My purpose is to give hope to those who have lost hope. Without hope, we remain lost in the Shadow Lands. |
Part of the War Memorial at Kokoda village in Papua New Guinea. John Hankin photo taken Sunday 3rd of August 2025
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Close up of the previous photo showing the words etched on the memorial. John Hankin photo taken Sunday 3rd of August 2025.
Another part of the War Memorial at the village of Kokoda. This plaque depicts the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels – the native people of Papua New Guinea who carried so many wounded and dying Australian soldiers to safety across the Owen Stanley Ranges along the Kokoda Track – and did so without complaint. John Hankin photo taken 3rd of August 2025.
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Close up of the plaque remembering the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. The Papua New Guinea people I met were all astonishingly kind. I asked my Porter Tony whether Papua New Guinea could send some missionaries to Australia so they could teach us a little more about love and kindness. John Hankin photo taken Sunday 3rd of August 2025.
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This plaque at the Kokoda War Memorial says this.
This monument has been erected in memory of all the war dead, Japanese, Papua New Guineans and Australians and in appreciation of their greatest courage during the campaigns in Kokoda, Buna and Girua and also to commemorate the landing on July 21 1942 of the Japanese Nankai Detachment at Gona and its withdrawal from Kumusi on February 7 1943. February 1980 |
John Hankin photo taken Sunday 3rd of August 2025.
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On 1 September 2025, I received this email from Mick O’Malley of Australian Kokoda Tours.
My trek through the Kokoda Track was arranged by Australian Kokoda Tours – and they did a very good job.
Hi Everyone, First of all a big well done for completing the Kokoda track! and hope you all got home safely. We know how demanding & trying it can be and even with all the training nothing can really prepare you for Kokoda but Kokoda itself. We hope you had an amazing experience and that the trek meet, and hopefully exceeded your expectations. As you reflect more deeply on your trek we hope that you realise what an incredible achievement you have made. Having completed the track many times now I can vividly remember how physically and mentally challenging the track was the first time I trekked it. I know it does not even begin to compare to what our diggers went through but I hope it may have given you a small glimpse of how those courageous, amazing, inspirational blokes in 1942 managed to do what they did. It’s demanding enough just walking it, without getting shot at, starving and literally dying of thirst not to mention not knowing when or if you will even make it home. It is truly amazing to see such a beautiful unspoiled jungle and hard to imagine that a war was fought there with over 600 Australians killed and over 1000 wounded in action, casualties from malaria more than 2700 and from tropical diseases at over 3700. MALARIA Just a reminder that you must continue to take the full course of your Malaria tablets. Many cases of Malaria present in Australia as you need to take the entire course for the medication to be effective and many trekkers stop the medication when they get home. DROP BOX Below is a link to join dropbox (free of charge) to upload your photos. You will need to create YOUR OWN account and upload your photos to your Dropbox account and email me the link. I will then add them to the shared trek folder and email you a link, this will be a private link and only viewable to participants on our trek. We may also use your photos and footage to create the highlights package and our editors can only access them via Dropbox. Please note we will to upload photos from Dropbox 02 August Dropbox 39th BATTALION Below is a link for the 39th battalion application for membership. The cost is very minimal and would greatly help the association keep running and getting information out and keep us and the vets up-to date on what’s happening. - We hope you can join. KOKODA COMMEMORATIVE FRAME You can design a personal and lasting memory of your Kokoda experience with this digitally printed full length longitudinal cross section of the Kokoda Track. Included in this unique keepsake are your own personal photos and a detailed map including all famous and relevant sections of the track. This product is sure to last a lifetime as will your memories of this magnificent journey. Simply email 5 of your photos in landscape format numbered 1 - 5 and we have them digitally converted and printed on the cross section-map, matted and beautifully framed with glass. Price $239 or we can post the print unframed $169 (size unframed 40 x 100cm) (Please note your photos must be at least 1.5MB in size to convert them) 
TESTIMONIALS We’d love to share your Kokoda experience and journey of your trek, the porters, and Aust Kokoda Tours with others. If you have time to leave a written or video review on Tripadvisor or Google Review we would be very appreciative. |
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Luckily, my anti-malaria medications worked and I did not contract malaria.
I will definitely purchase a Commemorative Frame and I will also join the 39th Battalion.
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Everything that Australian Kokoda Tours promised to do, it did. My experiences with AKT were all positive – even when I fell down the mountain.
I would certainly have died if I had not managed to grab a tree and if I had not then been dragged back up the mountain by the Porters hired by AKT. I owe my life to Tony and Colinn, who were my official Porters; and also to Kate, who was not an official Porter but she too leapt down the mountain to help save the life of the crazy old white man who had tripped and fallen down the mountain.
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By helping others to heal We help ourselves heal Remember those who preceded us. Give abundant Love Always The Diggers who fought for our freedom always did. Without the Diggers, I would be writing this Blog in Japanese |
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