Local Led Kokoda

• See Kokoda from an entirely different perspective as you are guided by a local
• Walk the exact same path that the Australian and Japanese soldiers walked during WWII. Feel the humidity, undertake the tough river crossings, understand how difficult the terrain is to cross
• We walk through pristine rainforest, absorb stunning ridge views and make thrilling river crossings
• Get a true insight into the local culture of Papua New Guinea. The focus of this trek is on local culture and you will have a richly authentic local experience
• You’ll attempt something that can push you to your physical and mental limits
• We observe the Sabbath, which is a day of rest for our local team who are Seven Day Adventists. On this day, join them for a church service or simply enjoy a day to rest and recuperate 

2020 Update: 

The Kokoda Track is temporarily closed as we, as an entire world, work together to stop the rate of Covid-19 infections.

Until the track can be opened this is a great time to do your research on Kokoda and to plan your dream trekking adventure.

Our Local Led Kokoda is a unique experience where you are trekking solely with the local team. The focus of a locally led trip is the physical challenge as well as learning about the culture and traditions of the local team. These groups are smaller in size and are perfect for experienced travellers who like to fully immerse themselves into the cultures of countries that they visit.

For those that want both the physical challenge of Kokoda as well as the historical knowledge of the Track, why not check out our Australian Led Kokoda Expeditions?

Or how about our Fast Local Led Kokoda (6 days on the Track) 

As interest in Australia's cultural identity and recent history grows, walking the Kokoda Track has become a rite of passage for a new generation of Australians.

Walking the Kokoda Track involves 50 hours of hiking over 96km of sharp, timbered ridges, steep-sided valleys and fast flowing rivers. Vantage points along the Track reveal magnificent mountain landscapes, and a wide variety of flora and fauna is encountered. Trekkers pass through local villages where descendents of the wartime "fuzzy wuzzy angels" continue to live simple traditional lifestyles while providing a warm welcome to passing trekkers.

The best time of the year to walk the Track is the dry season, from May to October. Walking during the wet season is also possible but is much more challenging because the Track is muddy and slippery, and river crossings may even be impassable after rain.

No Roads Expeditions offers guided Kokoda Track expeditions which can be booked for any week of the year for any group size from 2 upwards. We also have scheduled departures that anyone is welcome to join. All food, equipment and a Local Guide are provided. You only need to bring your personal gear and bedding.

We take a slightly different approach from some other trek operators who camp out every night of the trek and fly all food and drink in for the occasion, thus almost needing a camel train to carry all their supplies. We engage village guest houses along the Track to supply accommodation and some meals for our trekkers and porters, thus not only reducing the amount of food and equipment carried by the trekking party, but also injecting greater economic benefits into the micro-economies of the village communities along the Track.

Our food includes coconut milk curries, vegetarian pastas, fried rice, prawn crackers, damper etc. We use no rehydratable vegetables and we don't supply baked beans, just delicious and nutritious meals.

No Roads also supplies a portable shower tent so you can either wash in the rivers without soap or in our shower with soap which is kept away from water courses. We supply the soap. We can even provide a hot shower anywhere along the Track.

Our local team are well paid, well fed and motivated to provide you with a great experience. They set up tents, boil water, help you along the Track and at night, sing songs. On our trek you will sleep in village guest houses for half the nights along the Track. The other nights involve camping in locations where there are no villages (bush camps).

It has been 4 years in the making and now No Roads is confident its local Guides are ready to take you across the Track. Our Guide team is experienced in First Aid as well as being the best bush craftsman around, knowing and understanding the environment you will be walking in.

Note: This 9 day 8 night trek is a demanding walk that requires an above-average level of fitness.

Day 1: Arrive in Port Moresby and Transfer to hotel. Afternoon briefing with Guide.
Day 2: Early morning and drive to Owers Corner for start of Expedition. Overnight in Vuale Creek.
Day 3: Trek from Vuale to Ofi Creek.
Day 4: Ofi Creek to Menari.
Day 5: Menari to Kagi via Brigade Hill.
Day 6: Rest day in Kagi Village
Day 7: Kagi to Templeton's One via Nadoori to see the home of the last Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel who sadly passed away in December 2017.
Day 8: Templeton's One to Eora Creek
Day 9: Eora Creek to New Isurava via Isurava Battlefield.
Day 10: New Isurava to Kokoda via Deniki for our flight back to Port Moresby.
Day 11: Port Moresby to your next destination

For those that do not wish to share accommodation in Port Moresby, a Single Supplement of $380 will apply. 

No Roads Expeditions also has a dedicated Kokoda website. With over 100 pages of information, this is an invaluable source of information for those trekking the Kokoda Track. Click on the kokodaexpeditions.com.au

LOCAL GUIDES

No Roads has spent the last 5 years training up our local crew in First Aid, medical evacuation and emergencies, trekker care as well as food preparation, environmental protection and Track history. Our Local Guides are the most experienced trekkers along the Track and they understand and know practically every site and path along the Track.

While they may not know the Australian history as well as our Australian Guides, nor deliver it as well, our Local Guides as well equipped to look after you and your fellow trekkers as any Australian.

We are very proud of the work our Local Guides and Team have put in over the years and it is now their time to prove themselves to the Australian public. If you choose to trek with one of our Local Guides we feel you have made a great decision.

GENERAL GUIDES

The General Guides we use are the life blood of our business in PNG. Not only do they carry your food and equipment, but many have intimate knowledge of the areas we are traveling through. They are very interesting people who, at night, cook our meals and entertain us. If you or a group of you would like to hire a personal guide for your expedition, this can be arranged. For the 8 days, a personal guide costs an extra AUD$720. Employing a Personal Guide does not mean that your struggle along the track is any less meaningful. You are helping a local with a job and you will probably enjoy the Track that much more.

PEOPLE OF THE TRACK 

The Koiari people generally inhabit the area between the foothills of the Owen Stanley Ranges east of Port Moresby and Kokoda. They once built homes in tree-tops and when Europeans first encountered them in the 1880's, they were renowned for their fierceness.

Today, the Koiari are Seventh Day Adventists so they do not raise or eat pigs, chew betel nut or smoke tobacco. They grow taros, bananas, yams, vegetables and recently coffee. They are very friendly people, however young female Koiari are particularly shy and reserved and you should respect their wishes if they do not want to talk. Male bush walkers should give women the right of way on the trail - step off the trail, the further the better.

Also, be aware that men and women bathe in different places; usually the women down stream from the men. The same can apply to toilets, so ask first. Be sensitive, as this is of great importance to the people.

No Roads deals directly with the Koiari land owners. We have a great relationship with them and assured any Track closures will not apply to us.

MEALS ON THE TRACK

Our food is one of the biggest differences between us and other operators. We do not get you to carry the food and we do not supply baked beans and 2 minute noodles for every meal. We cook up curries, vegetarian pastas, damper, prawn crackers, fried rice and the list goes on. We get you to help prepare it with the porters so that you can engage them in conversation and build a bond otherwise not obtained.

Another feature of this expedition is that we try to maximise the economic benefits from your presence to the village people living in villages along the Track. Some trekking groups fly in all their own guides, food and equipment and contribute very little to the micro-economy of the local villages.

As an ecotourism company we are always looking for ways to maximise the benefits of tourism to the people living in the local area. Our tour uses experienced guides and porters recruited from all along the Track. And much of the food you will eat along the way is supplied by village people en route. This not only gives the villagers a market for their vegetable crops but gives you a wonderful opportunity to try out local foods. Food purchased locally includes pineapple, bananas, potatoes and pumpkins as well as eggs.

Camp breakfast is billy tea/milo/coffee with damper and porridge or Weetbix and Corn Flakes with powdered milk. Camp lunch is noodles, cuppa soups, biscuits and cheese.

We also provide you with 9 days of electrolyte replacement such as Hydralyte, to replace fluids and essential electrolytes. This process helps prevent muscle seizures and cramps.

Finally, we provide you with 9 days of snacks that will help you from meal to meal. These consist of muesli bars, lollies, cuppa soups and trail mix.

TRACK FACTS 

• From Owers' Corner to Kokoda as the crow flies is about 60km

• The Kokoda track between these two points is 94-km

• One trekker recorded over 25,000 steps on his pedometer in one day

• If you total all the uphill climbing along the track, it comes to more than 5500m of elevation gain

• The best section is between Menari and Kagi, although the nicest forests are found at the higher elevations between Kagi Gap and Templeton's Crossing

• The highest point on the track is 2190m

Walking times are estimates and include breaks and lunches. Weather, Track conditions and Trekker fitness will impact on these times.

Day 01: Arrive Port Moresby and transfer to Hotel. Free time to yourself. Expedition briefing with your Local Guide late afternoon and then off to dinner.

Day 02: Depart Port Moresby 0700am by bus to Ower's Corner. At Ower's you will be introduced to your general guides. Once we get to know them we will head down to Goldie River on the first leg of the expedition. You will be accompanied on your trek by your Local Guide and one or more general guides, who will carry camp food and equipment.

From Goldie River we head up towards Imita Ridge adjacent to the famous Golden Stairs (these no longer exist). From on top of Imita Ridge we head down to Vuale Creek for our first bush camp site. (6 hours). (B,L,D)

Day 03: After a billy tea breakfast with fruit and cereals we will start the hike to Ofi Creek. We will still need to negotiate several more creek crossings before heading up to Iorabawa Village. From there we continue on to the ridge where the Japanese advance halted and retreated back north.

It is then a long down to Ofi Creek. Overnight there in huts or tent. (6 hours). (B,L,D)

Day 04: Camp breakfast. Hike from Ofi to Menari. This is a long day but it will be divided up with some awesome views of the Ranges and a great swim in Brown River before our final ascent into Menari. Night will be spent in either tents or a guest house of your choice in Menari (9 hours). (B,L,D)

Day 05: From Menari we head down to the local watering hole and then straight up to Brigade Hill. This is a long up and one should be prepared for the demons in the head to start telling you, you can't make it. But you will.

From Brigade Hill we continue on to Kagi for a warm welcome and a good night sleep. (9 hours). (B,L,D)

Day 06: Today is a rest day in Kagi Village. It is also the Sabbath for the Seventh Day Adventists, so we will have a chance to witness a village church service and look around the village at our leisure. (B,L,D)

Day 07: Camp breakfast. Hike from Kagi to Templeton's One via Nadoori. Today you will ascend Mt Bellamy, the highest point of the Kokoda Track. Good views at the Kokoda Gap Lookout. Then down to Templeton's One for overnight. Great spot. (9 hours walking). (B,L,D)

Day 08: Camp breakfast. We are now on the downward leg. We will hike from Templeton's One to Eora Creek via Templeton's Two - long ascents and descents with heaps of gunners pits along the way. We will overnight at the beautiful camp site by the river crossing. (5 hours walking). (B,L,D)

Day 09: After a great breakfast we will trek up to Alola along a narrow path. From there we will continue on to New Isurava via the famous Isurava Battlefield. There we will have a chance to visit Kingsbury's Rock and the other battle-sites in the area.

From there we head off to stay in New Isurava for the night. (8 hours). (B,L,D)

Note: Depending on fight availability back to Port Moresby via Popondetta, we may have to trek all the way to Kokoda. This will only add two hours to our day and it is all on a slight downhill.

Day 10: An early start as we have a plane to catch in Popondetta. We head down to Kokoda via Deniki. Once in Kokoda we will visit the battlefield and then transfer to Popondetta along the same road the Japanese used during the Second World War. We will bid our local team farewell and jump on board our truck to Popondetta. Once back in Port Moresby, we will drive out to Bomana War Cemetery to fully understand what we have just achieved and then back to the hotel to clean up and relive our journey together. (B,L)

Day 11: After breakfast, transfer to airport for your next destination.

• A Local Guide for the entire expedition
• Copy of the Bill James book "Kokoda A Field Guide"
• Electrolyte supplement such as Hydralyte for expedition portion
  
• All domestic schedule flights within PNG
  
• Satellite phone for emergency purposes
  
• River rescue team and procedures
  
• Government Taxes (except visa charge and civil aviation terminal facilities charge) 
  
• Shower tent to wash with soap and protect the environment. Hot showers are available.
  
• All meals on expedition (including Curries and Pasta not baked beans). (Dietary requirements can be incorporated)
• All transfers including those from the airport and from Owers Corner
  
• Visit Bomana War Cemetery
  
• Food for Local team including rice, noodles, biscuits, bully beef, milo and vegetables
  
• All accommodation outside of Port Moresby 
  
• Kokoda Track Permit
• Local Guides and general guides (who carry all group equipment, food, set up tents etc)
  
• 1 to 1 General Porter-Client ratio
  
• A rubbish guide that takes all our rubbish and other operators rubbish from the Track
  
• Tent hire and floor mats.
  
• 2 nights accommodation in Port Moresby twin share
  
• Snack Pack for each expedition day to get you between meals
  
• VHF Radio contact with Port Moresby,Kokoda and 10 other Track villages for emergency purposes.

• International Flights
• Travel Insurance
• Personal spending money
• Tips for General Guides
• Any meals not listed as included