Testimonial by Bill Johnson, Young, NSW

I was very impressed by how well organised the walk was, the competence and efficiency of all the Our Spirit team,

Kokoda ANZAC Trek - April 2006

I'd like to thank the team - Aidan, Rob, Richard, all the guides, and Kris, for a wonderful and memorable experience. …I was very impressed by how well organised the walk was, the competence and efficiency of all the Our Spirit team, and by Aidan's passion, commitment and knowledge. I was affected by the experience in many ways - the beauty of the landscape and the rainforest, and the friendliness of the people. I enjoyed the physical and mental challenge. Above all was the fact that we were walking the site of battles fought in conditions unimaginable to us. On the first night I understood how young and inexperienced soldiers could mistake fireflies for the Japanese, which I just couldn't grasp from reading the books. The visit to the Bomana War Cemetery on the last day of the walk was a sombre and fitting conclusion. Although I had high expectations of the walk beforehand, it was a much more moving and powerful experience than I could have imagined. I was, and remain, affected deeply.

After we finished the walk I spent a week in Goroka in the Eastern Highlands, where I was born, and my father died forty years ago. In the market on the first day I was in Goroka I met an old man who knew him. I was again overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people, and the beauty of the country.”

Bill Johnson, Young, NSW