Why Kokoda Still Teaches Us How to Live

6 Nov 2025 5:47 PM

Why Kokoda Still Teaches Us How to Live

After more than 30 years walking the Kokoda Track and guiding thousands of people from all walks of life across it and many other immersions, I’ve come to realise that Kokoda is far more than a trek. It’s a classroom. A mirror. A place that strips away all pretence and reminds us what truly matters.

Across those decades, I’ve seen remarkable transformations, not just physical, but deeply personal. People have come to the track carrying anxiety, depression, self-doubt, poor health, or the weight of past experiences. I’ve watched them walk into the jungle uncertain of themselves, and walk out with clarity, resilience, and strength they didn’t know they had.

Conditions like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, poor posture ...all of these have improved under the right programs. But more importantly, people rediscover a sense of agency over their own lives. They learn that progress isn’t about shortcuts or medications alone, it’s about connection, effort, and mindset. When we combine physical challenge with education, reflection, and purpose, change doesn’t just happen .... it lasts.

Over time, I’ve also invested in my own education, from exercise physiology and nutrition to counselling and psychology, and I’ve come to understand why Kokoda works so powerfully. It aligns the body, mind, and spirit. It demands discipline from the physical, honesty from the emotional, and meaning from the historical.

Kokoda isn’t just a trek through mud and mountains, it’s a journey through time and through self. It forces people to slow down, to disconnect from noise, and to reconnect with who they are. And it’s within that silence, between the effort and the exhaustion that real growth begins.

I once spoke with Kokoda veteran and mentor Stan Bisset, a man whose wisdom carried the weight of history. He said to me,

“It’s not about orating the history, but about showing people how the learning from our history can be applied to their lives now.”

He was right.

The courage, endurance, mateship, and sacrifice shown by the diggers on Kokoda aren’t just words to be remembered they are principles to be lived. They are the antidote to much of what modern society has lost.... resilience, humility, teamwork, and purpose.

That’s why our Kokoda program is different. It’s not a trek for bragging rights , it’s a structured, evidence-based experience that integrates physical health, psychological resilience, and leadership development. It’s a holistic model that respects both the body and the history.

We don’t just tell the story .. we teach people how to live it.

We don’t just take people to the track... we bring the lessons of Kokoda back home into their daily lives.

And that’s why we are the best at what we do. Because this isn’t tourism .... it’s transformation. It’s education in its rawest, most human form.

When people walk Kokoda with us, they don’t just finish a trek they start a new chapter. They see what’s possible when body, mind, and history align. They leave stronger, not just physically, but in purpose, in confidence, and in life.

As Stan said , and as I’ve witnessed for over three decades the real power of Kokoda lies not in retelling the past, but in living its message .....

"Their story"