The Kokoda Trail has been a place of pilgrimage for Australians, and others, for many decades. A place of ANZAC reverence and of personal challenge. South Sea Horizons has been leading groups along the Kokoda Track since 2008 with an exceptional trek completion rate of 99%. And there are many reasons that help us deliver such a high success rate. These include:

• We are PNG owned-and-operated. This land is our home and our passion.
• We only practise responsible-tourism that gives back to the communities we interact with
• We only employ local Papua New Guineans as porters, historians and cooks. Indigenous to this land who know it better than any other.
• Our GM – Alan Manning – splits his time between PNG and Australia. He has a great empathy and understanding of what ‘Aussies’ are looking for from their Kokoda Trail experience.
• We provide a personal porter for each trekker. That’s right. A ratio of 1:1!
• We are an equal-opportunity employer across all positions within our organisation.
• Our local porters include direct descendants of the last remaining ‘Fuzzy-Wuzzy-Angels’.

The Kokoda track is one of the many walking tracks in Papua New Guinea that existed long before the Europeans discovered this part of the world. It was used for trade and cultural interaction between tribes and is still used for these purposes today. During World War II, the Japanese decided to use this trail as a ground attack against the Australians in Port Moresby. The idea was to take Port Moresby and use it as a base from which to stage a direct assault on Australia.

One end of the track lies in the country’s north at a Kokoda village. It winds up and down over the rugged Owen Stanley ranges and finishes in the south at Ower’s Corner, nearby Port Moresby. Kokoda and the Northern coastal plains were the scenes of violent close-contact jungle warfare as the Australians retreated in the face of the Japanese onslaught. The Japanese were finally stopped at Imita Gap as they had extended their supply lines too far in the rugged terrain and began to die of starvation. The Australians then chased them back to the northern coastline.

Today the remains of the war lie strewn in the jungle and the track have reverted to quiet solitude, disturbed only by occasional trekking group. There are several villages along its length inhabited by peace-loving, hospitable locals. These are the descendants of the people who became known during the war as the ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ because of their selflessness in helping wounded Australian soldiers.