go for a
walk and be listening to something. So yeah, we've had
really really good feedback recently on that. So I thought
it's a good time to go through some FAQs and
(11:17):
just see, you know, if we can answer all the
questions people. So I put this in the modern world
into chat TBT because what it does is it scans
all the websites and comes up with the ten most
asked questions, and so I thought I'd ask you these
as well and myself and we'll just go through and
answer them from people. And number one, which is funny
(11:38):
enough because we go through a lot. I wouldn't have
picked this as number one, but it is the Kakoda
track safe And I thought my first question to you
would be, have you ever felt unsafe over there? Because
a woman, that's really relevant.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
It's absolutely relevant. And it wasn't until you mentioned that
the other day. Is that I thought, I actually do
get asked that a bit, but I guess in my
own mind it doesn't even register, you know, I don't
even it's just I guess it is because they were
over there afair bit maybe, But I've never felt unsafe.
(12:12):
I when you go over there and you get on
the track, the way the locals look after you, you
never feel unsafe. They and we are their livelihood in
a way. You know, they love and they have so
much pride in what they do. They just want to
take care of you. I've never felt unsafe. And you know,
(12:34):
you are literally in the middle of nowhere, in a
strange country, in the jungle, with no self service most
of the time. And you know, obviously we carry a
SAP phone for emergencies, but you are very exposed.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
We have all that boys too, I guess which is good.
Like people ask me that and I say, I've never
felt unsafe, and then invariably the next thing is, yeah,
but you're six foot two hundred and fifteen kilos and
an next soldier, Like, okay, i'll give you that. That's
why I thought it's relevant to ask you the same question,
because you're not a six foot two, one hundred and
fifteen y ex soldier, So you know, I just wanted
(13:11):
to get that context. And it hazard a guess to
say that most people who've trecked with us would say
the same thing, that at no stage that they feel unsafe,
because I do ask that question a lot, like you know,
when I'm chatting to people on them, I felt fine,
And I think partially that's because we've got a good
relationship with the local people, not just our boys, but
in the villages. We were very good at getting along
(13:32):
with everyone. I'm very conscious that this is not our home.
We're walking through people's backyards and just to be and
I remind everyone who's trekking this year, just to be
respectful of the fact that whilst it's this jungle experience
for you, it is their backyard. And just be super
respectful of the people. Ask questions if you're not sure
about the culture, because I know I would definitely pull
(13:52):
people up if there's cultural things going on that could offend,
like they don't like people, you know, and this is
take this however people want to but they don't like
girls dressing too skimply, so getting around in your bathers,
which is sometimes see you in camps and or or
anything kind of looks like you're undies or short shorts
which we wouldn't think twice about wearing in Australia, but
we're not in Australia. And because they're largely Seventh Day Adventists,
(14:14):
they don't say anything, but they don't like it. And
so occasionally Killer will tell us if he thinks something's
a little bit and we're not really comfortable with that. Okay,
well at least we know now, and so just ask
questions is my advice to people. But when I put
this into chap GVT, it answered the questions as well,
based off the information it could find, and it didn't
just talk about safety from the people perspective. It says,
(14:37):
while the Codo track is generally safe, it traverses rugged
and remote mountain jungle train, which can present risks such
as rain, fog and rapidly changing weather conditions. Tick tick tick.
It does all those things, and it says it's essential
to trek with a reputable company. There's comprehensive risk management
plans and safety procedures. Professional guys should carry satellite phones
and first daid kids and trekers are advised to undergo
(14:58):
a full medical check before embarking on the journey. Now
to you and I, that sounds like common sense because
we make everyone do that and we carry those things.
But I have had experiences on the track where I've
run into people who've just booked some locals. When they
got over there, they haven't had sat phones, they've been unwell,
We've had to try and evacuate them. And I've definitely
seen people not physically prepared, which is one of the
(15:20):
reasons I started with the podcast, and not prepared in
other ways. So when it says safe, I kind of thought, oh,
safe from the locals, because people have a P ANDNG
idea what P andng's like. But I guess I hadn't
thought about, you know, is the company going with do
they have all the things I've got a lady coming
with us for ANZAK and she's been paid for by
the Scouts because it's part of a larger program. And
(15:40):
they've asked for a copy of our comprehensive risk assessment
and our safety management plan. Now, yeah, and that happens
to me normally when I do companies like Channel seven,
when we did the Mates for Mates trip, or when
I've done the Hawthorn Footy Club, or when you do
teams or big organizations, they'll generally ask that because their
insurance company last for it. You think about when we
took the Hawthorn Footy Club across the track. When you
(16:03):
add up all of their wages, you're taking millillions of
dollars worth of talent. Yeah, and they don't want something
to go wrong, So that makes sense. But this is
the first one I had it asked as an individual.
For those people listening, you should be able to ask
for risk assessors. You should be able to ask for hey,
what is the safety management plan? Now they don't have
to go in debt, but you need to know they
have one. So you know, I hadn't thought of that
point of view from his Kakota Safe but it's an
(16:25):
interesting one.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
Absolutely, Like it is a mill and it is so
rugged you do fall over, Like it's most people fall
over a couple of times a day. So I hadn't
even considered that either. It's definitely more likely to be
unsafe just because of the terrain and because you've gone
(16:49):
with a company who might not be one hundred percent
prepared for that. Then you would be being in that
in the PNG, you know, local environment. The boys and
even the boys when you do fall over there the
first one to pick you up anyway there and.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
They fall over, we all fall out. Go you Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Question number two we'll do five today is what level
of fitness is required? Very broad that question, But what
level of fitness from your point.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
Of view, Oh it is that's a really broad question.
I think just an average level of functional fitness. You
should be able to be well enough to move your
body through a good amount of range of motion and
(17:41):
have a decent amount of endurance. You know, it's and
we talk about it all the time. If you sit
it a desk all day, then you're going to struggle.
So your body's not used to going through those ranges
of motions, whether it's stepping up or stepping down whether
it's but I say to people when they ask me,
(18:03):
you know, how hard is it? Well, it's all it's
all relevant to how fit you are. But you know,
it might be sixteen thousand steps in a day, but
fifteen thousand of them, fifteen thousand of those steps will
be either upper meter or down a meter, Like you're
constantly unbalanced and moving in different directions, trying to being uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
I've been wet if you don get round your wet
a lot of the times, I just discomfort can also
add to that as well.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
Quite often people say to me, like, because I'll run sometimes,
you know, thirty eight to forty degrees here in Scone
in the middle of the day and I'll go out
for a run, well, like it's money and that it's perfect,
you know. Or if it's raining, I'll just go for
a run because it just forces your body to get
used to it. It's actually no real excuse, and I
(18:55):
know the weather's going to be like that over there,
so just get it done. And if you've trained with
that mindset, whether you've had the opportunity to do it
a lot or not, if you've trained with that kind
of mindset, where I'm just going to get this done
or I'm going to get something done. Then when you
get over that, you're going to enjoy it more.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
It's interesting from that you mentioned steps, because there are
some days on Kakoda where I've done thirty two or
thirty eight thousand steps on some days, and as you said,
they're pretty hectic steps ups and downs. But in a
day to day a lot of people wouldn't honestly would
not do ten thousand steps in a day a lot
of people. So even just if you're doing it on
(19:35):
the flat, I'm not saying you have to go out
and do thirty thousand steps, but you definitely need to
be hitting your minimum of ten to fifteen thousand just
to have your body conditioned for walking. And it sounds stupid,
but it is a thing. The answer on chat GBT,
which I don't dislike these answers, it says Kakoda is
physically demanding, requiring a good level of fitness, and that's
what I believe. Like you said, a good level of fitness,
(19:56):
I don't think it has to be you don't have
to be elite, you just have to be a good
level of fitness. Trekkers should engage in a training regime
that includes cuting of vascular exercise, strength training, and endurance building.
And this is the line I liked. Proper preparation will
enhance your experience and reduce the risk of injury. Those
are two pretty important things.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
I think if you if you are struggling to find
the time to train, then I think a weighted height
through not just a road height, but like if you
can find some kind of rugged terrain where the surface
is uneven, I think that's the perfect way to get
(20:37):
your miles underneath your legs, just because that rugged terrain
forces you to use your core, all.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Your supporting muscles around all your joints, your ankles, your knees.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Yeah, yeah, so I think if you can't find time
to do everything, I think that weighted path war on
rugged surface is absolutely the bare minimum.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Absolutely A great question. Three, what is the best time
of year to trek? And bearing in mind that could
kind of typically runs from April film to October, sometimes
into early November. But from your point of view, what
do you think the best time of year to trek is?
Speaker 5 (21:16):
Every month? No, I well it's so random, you know,
we've been over there I think mainly my trips have
been and zak so April May, and then I've done
one June, and I've done one July, and I don't
think i've been over any later than July. So and
(21:38):
I was because that last September trip was canceled last year,
so I haven't really experienced the full range of the season.
But from what I have experienced, it's so random. You know,
it's to the point where it could be raining in
one place fifty meters away, but not raining on you.
So I think the last and that trip I did
(22:02):
the second go around, it's was probably the wettestrip I've done.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Misty wet, wasn't it that whole time?
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Yeah? It was really misty wet? And then we had
one day where it just rained and ranged and ranged.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
I been actually cold on Cocada that trip, like while
you're out walking because that son hadn't really gotten out
and it actually felt cool.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
Yeah. Yeah, And I think maybe being a bit of
a smaller statue of human, I do get a little
bit cold if if we're standing around for too long,
you know, once you're once you've soaked through. I would
normally it's just take even take my wet shirt off
and put my rain coat on over the top, and
(22:46):
that's a little bit of a sauna, I guess, just
to try and keep warm, especially if we're moving slow,
like it's the back of the pack is moving a
bit slow, you can get a little bit cold, but
like it's really it's still part of the experience. We
don't We always say to people, well, well, now you
know when it's raining. Now you've got the truth, pfoa experience.
And I do think if you don't get at least
(23:07):
one of those days where it's really wet, you haven't
You haven't really had full experience, missed.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
A piece of it.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
So I always to answer this question, I'll say to
people like ANZACs obviously popular it is generally the more wet,
and then the other end of the season October November
can be wet, but if you're looking for dry weather
July August, you tend to get dry weather, tend to
But you haven't said that. I've had a July trip
which rained all the time. You so don't hold me
to this. But typically it's dry in that period and
(23:34):
you can move a lot quicker and it's a lot
more comfortable but I'm with you. I think at least
one day rain just to get that experience and what
proper PNG rain is and how that affects the overall trek,
because a good heavy rain can easily add an hour,
an hour and a half, maybe two hours onto a
day easily, just depending on what section you're on. You're
(23:56):
going down some of those downhills where the water is
like a river and you can't even see exactly where
you're putting your feet. That's crazy, it says on their
chat GVT. It's pretty broad. But opdoor trek's during the
dry season, which runs from April to October. However, even
during this period you should still expect some rame, which
is I think is a plight way of putting in
(24:17):
the other months that consider the wet season, which can
make the treck more challenging due to money conditions and
swirling rivers. I would go as far as I say
you wouldn't trek in the wet season, and the locals
don't like to trek in the wet season because the
risks are too high. It's very uncomfortable, and I think
to go in the proper wet season would be a
very average experience. And now I know the soldiers had
to fight there and all of that sort of stuff,
(24:38):
but we have to add up the experience of learning
the history over there and what risk we're willing to take.
And I've been over really late with the AFL teams,
and there were some We were caught coming down out
of a lola into that first little creek crossing and
we couldn't cross it. It was so high, like it
came right up onto the rocks we had, and it
was raging whitewater. So we had to go back up
(25:00):
and spend a whole day on a lola while the
boys went down the locals, not just our boys with
a low because we're trying to build a bridge high
enough to get over it. So we end up spending
two full nights one and a half days at a
loler before we could get across. Now, that was that experience,
But if the next river had been the same, and
the next river had been the same, you don't have
the time to spend three days trying to cross what
you'd normally do.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
In one.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Question four, this is what should I pack for the trek?
So I understand why that would be a question. I
guess most all companies surely would give you a packing list.
I suggested packing list, and you could definitely find one
if you didn't. But what I thought I would address
in this is, you're a really you're a really tight
packing lot. You have the smallest backpack and you've got
(25:44):
everything you need in it. So what's a typical sort
of pack figures? Most people will have, say, four pair
of socks, two sets of maybe treking clothes, one set
of night clothes. That's what I advise, and then you know,
maybe a few creature comforts. I've seen people bring fold
up chairs and black up mattresses and all those little
things which if you're willing to carry or if you've
got a portocool, often those fold ups hairs I think
(26:06):
are unneeded and then end up being given away. So
the locals love to see them because I know that
probably end up with them when you get sick of
carrying them around and realize there's plenty of places to
sit anyway.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
But yeah, what what's your sort of packing list?
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Like, Yeah, I've really nailed it down because I always
carry on my own gear and I'm not I'm not
some high maintenance I'm a pretty basic kind of gal
at home, even so I don't even I don't even
take a hair brush, So I normally braid my hair
on the first day and don't take it out for
(26:39):
you know, three or four days, and then it's just
running my fingers through it. So that's the kind of
simplicity that I like to stick to, and I do
think it adds to the experience when you don't have
a lot of clutter. I think when you're going over
there and they live so simply, I think if you
don't have a lot in your bag, you're not you know,
fussing around every morning trying to fit things in and
(27:01):
looking for stuff that you can't find. And I normally
just pack all my stuff into my little dry bags,
and so I'll have one dry bag that's got clean
clothes in it, and that might be you normally takes
like too long sleeve shirts, and that's I take two
because I am a cold frog, so I normally always
(27:22):
have one on when we step off in the morning
over my T shirt because I'm still cold. But then
I can also double them up and use them as
a jumper, so, you know.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
I guess, because sometimes stuff goes missing too just off
the clothes lines, or clothing gets confused, a T shirt
goes missing, or so that, Yeah, you kind of have
to cover yourself for that.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Ously that happens so many times.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
I have had that happened a couple of times and
been a little bit tight for clothes. But I guess again,
it's all just you know, just where what you were,
what you've got on. You just may do. But I
would say I normally take too long sleep shirt and
a pair of tracksuit pants, normally like the cannavery tracksuit pants,
and then I'll take two pairs of shorts and two shirts,
(28:08):
and that's what I hike in. I might take maybe
three or four pairs of socks, and I normally take
just two pairs of socks that I hike in now
and I will alternate them or I know it's probably
a bit uncooth, but I'm a farm girl, so it
doesn't really bother me. I will wear socks wet. It's
(28:30):
not ideal, but I tend to have no problem with
footrot or anything, so I'll air my socks out of
the nighttime by the fire, try and get them dry.
And I just find sometimes it's easier to take care
of only like one pair of socksposed to three or
four different pairs of socks and be fustened around in
(28:50):
a tent looking for stuff, so, you know, and then
I might take I always take another dry bag with
with my first age kick deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaye. You know,
you just get all the compact stuff. You don't need
a lot of anything, and always take we you know,
(29:12):
as guides, we always take excessive amount of stuff when
it comes to strapping tape and you know which we
can just in case we do have to take foot
rocks because you know there's yeah, they'll take a bit
of a stape and then I guess I don't really
take a lot of luxuries. You know, you just need
(29:33):
a hat, sunscreen. I've even treked maybe three times now
without a towel, like I'll just dry myself off with whatever,
you know, my shirt or just drip dry. Yeah. Yeah,
And you know, lots of people take lollies. Last time
I went, I actually instead of taking bags that you
(29:56):
just you know, digging your hand into eating a roofless
amount of lollies and then running out and not having
anything for the last three days, I actually divided up
my lollies last time in the little glad bags and
hid the rest of them in the bottom of the bag.
And so this every day, I just made sure I
had one little bag in front of my because of
my hiking pack actually has pockets in the front. Oh yeah,
(30:20):
so I just put lollies for that day in there,
and then that way I can't even really get to
the other lollies. And then I don't actually even have
a cover on my pack. So I make sure everything's
in those dry bags. And I do take my own
mattress and my own sleeping bag, but I've got that
nailed down now to a pretty small size. And wait,
(30:41):
so I think my hiking pack in general only way
is about ten kio.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
We're doing this for the first time or one time,
which a lot of people listening will only do it once.
I can understand why there's a propensity to overpack, because
you're worried about all the things that you might need
when you're out there. But I always think the worst
thing if you particul if you can your own gear,
is to get all the way to the end and
unpack your pack. And there's things in there that you
never take. So this is what tap GVT says, and
(31:09):
this is relevant, I guess, because there's some things mentioned
in here that we already bring as a group, but
not all companies do that. So just again for people listening,
always check what your company supplies, because you don't want
to be caught over there and find out they don't
have something that you thought they would have, turns out
you were meant to being So it just says essentral items,
including a suitable backpack, which obviously we supply the backpacks,
(31:30):
sturdy hiking boots, appropriate clothing for both warm days and
cold nights, a personal first aid kit I always agree
with that, and biodegradable toiletries. It's also important to carry
water purification tablets and high enji snacks. A detailed packing
list is usually provided by a company. Now for us,
we do the backpacks, we do the water purification, we
do the high energy snacks. But we always say to
people you want to bring a few extras, of course,
(31:50):
as long as you're willing to carry them. So that's
a pretty good sort of overlay.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
I guess.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Particularly, I've had companies where people get over there and
find out that food's not supplied, and they thought food
was supplied, and then as in all food and some
of the obviously the very very cheaper end companies do that.
My advice obviously and maybe unbiased because the way we
do it is find people that know what they're doing,
companies like ourselves, and there's plenty of good ones out there.
(32:15):
And if you want someone that surprise everything, if you can,
because they already know what backpacks work and what tents
work the best based off weight you're carrying versus you
know the durability of the tent and so and it's
always a fine line.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Food.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
We've got a pretty well downpack with Brooklyn how to
pack all the food packs that generally cover everyone, so
you're not guessing and you're not carrying all this excessive weight.
I've had you guys carrying cans of food that's just
so heavy when you could be going dehydrated, you could
be going small pack stuff and so on. So again
the advice would be, first find out what your company
(32:50):
supplies so you're not surprised when you get over there. Now,
last one for today, do I need a porter and
what is their role?
Speaker 6 (32:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (32:59):
Good, good question, and the answer for me is very simple,
and I always tell people get a porter. So when
I did my first trip with you, I didn't get
a porter, and I, you know, I went over there
with this massive ego. No I'll can't carry my own stuff.
And when I got home, I was like, I felt
(33:20):
like I didn't get the full experience.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
I agree, but like.
Speaker 5 (33:24):
Everybody else had these beautiful relationships that they'd formed over
the week with their porter. You know, the porter will
help you pick you up when you fall over and
just chat with you along the way and get your
water and look after you. And I didn't get that,
you know, so I felt a little bit like.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
It's definitely a piece of the experience you can miss
you absolutely. But also I always say to people, one,
if you drop your ego, no one cares whether your
code joke gear or you didn't like nobody knows that
because when you do co codea people don't ask two things.
They never asked did you win, So they don't care
how fast you're moving, and they don't ask whether you
your own gear most of the time. But what I
(34:06):
love is it does support the local community because I
know for us, like the fee it costs for a
porter for the week, which is less around one hundred
bucks a day when you work out a bit less
that covers everything. None of that goes to us. That
all goes to Killer, and that's to feed the boys'
houser boards because they star have to pay for accommodation
along the way and their payment as well. So to me,
(34:27):
it's a pretty good investment. But it's also supporting the
local community. That's kind of my take on it. And
even chat gvts it says hir importer is optional but recommended,
especially if you're not accustomed carrying heavy loads over long distances.
Porters can carry gear, allowing you to focus on the
trek and conserve energy and then this, but I like additionally,
hiring local porters supports the local economy and provides employment opportunities.
(34:49):
So I really I like that because that's literally my
thought pattern, Like, it doesn't affect me personally if you
do or don't hire one, and so it's good you
can give advice when you don't have any dog in
the fight. You just say, hey, it's up to you
if you want to spend that extra money, of course,
but here's the benefits of it, and a lot of
people don't realize that until, like you said to the
gets in, It wasn't that you weren't physically capable clearly
(35:11):
of carrying your own gear. It's that little missed opportunity
to just build that rapport, particularly.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
With one person.
Speaker 5 (35:17):
Yeah. Yeah, and even the amount of like I love
when we get into Katoda now and all the boys
that they're waiting for us. You know, they come in
from their villages up on the track and they want
the opportunity to be a porter. They love it. So
you know, even boys that haven't been told that they're
going to get a go will come in just in
(35:40):
case they need, you know, we might need a backup
for some reason, or one of the other boys might
be sick and can't be a porter.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
They come in just in case, just in.
Speaker 5 (35:49):
Case, and they'll be hanging around there waiting, and they're
so excited even you know, to get there. You know,
trek up. You know, they'll all line up there and
kill our hands. You know, meets everybody up and joined
everyone up and said, oh you know this is such
and such and you will be a porter. You can
see them are anticipating the week and how they can
build relationships with everyone, and it's a really special thing.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
So that's our first five frequently asked questions. We'll do
the next five in another episode. But that's a good
start point for people to at least get a handle
on things. And you can do all the research yourself,
and you can find all of these answers in different places.
But I guess we have the opportunity from a point
of view of experience. I've been able to explain the
hows and whys.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
All right, we go again next week.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
All right, excellent, thanks, all right, calculators.
Speaker 6 (36:43):
Right, let's stupiffee racing God visits.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
The bond between Ossie's and the people of Papi and
New Guinea was forged in war and it endures in peace.
We've felt that friendliness, that special connection, and the comforting
presence of our porters and in every small community along
the Kakoda Track.
Speaker 6 (37:26):
WHOA, Okay, guys, thanks for tuning in.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
It would be awesome if you'd share this with anyone
you know that's going to the Kakoda Track, or that
has been and has a keen interest in the track.
Speaker 6 (37:54):
It's people and those that choose to track it.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
The pillars of Isheraba say, courage, endurance, mayship, and sacrifice
great words to live by.
Speaker 6 (38:01):
And this podcast will offer makeshift and a.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
Place for those that live and love the Kakoda Track
experience until next episode, live a life that inspires you
and those around you.
Speaker 6 (38:11):
And remember to take time out to think about what's
really important, what's really important?
Speaker 2 (38:15):
What's really important?
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Thanks for listening to the Kakoda Track Podcast. To get
in touched or stay up to date, go to Kakoda
Track Podcast on Facebook or email Glen at Adventure Professionals
dot com dolo here. Don't forget to subscribe and share.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
With your friends.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Let's keep the spirit and the stories of Kakoda and
the P and G people alive.
Apodjay Production. This podcast is proudly brought to you by
Adventure Professionals www dot Adventure Professionals dot com dot au.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
For me, Mission Ridge and Brigade Hill.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
The whole Kakoda campaign more people need to know about it,
or know everyone knows someone who's trek Kokoda, but to
actually understand the stories of what these young guys did,
it's harrowing what they went through.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
They were staunched to the end against odds uncounted and
they fell with their faces to the.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Welcome to the Kakoda Track Podcast, hosted by former Soljet
Glen Asa. This is the place to hear stories from
those who've trecked Kakoda and gained tips of knowledge about
what to expect on the track, or to relive your
own amazing experiences. The Kakoda Track Podcast keeping the spirit
of Kakoda alive.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Glenn here, walking back to the Kokoda Track Podcast. This
week we're going to do a frequently asked Questions with
Heidi and myself. So I'm just about to give Hides
a call and we'll jump on and we'll go through
the ten most frequently asked questions around the Kokoda Track.
Now before I do that just quickly as we're coming
up to the ANZAC twenty twenty five period, just remembering
this is also the fiftieth year of independence for P
(01:28):
and G, so it's quite an important year for P
and G, and P ANDG is very close to my heart.
It means a lot to me, my partners from P
ANDNG and so we have such a tight connection with
the country, particularly over the last twenty years, but certainly
even in my own personal life, it's important to me
that we remember not only the war history, but the
history of P and G itself. So it is the
fiftieth anniversary of their independence this year, so that's something
(01:51):
we should all be celebrating as well. Whilst over there.
The other thing is I've had quite a few people
sending me emails just about the fact that they're doing
Kakoda and they found this podcast by listening, sorry, by
having booked and then looking for information, then for the
podcast and sending through some really lovely feedback.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
So thank you.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
If you get the time, I'd love you to give
it a rating on Apple or whatever platform you listen
to it and write a few words, because it just
helps other people find the podcast and you know, it's
like you look at reviews and decide if it's even
worth listening to, and the feedback, and the consistent feedback
is that it is. So thank you for that, because
it's just information to try and give people the best
(02:30):
experience they can possibly have whilst over on Coakoda. So
without further ado, I'll get onto hides and we'll chat
about all things frequently ask questions that hopefully will help
answer your questions on your upcoming Cocoda track experience. We're
going to talk about frequently ask questions, but I thought
(02:52):
before we do that, because this is where the podcast
will kick in, I'd love to obviously because we've talked
about your training in the last episode. Just an update
on how your training's going at the moment. And the
reason I asked it is because you've also been away
on holidays and how do you maintain your training when
you're on holidays? And the reason I asked that is
because people always tell me how my training's been a
bit off because this has happened, and that's happened, and
(03:13):
then we went here and you go, yeah, that's called life.
You have to find room in life to fit in
your training. So yeah, update on your training if you
don't mind.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Yeah, so, yeah, that's absolutely right. I have been away
for fourteen days actually, and I actually loved it. It
was great because I had lots of time to train.
It's kind of like my thing, I do, you know,
people might go we get coffee or go shopping or
when I go away, if it means I've got no distraction,
(03:43):
I can actually train. So I actually up to my
cave last week, and I think while I was away,
about twenty five k's done in the weeks rather than
the twenty so I didn't get my pack walk in,
so I guess that made up to that. But other
than that, my training kind of stayed right on points.
The only thing that did when it did suffer was
(04:04):
pack up day, Like when you know those couple of
days where you were packing up and then unpacking when
you get home, you just like snowed under with washing
and trying to get things organized.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Because you've got all the boys and like one thing,
I know, boys are messy, like.
Speaker 5 (04:24):
Yeah, yeah, and they you know, lucky. Then they really
got home and went straight back to their dads, so
there wasn't a lot of unpacking for them. Mum gets
to do it while they're you know, back bactly been
a comfortable life.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
But Dad, it's just magic. It just happens.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
Yeah, it is just magic. Yeah, but no, it was
a lovely It was a lovely couple of weeks away,
and I am ready to get stuff back into it now.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
When you don't stick exactly to your training plan obviously
due to life, do you add stuff in or what
sort of adjustments do you make?
Speaker 5 (04:59):
I used to beat myself up about this all the time,
and I get really terrible anxiety if I missed the
training session. And I don't actually plan my sessions anymore.
I just I listen. But I have enough, I guess
discipline to just do something. And most time I know
(05:22):
if I get up and I'm going to go do something,
then I'll end up doing something productive. I'm not. I
don't tend to. You know, half the battles is just
getting out and getting it done. So once you're there,
I don't put a lot of pressure on myself to
do exactly what in my head thinks I should do.
If I go for a run and I want to
do a long run, but then all of a sudden,
(05:42):
I feel real tired or I don't think that my
body wants, you know, should be doing that that day.
Then I'll just cut it short and I'll make it
up the next day. The chances are the next day
I'll feel better and I can I can punch out,
you know, a few more kilometers, and I am very adaptable,
like I'll just adapt if I you know, if I've
(06:03):
got a bit of a saw here, for I've got
less time, I'll still get out there and I'll do something,
whether it's you know, I might switch the run for
a training session, or might switch it just even for
you know, shorten my run and then go for swim.
That was the best part about being near the ocean,
I guess, was being able to get in the ocean
after nearly every run and have that recovering time as well. Yeah,
(06:26):
but I've just I think I've learnt over the years
to not beat yourself up because life does throw lots
of I didn't get any training in yesterday, but then
you know, I mowed lawns and rode a couple of horses,
and you know, moved a bit of hay around and unpacked,
so I feel like I still had a lot of
active calories just by being busy, so yourself, I.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Give to the point though you've got a long training
history obviously, and then doing kokoda as often as we do.
But for people that have, you know, well, there's different
top people. Some people love a structure and some people don't.
But if you've been sitting in an office for ten
or twenty years, every session you miss, I guess is
chance that you're not putting a deposit into the bank.
(07:08):
Because that's how I view training, like I'm training for
that thirty nine hour at the moment, and I'm the same.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I have a lot of flexibility.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
So last week we like MILLI writes my training programs,
as I get bored writing training programs after all these years,
but she writes mine, and then it'll have like a
mount Kuther or a climb or an off road sort
of trek on there because I tell her what I
want to do as well, and then she just structures it.
And then we didn't do that last week. We just
literally around our times. The last week at the school holidays,
(07:34):
we still wanted to fit in all the stuff with
the boys, so we just threw the boots on a
pack on and just did our normal sort of walk,
which is you know, five to seven k's. Now, if
you stack those two sessions up, they're not even closed.
It's less than ideal, but it's better than doing nothing,
and it was from home, so we didn't because our
other walk, we've got to drive forty five minutes to
an hour to get to it. Then you've got to
(07:55):
do an hour and a half or so, then you're
forty five minutes an hour back, So that becomes a
whole three hour of three and a half hour commitment
that we just didn't have on top of everything else
we're doing. Plus we've actually got some png people living
with us at the moment, so there's a young Olympic
box he's a two time Olympian, John Hume, who's coming
over here for me to train and manage into the
(08:17):
professional ranks. He's a very very talented kid. And his
wife's currently living with us because she's got a job
already working in Brisbane working in disability support, which is
really cool. And then he comes over next week. So
of course, then when you've got other people living with you,
there's all that stuff. But for those people listening, if
you're training for ANZAC in particular and you're not got
(08:38):
a good training background, or you've been largely sitting by
on a desk for ten or twenty years, you definitely
have to be structured and you have to think, yeah,
I can still hear.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
You, you just could near me for some reason. Weird. Anyway,
we're still rolling.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
So I was just saying that for people that are safe,
you're coming up to ANZAC because you're you've only got
a certain amount of sessions left in the bank, and
so I like to look at things across that whole
in the next two months. If your plan is to
do three sessions a week and you've got eight weeks,
really that's only your twenty four sessions, So everyone you
miss does become one less that you have the capacity.
(09:17):
So if you can fit in on a different day
or but if you start to miss two or three
or a whole week, that's where if you don't have
a good training background, you're going to get yourself in
a bit of strife.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yeah, So I guess there's a you know, we're lucky
enough that we do this a lot, and that helps
you know. There's nothing better than doing the thing that
you're training to do.
Speaker 5 (09:37):
Yeah, Yeah, absolutely, that's going to give you the best,
I guess experience. But yeah, it's a super handy also
having a very physical job. You know, it must be
a lot tougher for people sitting behind a desk because,
like you said, you know, they miss one session, then
it's not like they're actually getting up and getting moving
doing something else either, so it's completely missed for them.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Yeah, one hundred.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Now, last week or the last session we spoke about,
I was just saying that we're are going to go
through the ten most frequently asked questions and I've done
FAQs before on this podcast, but I've had quite a
few emails at the beginning of this year from people
who were booked on ker codas not with us, sadly,
and that's I always get this feedback that I hadn't
(10:21):
heard of you guys, because you know, we're a small
boutique company, I guess, but I hadn't heard of you
guys until I booked and then I listened, started looking
for information, couldn't find anything, found the podcast, and one
of the emails I got was amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Just so this is the most.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Phenomenal resource and your passion for the country and for
PNG in general, not just a track is so obvious,
and had I have heard of you, I would have
absolutely booked with you guys first, which is cool, but
that's not the case. But it's cool that people are
getting good information from us. And then I think, if
we put out an FAQ, you know, semi regularly people
who are new to the podcast a little bit at
(10:55):
the top of their feet. And that's really why people listening,
mostly because they want to know about fitness, because they
get a bit nervous and they want to know about
all the things that maybe isn't in their info. And
that's not to say companies don't put it in, but
I don't know. Sometimes it's easy to go for a
walk and be listening to something. So yeah, we've had
really really good feedback recently on that. So I thought
it's a good time to go through some FAQs and
(11:17):
just see, you know, if we can answer all the
questions people. So I put this in the modern world
into chat TBT because what it does is it scans
all the websites and comes up with the ten most
asked questions, and so I thought I'd ask you these
as well and myself and we'll just go through and
answer them from people. And number one, which is funny
(11:38):
enough because we go through a lot. I wouldn't have
picked this as number one, but it is the Kakoda
track safe And I thought my first question to you
would be, have you ever felt unsafe over there? Because
a woman, that's really relevant.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
It's absolutely relevant. And it wasn't until you mentioned that
the other day. Is that I thought, I actually do
get asked that a bit, but I guess in my
own mind it doesn't even register, you know, I don't
even it's just I guess it is because they were
over there afair bit maybe, But I've never felt unsafe.
(12:12):
I when you go over there and you get on
the track, the way the locals look after you, you
never feel unsafe. They and we are their livelihood in
a way. You know, they love and they have so
much pride in what they do. They just want to
take care of you. I've never felt unsafe. And you know,
(12:34):
you are literally in the middle of nowhere, in a
strange country, in the jungle, with no self service most
of the time. And you know, obviously we carry a
SAP phone for emergencies, but you are very exposed.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
We have all that boys too, I guess which is good.
Like people ask me that and I say, I've never
felt unsafe, and then invariably the next thing is, yeah,
but you're six foot two hundred and fifteen kilos and
an next soldier, Like, okay, i'll give you that. That's
why I thought it's relevant to ask you the same question,
because you're not a six foot two, one hundred and
fifteen y ex soldier, So you know, I just wanted
(13:11):
to get that context. And it hazard a guess to
say that most people who've trecked with us would say
the same thing, that at no stage that they feel unsafe,
because I do ask that question a lot, like you know,
when I'm chatting to people on them, I felt fine,
And I think partially that's because we've got a good
relationship with the local people, not just our boys, but
in the villages. We were very good at getting along
(13:32):
with everyone. I'm very conscious that this is not our home.
We're walking through people's backyards and just to be and
I remind everyone who's trekking this year, just to be
respectful of the fact that whilst it's this jungle experience
for you, it is their backyard. And just be super
respectful of the people. Ask questions if you're not sure
about the culture, because I know I would definitely pull
(13:52):
people up if there's cultural things going on that could offend,
like they don't like people, you know, and this is
take this however people want to but they don't like
girls dressing too skimply, so getting around in your bathers,
which is sometimes see you in camps and or or
anything kind of looks like you're undies or short shorts
which we wouldn't think twice about wearing in Australia, but
we're not in Australia. And because they're largely Seventh Day Adventists,
(14:14):
they don't say anything, but they don't like it. And
so occasionally Killer will tell us if he thinks something's
a little bit and we're not really comfortable with that. Okay,
well at least we know now, and so just ask
questions is my advice to people. But when I put
this into chap GVT, it answered the questions as well,
based off the information it could find, and it didn't
just talk about safety from the people perspective. It says,
(14:37):
while the Codo track is generally safe, it traverses rugged
and remote mountain jungle train, which can present risks such
as rain, fog and rapidly changing weather conditions. Tick tick tick.
It does all those things, and it says it's essential
to trek with a reputable company. There's comprehensive risk management
plans and safety procedures. Professional guys should carry satellite phones
and first daid kids and trekers are advised to undergo
(14:58):
a full medical check before embarking on the journey. Now
to you and I, that sounds like common sense because
we make everyone do that and we carry those things.
But I have had experiences on the track where I've
run into people who've just booked some locals. When they
got over there, they haven't had sat phones, they've been unwell,
We've had to try and evacuate them. And I've definitely
seen people not physically prepared, which is one of the
(15:20):
reasons I started with the podcast, and not prepared in
other ways. So when it says safe, I kind of thought, oh,
safe from the locals, because people have a P ANDNG
idea what P andng's like. But I guess I hadn't
thought about, you know, is the company going with do
they have all the things I've got a lady coming
with us for ANZAK and she's been paid for by
the Scouts because it's part of a larger program. And
(15:40):
they've asked for a copy of our comprehensive risk assessment
and our safety management plan. Now, yeah, and that happens
to me normally when I do companies like Channel seven,
when we did the Mates for Mates trip, or when
I've done the Hawthorn Footy Club, or when you do
teams or big organizations, they'll generally ask that because their
insurance company last for it. You think about when we
took the Hawthorn Footy Club across the track. When you
(16:03):
add up all of their wages, you're taking millillions of
dollars worth of talent. Yeah, and they don't want something
to go wrong, So that makes sense. But this is
the first one I had it asked as an individual.
For those people listening, you should be able to ask
for risk assessors. You should be able to ask for hey,
what is the safety management plan? Now they don't have
to go in debt, but you need to know they
have one. So you know, I hadn't thought of that
point of view from his Kakota Safe but it's an
(16:25):
interesting one.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
Absolutely, Like it is a mill and it is so
rugged you do fall over, Like it's most people fall
over a couple of times a day. So I hadn't
even considered that either. It's definitely more likely to be
unsafe just because of the terrain and because you've gone
(16:49):
with a company who might not be one hundred percent
prepared for that. Then you would be being in that
in the PNG, you know, local environment. The boys and
even the boys when you do fall over there the
first one to pick you up anyway there and.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
They fall over, we all fall out. Go you Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Question number two we'll do five today is what level
of fitness is required? Very broad that question, But what
level of fitness from your point.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
Of view, Oh it is that's a really broad question.
I think just an average level of functional fitness. You
should be able to be well enough to move your
body through a good amount of range of motion and
(17:41):
have a decent amount of endurance. You know, it's and
we talk about it all the time. If you sit
it a desk all day, then you're going to struggle.
So your body's not used to going through those ranges
of motions, whether it's stepping up or stepping down whether
it's but I say to people when they ask me,
(18:03):
you know, how hard is it? Well, it's all it's
all relevant to how fit you are. But you know,
it might be sixteen thousand steps in a day, but
fifteen thousand of them, fifteen thousand of those steps will
be either upper meter or down a meter, Like you're
constantly unbalanced and moving in different directions, trying to being uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
I've been wet if you don get round your wet
a lot of the times, I just discomfort can also
add to that as well.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
Quite often people say to me, like, because I'll run sometimes,
you know, thirty eight to forty degrees here in Scone
in the middle of the day and I'll go out
for a run, well, like it's money and that it's perfect,
you know. Or if it's raining, I'll just go for
a run because it just forces your body to get
used to it. It's actually no real excuse, and I
(18:55):
know the weather's going to be like that over there,
so just get it done. And if you've trained with
that mindset, whether you've had the opportunity to do it
a lot or not, if you've trained with that kind
of mindset, where I'm just going to get this done
or I'm going to get something done. Then when you
get over that, you're going to enjoy it more.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
It's interesting from that you mentioned steps, because there are
some days on Kakoda where I've done thirty two or
thirty eight thousand steps on some days, and as you said,
they're pretty hectic steps ups and downs. But in a
day to day a lot of people wouldn't honestly would
not do ten thousand steps in a day a lot
of people. So even just if you're doing it on
(19:35):
the flat, I'm not saying you have to go out
and do thirty thousand steps, but you definitely need to
be hitting your minimum of ten to fifteen thousand just
to have your body conditioned for walking. And it sounds stupid,
but it is a thing. The answer on chat GBT,
which I don't dislike these answers, it says Kakoda is
physically demanding, requiring a good level of fitness, and that's
what I believe. Like you said, a good level of fitness,
(19:56):
I don't think it has to be you don't have
to be elite, you just have to be a good
level of fitness. Trekkers should engage in a training regime
that includes cuting of vascular exercise, strength training, and endurance building.
And this is the line I liked. Proper preparation will
enhance your experience and reduce the risk of injury. Those
are two pretty important things.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
I think if you if you are struggling to find
the time to train, then I think a weighted height
through not just a road height, but like if you
can find some kind of rugged terrain where the surface
is uneven, I think that's the perfect way to get
(20:37):
your miles underneath your legs, just because that rugged terrain
forces you to use your core, all.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Your supporting muscles around all your joints, your ankles, your knees.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Yeah, yeah, so I think if you can't find time
to do everything, I think that weighted path war on
rugged surface is absolutely the bare minimum.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Absolutely A great question. Three, what is the best time
of year to trek? And bearing in mind that could
kind of typically runs from April film to October, sometimes
into early November. But from your point of view, what
do you think the best time of year to trek is?
Speaker 5 (21:16):
Every month? No, I well it's so random, you know,
we've been over there I think mainly my trips have
been and zak so April May, and then I've done
one June, and I've done one July, and I don't
think i've been over any later than July. So and
(21:38):
I was because that last September trip was canceled last year,
so I haven't really experienced the full range of the season.
But from what I have experienced, it's so random. You know,
it's to the point where it could be raining in
one place fifty meters away, but not raining on you.
So I think the last and that trip I did
(22:02):
the second go around, it's was probably the wettestrip I've done.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Misty wet, wasn't it that whole time?
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Yeah? It was really misty wet? And then we had
one day where it just rained and ranged and ranged.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
I been actually cold on Cocada that trip, like while
you're out walking because that son hadn't really gotten out
and it actually felt cool.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
Yeah. Yeah, And I think maybe being a bit of
a smaller statue of human, I do get a little
bit cold if if we're standing around for too long,
you know, once you're once you've soaked through. I would
normally it's just take even take my wet shirt off
and put my rain coat on over the top, and
(22:46):
that's a little bit of a sauna, I guess, just
to try and keep warm, especially if we're moving slow,
like it's the back of the pack is moving a
bit slow, you can get a little bit cold, but
like it's really it's still part of the experience. We
don't We always say to people, well, well, now you
know when it's raining. Now you've got the truth, pfoa experience.
And I do think if you don't get at least
(23:07):
one of those days where it's really wet, you haven't
You haven't really had full experience, missed.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
A piece of it.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
So I always to answer this question, I'll say to
people like ANZACs obviously popular it is generally the more wet,
and then the other end of the season October November
can be wet, but if you're looking for dry weather
July August, you tend to get dry weather, tend to
But you haven't said that. I've had a July trip
which rained all the time. You so don't hold me
to this. But typically it's dry in that period and
(23:34):
you can move a lot quicker and it's a lot
more comfortable but I'm with you. I think at least
one day rain just to get that experience and what
proper PNG rain is and how that affects the overall trek,
because a good heavy rain can easily add an hour,
an hour and a half, maybe two hours onto a
day easily, just depending on what section you're on. You're
(23:56):
going down some of those downhills where the water is
like a river and you can't even see exactly where
you're putting your feet. That's crazy, it says on their
chat GVT. It's pretty broad. But opdoor trek's during the
dry season, which runs from April to October. However, even
during this period you should still expect some rame, which
is I think is a plight way of putting in
(24:17):
the other months that consider the wet season, which can
make the treck more challenging due to money conditions and
swirling rivers. I would go as far as I say
you wouldn't trek in the wet season, and the locals
don't like to trek in the wet season because the
risks are too high. It's very uncomfortable, and I think
to go in the proper wet season would be a
very average experience. And now I know the soldiers had
to fight there and all of that sort of stuff,
(24:38):
but we have to add up the experience of learning
the history over there and what risk we're willing to take.
And I've been over really late with the AFL teams,
and there were some We were caught coming down out
of a lola into that first little creek crossing and
we couldn't cross it. It was so high, like it
came right up onto the rocks we had, and it
was raging whitewater. So we had to go back up
(25:00):
and spend a whole day on a lola while the
boys went down the locals, not just our boys with
a low because we're trying to build a bridge high
enough to get over it. So we end up spending
two full nights one and a half days at a
loler before we could get across. Now, that was that experience,
But if the next river had been the same, and
the next river had been the same, you don't have
the time to spend three days trying to cross what
you'd normally do.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
In one.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Question four, this is what should I pack for the trek?
So I understand why that would be a question. I
guess most all companies surely would give you a packing list.
I suggested packing list, and you could definitely find one
if you didn't. But what I thought I would address
in this is, you're a really you're a really tight
packing lot. You have the smallest backpack and you've got
(25:44):
everything you need in it. So what's a typical sort
of pack figures? Most people will have, say, four pair
of socks, two sets of maybe treking clothes, one set
of night clothes. That's what I advise, and then you know,
maybe a few creature comforts. I've seen people bring fold
up chairs and black up mattresses and all those little
things which if you're willing to carry or if you've
got a portocool, often those fold ups hairs I think
(26:06):
are unneeded and then end up being given away. So
the locals love to see them because I know that
probably end up with them when you get sick of
carrying them around and realize there's plenty of places to
sit anyway.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
But yeah, what what's your sort of packing list?
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Like, Yeah, I've really nailed it down because I always
carry on my own gear and I'm not I'm not
some high maintenance I'm a pretty basic kind of gal
at home, even so I don't even I don't even
take a hair brush, So I normally braid my hair
on the first day and don't take it out for
(26:39):
you know, three or four days, and then it's just
running my fingers through it. So that's the kind of
simplicity that I like to stick to, and I do
think it adds to the experience when you don't have
a lot of clutter. I think when you're going over
there and they live so simply, I think if you
don't have a lot in your bag, you're not you know,
fussing around every morning trying to fit things in and
(27:01):
looking for stuff that you can't find. And I normally
just pack all my stuff into my little dry bags,
and so I'll have one dry bag that's got clean
clothes in it, and that might be you normally takes
like too long sleeve shirts, and that's I take two
because I am a cold frog, so I normally always
(27:22):
have one on when we step off in the morning
over my T shirt because I'm still cold. But then
I can also double them up and use them as
a jumper, so, you know.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
I guess, because sometimes stuff goes missing too just off
the clothes lines, or clothing gets confused, a T shirt
goes missing, or so that, Yeah, you kind of have
to cover yourself for that.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Ously that happens so many times.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
I have had that happened a couple of times and
been a little bit tight for clothes. But I guess again,
it's all just you know, just where what you were,
what you've got on. You just may do. But I
would say I normally take too long sleep shirt and
a pair of tracksuit pants, normally like the cannavery tracksuit pants,
and then I'll take two pairs of shorts and two shirts,
(28:08):
and that's what I hike in. I might take maybe
three or four pairs of socks, and I normally take
just two pairs of socks that I hike in now
and I will alternate them or I know it's probably
a bit uncooth, but I'm a farm girl, so it
doesn't really bother me. I will wear socks wet. It's
(28:30):
not ideal, but I tend to have no problem with
footrot or anything, so I'll air my socks out of
the nighttime by the fire, try and get them dry.
And I just find sometimes it's easier to take care
of only like one pair of socksposed to three or
four different pairs of socks and be fustened around in
(28:50):
a tent looking for stuff, so, you know, and then
I might take I always take another dry bag with
with my first age kick deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaye. You know,
you just get all the compact stuff. You don't need
a lot of anything, and always take we you know,
(29:12):
as guides, we always take excessive amount of stuff when
it comes to strapping tape and you know which we
can just in case we do have to take foot
rocks because you know there's yeah, they'll take a bit
of a stape and then I guess I don't really
take a lot of luxuries. You know, you just need
(29:33):
a hat, sunscreen. I've even treked maybe three times now
without a towel, like I'll just dry myself off with whatever,
you know, my shirt or just drip dry. Yeah. Yeah,
And you know, lots of people take lollies. Last time
I went, I actually instead of taking bags that you
(29:56):
just you know, digging your hand into eating a roofless
amount of lollies and then running out and not having
anything for the last three days, I actually divided up
my lollies last time in the little glad bags and
hid the rest of them in the bottom of the bag.
And so this every day, I just made sure I
had one little bag in front of my because of
my hiking pack actually has pockets in the front. Oh yeah,
(30:20):
so I just put lollies for that day in there,
and then that way I can't even really get to
the other lollies. And then I don't actually even have
a cover on my pack. So I make sure everything's
in those dry bags. And I do take my own
mattress and my own sleeping bag, but I've got that
nailed down now to a pretty small size. And wait,
(30:41):
so I think my hiking pack in general only way
is about ten kio.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
We're doing this for the first time or one time,
which a lot of people listening will only do it once.
I can understand why there's a propensity to overpack, because
you're worried about all the things that you might need
when you're out there. But I always think the worst
thing if you particul if you can your own gear,
is to get all the way to the end and
unpack your pack. And there's things in there that you
never take. So this is what tap GVT says, and
(31:09):
this is relevant, I guess, because there's some things mentioned
in here that we already bring as a group, but
not all companies do that. So just again for people listening,
always check what your company supplies, because you don't want
to be caught over there and find out they don't
have something that you thought they would have, turns out
you were meant to being So it just says essentral items,
including a suitable backpack, which obviously we supply the backpacks,
(31:30):
sturdy hiking boots, appropriate clothing for both warm days and
cold nights, a personal first aid kit I always agree
with that, and biodegradable toiletries. It's also important to carry
water purification tablets and high enji snacks. A detailed packing
list is usually provided by a company. Now for us,
we do the backpacks, we do the water purification, we
do the high energy snacks. But we always say to
people you want to bring a few extras, of course,
(31:50):
as long as you're willing to carry them. So that's
a pretty good sort of overlay.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
I guess.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Particularly, I've had companies where people get over there and
find out that food's not supplied, and they thought food
was supplied, and then as in all food and some
of the obviously the very very cheaper end companies do that.
My advice obviously and maybe unbiased because the way we
do it is find people that know what they're doing,
companies like ourselves, and there's plenty of good ones out there.
(32:15):
And if you want someone that surprise everything, if you can,
because they already know what backpacks work and what tents
work the best based off weight you're carrying versus you
know the durability of the tent and so and it's
always a fine line.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Food.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
We've got a pretty well downpack with Brooklyn how to
pack all the food packs that generally cover everyone, so
you're not guessing and you're not carrying all this excessive weight.
I've had you guys carrying cans of food that's just
so heavy when you could be going dehydrated, you could
be going small pack stuff and so on. So again
the advice would be, first find out what your company
(32:50):
supplies so you're not surprised when you get over there. Now,
last one for today, do I need a porter and
what is their role?
Speaker 6 (32:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (32:59):
Good, good question, and the answer for me is very simple,
and I always tell people get a porter. So when
I did my first trip with you, I didn't get
a porter, and I, you know, I went over there
with this massive ego. No I'll can't carry my own stuff.
And when I got home, I was like, I felt
(33:20):
like I didn't get the full experience.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
I agree, but like.
Speaker 5 (33:24):
Everybody else had these beautiful relationships that they'd formed over
the week with their porter. You know, the porter will
help you pick you up when you fall over and
just chat with you along the way and get your
water and look after you. And I didn't get that,
you know, so I felt a little bit like.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
It's definitely a piece of the experience you can miss
you absolutely. But also I always say to people, one,
if you drop your ego, no one cares whether your
code joke gear or you didn't like nobody knows that
because when you do co codea people don't ask two things.
They never asked did you win, So they don't care
how fast you're moving, and they don't ask whether you
your own gear most of the time. But what I
(34:06):
love is it does support the local community because I
know for us, like the fee it costs for a
porter for the week, which is less around one hundred
bucks a day when you work out a bit less
that covers everything. None of that goes to us. That
all goes to Killer, and that's to feed the boys'
houser boards because they star have to pay for accommodation
along the way and their payment as well. So to me,
(34:27):
it's a pretty good investment. But it's also supporting the
local community. That's kind of my take on it. And
even chat gvts it says hir importer is optional but recommended,
especially if you're not accustomed carrying heavy loads over long distances.
Porters can carry gear, allowing you to focus on the
trek and conserve energy and then this, but I like additionally,
hiring local porters supports the local economy and provides employment opportunities.
(34:49):
So I really I like that because that's literally my
thought pattern, Like, it doesn't affect me personally if you
do or don't hire one, and so it's good you
can give advice when you don't have any dog in
the fight. You just say, hey, it's up to you
if you want to spend that extra money, of course,
but here's the benefits of it, and a lot of
people don't realize that until, like you said to the
gets in, It wasn't that you weren't physically capable clearly
(35:11):
of carrying your own gear. It's that little missed opportunity
to just build that rapport, particularly.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
With one person.
Speaker 5 (35:17):
Yeah. Yeah, and even the amount of like I love
when we get into Katoda now and all the boys
that they're waiting for us. You know, they come in
from their villages up on the track and they want
the opportunity to be a porter. They love it. So
you know, even boys that haven't been told that they're
going to get a go will come in just in
(35:40):
case they need, you know, we might need a backup
for some reason, or one of the other boys might
be sick and can't be a porter.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
They come in just in case, just in.
Speaker 5 (35:49):
Case, and they'll be hanging around there waiting, and they're
so excited even you know, to get there. You know,
trek up. You know, they'll all line up there and
kill our hands. You know, meets everybody up and joined
everyone up and said, oh you know this is such
and such and you will be a porter. You can
see them are anticipating the week and how they can
build relationships with everyone, and it's a really special thing.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
So that's our first five frequently asked questions. We'll do
the next five in another episode. But that's a good
start point for people to at least get a handle
on things. And you can do all the research yourself,
and you can find all of these answers in different places.
But I guess we have the opportunity from a point
of view of experience. I've been able to explain the
hows and whys.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
All right, we go again next week.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
All right, excellent, thanks, all right, calculators.
Speaker 6 (36:43):
Right, let's stupiffee racing God visits.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
The bond between Ossie's and the people of Papi and
New Guinea was forged in war and it endures in peace.
We've felt that friendliness, that special connection, and the comforting
presence of our porters and in every small community along
the Kakoda Track.
Speaker 6 (37:26):
WHOA, Okay, guys, thanks for tuning in.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
It would be awesome if you'd share this with anyone
you know that's going to the Kakoda Track, or that
has been and has a keen interest in the track.
Speaker 6 (37:54):
It's people and those that choose to track it.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
The pillars of Isheraba say, courage, endurance, mayship, and sacrifice
great words to live by.
Speaker 6 (38:01):
And this podcast will offer makeshift and a.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
Place for those that live and love the Kakoda Track
experience until next episode, live a life that inspires you
and those around you.
Speaker 6 (38:11):
And remember to take time out to think about what's
really important, what's really important?
Speaker 2 (38:15):
What's really important?
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Thanks for listening to the Kakoda Track Podcast. To get
in touched or stay up to date, go to Kakoda
Track Podcast on Facebook or email Glen at Adventure Professionals
dot com dolo here. Don't forget to subscribe and share.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
With your friends.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Let's keep the spirit and the stories of Kakoda and
the P and G people alive.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com