Community
31 July, 2026
Trekking back in time
LAURA Woodmason, Gary O’Neil, Shane McCann and Paula and Michael Duynhoven all have good reason to put their feet up – after recently completing the Kokoda track together.
Mrs Woodmason said the trip had been a lifelong bucket list item for her, as well as for the group she went with.
“We travelled with Australian Kokoda Tours, which is a tour group based out of Geelong,” she said.
“In our trek, we also had five other people join us, so as a result of this trek, we’ve made lifelong friends through getting to know complete strangers and spending so much time with them.”
Mrs Woodmason said walking the Kokoda track was personal for her as she has a family connection to it.
“I had a great uncle who was part of the Kokoda campaign, whose name was Private Thomas Joseph Fletcher,” she said.
“He was a medical orderly of 2nd/14th Infantry Battalion.
“He was actually recommended for a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his heroic actions during the four-day battle at Isurava and sadly didn’t make it home.
“He was the medic who volunteered to remain with seven wounded soldiers after spending three weeks retreating through the jungle.
“He volunteered to stay while fellow Australian soldiers pushed on to get assistance for them, but all eight were found by the Japanese before the Australians could send help.”
Mrs Woodmason’s father completed the track 10 years ago, but unfortunately the timing didn’t suit her family – as she had young children at the time – so she couldn’t join her father then.
Now her children are all grown up, she finally had the chance to complete the trek, which she said was a “lovely experience”.
“In terms of the actual trek, we all loved every moment of it and we wouldn’t change a thing about it,” she said.
“We had great conditions – we had clear skies every day and the only bit of rain we had was one evening during dinner, so the track was also in excellent walking conditions.
“The local porters were even saying about how good the conditions were for the track.”
Mrs Woodmason said the group had many highlights of the trip, including the porters doing a ‘war cry’ each morning before the walking began, and the five minute yoga sessions one of the porters held before the group began their day’s trek to get them warmed up.
“One of the highlights for all of us was when we arrived in Kagi – we were welcomed by local women and children singing a welcoming song and then presenting us with leis,” she said.
“Another highlight was visiting the Bomana War Cemetery, which just puts into perspective the human toll of the entire campaign.
“We were able to get to know complete strangers who have now made lifelong memories out of completing the trek with them.
“Only one per cent of Australians actually ever get to completed the Kokoda Trek, so for us to have complete the trek was quite rewarding.”
She said trekking Kokoda gave the group a much deeper understanding of what the Kokoda campaign means to Australia.
“There is so much more to it than just a challenge, there is meaning behind it,” Mrs Woodmason said.
“Throughout the trek, our group leader would stop at particular locations and talk about the stories or events which had happened at those locations.”
Mrs Woodmason also complimented the local porters, saying the group wouldn’t have been able to do the trek without them.
“I would say they were our modern-day Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels,” she said.
“They were there to help carry our equipment and our sleeping gear, they were there to cook us food, they were there to pick us up if we had a stumble and there to hold our hands to make sure we weren’t found to have a stumble down the hills.
“They provided lots of words of encouragement just to get us through.”
Mrs Woodmason said going on the trek had given her group a fresh perspective on how fortunate Australians are today.
“We have all come home with a whole new understanding and appreciation of how lucky we are in Australia now,” she said.
This story was written by our work experience journalist Elisha Boyd.
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