Blog No. 354 – Rogues Gallery, Adelaide 2021 – Blog Written 22 April 2026

 

Blog 364 —The Journey Begins

Surviving the Kokoda Trail

Commenced 31 October 2026

Written by Chonny and John Hankin

The area coloured red is Northern Province, Papua New Guinea.  Popondetta is in Northern Province.  Port Moresby is the capital of Papua New Guinea; it is on the opposite coast below Northern Province.  The Owen Stanley Ranges lie between the two.  The Kokoda trail snakes through the Owen Stanley Ranges to Owers Corner near Port Moresby.  We walked from the village of Kokoda to Owers Corner.

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John Hankin’s Story – Sunday 3 August 2025

Omens of my success in Papua New Guinea were not encouraging when I landed at Port Moresby at 2.00 pm on that Saturday in August 2025.

I carried a small bag onto the plane with me in Adelaide and brought it with me when I arrived in Port Moresby later that same day. 

I had lost the bag when I arrived at the hotel.  Thankfully, it did not contain any vital items.  My Passport was in one of my pockets, but I had bought a Go Pro; that and other things were in the bag.

I also discovered my phone did not work; the virtual “sim” card did not work.

Although the bag turned up, the phone never worked.

I would not simply buy a new phone.

PNG cities are dangerous, although our hotel was in a secure compound.  Our bus navigated a security cordon to reach the hotel.

Wiki says “Papua New Guinea is notorious for its high crime rates. The major cities of Port Moresby, Mount Hagen and Lae, in particular, have become hotspots for many forms of violent, criminal behaviour including theft, carjacking, breaking and entering, domestic violence, sexual assault, and murder.”

Without a phone, I had no access to trek updates.

At 10.30 that night, trek leader Dave banged on my door and told me our early flight to Popondetta had been delayed.

Although I immediately forgot the new breakfast time, it did not matter.

I woke at 2.30 am.  The police officer on duty inside the hotel pointed me at the dining room.  It was too early for food, but I got coffee.

It was hot and humid at the airport, with a long security screening wait to go through the main entrance.  More screening took place before we boarded the plane.

In Popondetta, we got on a flat-bed truck with benches down the sides.  It was a long drive to Kokoda.  I clutched one of the struts securing the canvas awning.

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The ride to Kokoda required a toilet stop.  Toilet “facilities” were any convenient piece of greenery.  The guy with the yellow cap is me.  Photo by Adam and Bailey.

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We visited Kokoda War Memorial before starting the walk.

After the memorial, we walked to Deniki.  The Australian soldiers retreated from Kokoda to Deniki.  Terrible battles then occurred between the Japanese and Australian armies all the way to Owers Corner.

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View from Kokoda War Memorial of the Owen Stanley Ranges.  We started walking at about 4.30 pm.  It was dark before we reached Deniki.

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The official Itinerary said this about Sunday 3 August 2025.  Although factually true apart from the delayed flight, the most important stuff - how incredibly hard it was! - was not there.

We take an early morning PNG flight from Port Moresby to either Popondetta or Kokoda airfield. Arrival at Kokoda and walk up to Kokoda village to the meet the local villagers where you will be introduced to your local porters and support staff. Inspect the remarkable Kokoda museum, monuments and memorials, have lunch and then onto Deniki. Enjoy the spectacular views over the Kokoda valley where you spend your first night on the track.

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We stopped to take photos at the ceremonial arches when we left Kokoda.  They marked the official trek start.  The track quickly ceased to be a recognizable track.

 

Photo I took just after the trek start.  This was the easy part; we were not in the mountains.

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Situated at the lower end of the valley, Deniki at 1,650 m elevation is a hard 6 km, 3-hour trek south into the mountains from Kokoda. Cut into the side of the Yodda Valley overlooking Kokoda airfield, Deniki was an ideal vantage point for the Australian troops. The settlement sits at a junction of other tracks that lead north-east towards Oivi on the far side of Kokoda between the airfield and the coast. To its south, it guards the entrance to Eora Gorge towards Isurava. As the first stop through the winding mountainous track, Deniki was the site of the first Australian supply and medical dump. But the going was tough. The troops' clothes were soaked through. They endured a bone-deep cold from constant rain, incessant mosquitoes and treacherous terrain. The going was slow.

 

It got steadily darker as I climbed the mountain.

I soon realised my hiking boots were unhelpful.  I took them off and wore sneakers with little tread.  My porter Tony was immensely kind and never noticed the impossible slope.  Tony made sure I did not fall.  Falling then would have meant death on the first day of trekking.

I was last to reach Deniki.  I thought I was exhausted, but at that time I had no idea what exhaustion meant.

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Chonny’s tent at Deniki.  Everyone arrived after dark.  Photo by Chonny.

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Chonny’s Story - Reality Sets In - the First Day

One of my clearest memories of that first day was looking out of the aircraft window on the way to Popondetta.

As the Owen Stanley Ranges rose above the clouds, the view was extraordinary. Having spent almost twenty years dreaming about walking through them, there they were, beneath us. I stared out the window, trying to take it all in.

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The view from the plane window; photo by Chonny.

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I was finally here.

Getting to the start of the Kokoda Trail was itself an adventure.

Landing in Popondetta, we climbed on a truck for what was a very long, uncomfortable drive to Kokoda. The mostly unsealed road was incredibly bumpy and introduced us to discomfort before the first step on the Trail.

Three hours of bouncing in the back of that truck was certainly one way to prepare for the days ahead.

 

The road from Popondetta to Kokoda; photo by Chonny.

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When we arrived in Kokoda, it was late afternoon. We grabbed a quick lunch and went to the museum to look around.

Kokoda was beautiful. It felt remarkable to finally stand in a place I'd heard of since childhood. We visited the memorial and looked over the airstrip.  It was obvious why we'd flown to Popondetta rather than Kokoda.

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Kokoda, Sunday 3 August 2025; photo by Chonny.

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Practicalities came next.

We sorted bags, met the porters and learned how to sterilise the drinking water. My porter was Nicky, a young man aged about eighteen.  He shortly became a very important part of my Kokoda experience.

We headed to the arches at the beginning of the Kokoda Trail.

I cannot adequately describe how I felt seeing them for the first time.

For nearly twenty years, I'd talked about, researched, planned for and dreamed of walking Kokoda. I'd spent months training, worrying about fitness and whether I was capable of completing it.

Now, I was there.

Walking beneath the arches brought a lump to my throat. There was an enormous sense of pride and excitement, but also the scary realisation I now had to follow through on what I'd talked about for so long.

 

The arches leaving Kokoda village; photo by John Hankin.

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There could be no turning back.

I'm naturally very focused on efficiency. In everything I do, I look for the quickest and smartest way to the best possible result. I like having a plan, knowing what must happen and making things work.

It soon became apparent that Kokoda had no interest in my ideas of efficiency.

There were no shortcuts; no clever ways to make the mountains smaller or the climbs less steep. There was no way to reorganise to achieve a better outcome.

To reach the end, I was going to have to put one foot in front of the other, over and over again, but initially, the walking was lovely.

We went along the Trail, stopping to take in the scenery, getting used to the rhythm of walking as a group. After all my anticipation, it was wonderful to finally be moving.

Dusk began to settle.

As we started climbing towards Deniki, out came the headlamps.

I can now say I'm rather grateful it was dark.  It meant I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The climb seemed endless. Whatever confidence I'd developed during months of training was being thoroughly reconsidered.

I was absolutely wrecked when we reached Deniki,

Judging by the surrounding faces, I wasn't the only one.

There was a collective sense of disbelief amongst the group. We'd spent so much time preparing for Kokoda, but none of us had quite understood those mountains until that evening.

Our porters seemed to take it all in their stride.

We sat around looking shell-shocked while they set up camp, prepared dinner and made sure everything was ready for us. Their energy and capability were extraordinary, and they had just completed the same climb.

I crawled into my tent eventually - fed and exhausted.

The excitement of standing beneath the arches felt like a lifetime ago. I'd finally started the adventure I'd dreamed of all those years.  Already, I was starting to understand just what it was going to demand of me.

Lying in the dark with aching muscles and the prospect of another day in the mountains, I had one very clear thought.

What had I signed myself up for?