10-Day Premium Kokoda Pilgrimage

Days
10
From
$4,995
The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award

10-day Premium Kokoda Pilgrimage

Over the past 32 years Major Charlie Lynn has developed the ultimate trek itinerary to allow trekkers to maximise the value of their pilgrimage.

His 10-day Premium Kokoda Pilgrimages offer the ultimate Kokoda experience  includes visits to all battlefields, fire support bases, logistic areas and evacuation centres along the original Kokoda Trail. 

In addition to this we take a day to explore the mystical, historical Myola lakes which were considered to be tabu by the local Koiari  tribes from the beginning of time until 1942.

We also trek across to the eastern side of the range that was defended by the 53rd and 2/16th Battalions.

We provide superior battlefield presentations regarding the strategy of the Kokoda campaign; the phases of war; the principles applicable to each phase; our battlefield tactics; and soldiers recollections.

We follow the original wartime trail mapped by the Royal Australian Army Survey Corps in 1981 and rediscovered through numerous mapping expeditions led by Major Charlie Lynn over a three year period from 2010 - 2013.

What's included

  • Meals
  • All transportation
  • All accommodation
  • All trek fees
  • Mosquito-proof tents

Dates & Availability for 10-Day Premium Kokoda Pilgrimage

Date
Status Price  
12 Aug - 23 Aug 2024
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Scott Babington Limited Places $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
2 Sep - 13 Sep 2024
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Craig Moffat Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
16 Sep - 27 Sep 2024
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Craig Moffat Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
24 Sep - 5 Oct 2024
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Peter Morrison Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
30 Sep - 11 Oct 2024
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Scott Babington Private group only Private group
7 Oct - 18 Oct 2024
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Max Walker Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
24 Oct - 4 Nov 2024
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Peter Morrison Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
13 Apr - 25 Apr 2025
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Scott Babington Limited Places $6,495 $6,095 $6,195 $5,294
14 Apr - 25 Apr 2025
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Craig Moffat Limited Places $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
24 Apr - 5 May 2025
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Reg Yates Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
6 May - 17 May 2025
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
29 May - 9 Jun 2025
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Scott Babington Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
9 Jun - 20 Jun 2025
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Craig Moffat Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
23 Jun - 2 Jul 2025
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Scott Babington Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
13 Apr - 25 Apr 2026
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Scott Babington Taking Bookings $6,445 $6,045 $6,145 $5,245
14 Apr - 25 Apr 2026
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
24 Apr - 5 May 2026
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
13 Apr - 25 Apr 2027
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Taking Bookings $6,495 $6,095 $6,195 $5,295
14 Apr - 25 Apr 2027
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995
24 Apr - 5 May 2027
Owers Corner to Kokoda
Taking Bookings $6,195 $5,795 $5,895 $4,995

Photos from the 10-Day Premium Kokoda Pilgrimage

FAQs about this trek

The following list is an indicative guide of the cost of 'hidden extras' to budget for if they are not included in the price of the trek operator you choose:

  • International return airfare - e.g. Sydney - Port Moresby - $1,200
  • Two nights accommodation in Port Moresby - $600
  • Meals in Port Moresby - $150
  • Backpack - $250 - $350
  • Tent - $180 - $300
     

 

 


If your trek operator does not have a Public Liability Insurance policy then you will need to arrange for your own cover.  This is an essential requirement but will be a difficult and expensive exercise to arrange on an individual basis.

The distance across the Kokoda Trail between Owers Corner and Kokoda as the crow flies is 96 km. However if you were to strap a Garmin 64st GPS to the leg of the crow and get him to trek it via the wartime trail the actual distance is 143.7 km - you would also climb a total of 6748 metres.

 

NO! PNG trek guides are masters of their environment however their knowledge of the Kokoda campaign and their presentation skills do not rate at this stage of their development.

Adventure Kokoda organises PNG led Kokoda treks for groups who are looking for a physical challenge in preference to learning about the wartime history of the Kokoda campaign.

Whilst our PNG leaders have been well trained in expedition leadership and are the best in the business they do not have the knowledge of the military history of the Kokoda campaign or the presentation skills to conduct battlesite briefings. 

Trekkers meeting PNG support crew on arrival at Kokoda airfield

  1. We pioneered Kokoda Kokoda pilgrimage tourism in 1992 and since then we have led more trekkers safely across the trail than any other tour company.
     
  2. We are the only tour company to specialise on pilgrimage tourism on the Kokoda Trail - we do not trek to any other location - Kokoda is all we do.
     
  3. We have the most professional and experienced trek leaders - our team has 160 years combined military experience - we have led more than 650 expeditions safely across the trail over the past 30 years.
     
  4. We are the only trek operator to have established a Not-for-Profit company, Network Kokoda, and now provide more philanthropic support to traditional subsistence villagers across the trail than all other tour companies combined. 
     
  5. We have a permanent rear headquarters in Port Moresby and maintain a 24/7 VHF radio watch to monitor daily progress of our trek groups and to react immediately in the event of any emergency.
     
  6. We are the only trekking company to provide for the welfare of our PNG guides and carriers by issuing them with sleeping bags, sleeping mats, full trek uniforms and the same ration scale as our trekkers.
     
  7. We are the only trekking company that limits the maximum backpack weight for our guides and carriers to 18 kg which was the maximum weight allowed during the Kokoda campaign in 1942. This means we have to employ more porters which adds to the cultural value of our pilgrimages.

Most trekkers bring some of their favourite snacks to nibble on between meals during the day.  These include biscuits, chocolate bars, jelly beans, etc.

Try and avoid too many dried fruit and nut mixes as they are heavy and can be a bit hard on the digestive system.

Your daily snack pack should not exceed 150 grams.

Meet the Trek Leaders

Major Charlie Lynn OAM OL - Director, Adventure Kokoda

In 2015 Charlie was inducted as an Officer of the Logohu by the Government of Papua New Guinea in their New Years Honours and Awards list 'for service to the bilateral relations between Papua New Guinea and Australia and especially in the development of the Kokoda Trail and its honoured place in the history of both nations' over the past 25 years.'   More..

Tracie Watson - General Manager

Tracie is the General Manager and engine room of Adventure Kokoda - she is on-call 24/7 and will look after your every need and concern from the moment you book your trek until you arrive back in Australia.  More..

Tau Maguli - Quartermaster

Tau Maguli is our PNG Quartermaster with an enormous task, he coordinates the allocation of 350 of our PNG guides and porters to ensure each trek has an equal number from each village across the Trail and each one gets at least six (6) treks a year.  More..

Peter Morrison

Peter Morrison is an unassuming young Australian.  He first trekked with Adventure Kokoda almost a decade ago and developed a strong desire to learn more about the campaign and the people he met along the trail.  Peter is a professional boxer and former NSW Welterweight  Champion.  More..

 

Captain Reg Yates

Over the past 34 years Captain Reg Yates has explored most of the WW11 battlesites in PNG. He is fluent in Tok Pisin and is well respected by village elders along the Kokoda Trail.  More..

 

Major Scott Babington

Scott joined the Australian Army as a 16 year old apprentice in 1985.  He was promoted through the ranks and has spent over 34 years serving in the Australian Regular Army.  

Scott has worked with the United Nations in Sudan as a Military Observer and as an Adviser in Afghanistan with the US 82nd Airborne and the 3rd Infantry Divisions.  More..

 

Dave Sherry

Dave began exploring Australia as soon as he was old enough to escape Sydney.  He was born in the city but his heart was in the bush and he now lives on a farm just outside the western country town of Horsham.  There are few places in Australia that Dave hasn’t trekked on foot or explored in off-road vehicles.  He even took to the sea as a crew member on the Tall Ship HMAS Bounty during the Bicentenary in 1988.  

Dave first trekked Kokoda in 2006 and began leading expeditions across the trail in 2011.  He has now led more than 35 groups across the trail.  More..

 

Major Craig Moffat OAM

Craig joined the Australian Army in 1979 and was posted to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps where he has served for 40 years with over 20 years serving in Special Operations Command as a Commando.  

Craig has seen regimental service as a soldier and officer rising through the ranks within The Royal Australian Regiment and Special Operations Command, his career culminated as soldier with two Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) appointments prior to commissioning to officer in 2005.  More..

Jake Leske

Australia’s Honey Bee.  Former Navy sailor, Jake Leske, is more than an outstanding Kokoda trek leader, he is Australia’s original ‘Honey Bee’ and a remarkable endurance athlete.  Jake first trekked with Adventure Kokoda to learn more about the Kokoda campaign.  He returned as a volunteer 2IC and later led his first trek.  More..

Warrant Officer James 'Max' Walker

James ‘Max’ Walker (first trek with Adventure Kokoda Aug 2018 – 2IC Apr 2024).  

Max Walker is a former career soldier who first joined the Australian Regular Army as a young apprentice.

During his service, Max was posted to the United Nations in Cambodia and deployed to the Republic of Narau prior to the establishment of the Australian offshore immigration detention facility.  More..

Angelo Tsirekas

Angelo first trekked Kokoda in 2010 and has since trekked it another 10 times with groups he has recruited from the Canada Bay Area. He has been 2IC to Charlie Lynn on his recent treks and has now stepped up to be a trek leader.

He is a former Board Member of the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway in Concord and was instrumental in establishing the 'Rusty Priest Kokoda Scholarship Program' with students from Rosebank College.

Fiona Foster

Fiona has a strong passion for Kokoda, PNG and its people which was sparked as a young girl knowing her grandfather fought on Kokoda.

As a school teacher Fiona has extensive experience in developing leadership in young Australians and has been involved in the development of a leadership program within the school environment.  This saw her bring two passions together; teaching our future generations and Kokoda, whilst getting them outside of their comfort zones, and allowing them to learn about themselves.  More..

Carla Valmorbida

Carla brings great organisational skills, energy and humour to her role.  She is passionate about the Kokoda campaign and thrives on seeing how transformative and life-changing this experience can be for trekkers.

Carla was initially inspired to trek Kokoda to honour her Grandfathers service with the AIF in Buna and has now successfully participated in a number of Adventure Kokoda Youth Leadership Challenge treks as a Trek Guide.  More..

Bernie Rowell

Bernie is a Kokoda tragic.  He first trekked with Kokoda to honour his father who served in New Guinea during the war.  He has since trekked it 55 times.  Bernie has transposed his success in business to his passion for leading treks across the Kokoda Trail.  More..

Major Chad Sherrin MM

Chad is a decorated Vietnam veteran - he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in action.  Chad first joined the 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (8 RAR) as a tracking dog handler.  He was promoted through the ranks to Sergeant while serving with 8 RAR and served with the Battalion in Malaysia and South Vietnam.  More..

Lieutenant Colonel Rowan Tracey LLB BA

Rowan is a pioneer of the Kokoda Trail.  He first trekked it 30 years ago when he served with the PNG Defence Force.  He is fluent in the local language 'Tok Pisin'.  Rowan is a military historian and is acknowledged as the most eminent authority on the strategy and tactics of the Kokoda campaign.  More..

Commodore Simon Hart CSC MSc MA

Simon joined the Australian Navy a Cadet Midshipmen in 1973 and carved out an outstanding career spanning 33 years.  He specialised in maritime surface ship operations and spent the majority of his career at sea.  More..

Why Trek with Adventure Kokoda

Our primary goal is to lead you safely across the Kokoda Trail and ensure you have an unforgettable wartime historical and cultural experience.

Charlie has led 101 expeditions across the Kokoda Trail over the past 32 years.

He previously served in the Australian Army for 21 years. During this time he saw active service in Vietnam; was assigned to the joint Australian, New Zealand and British (ANZUK) Force in Singapore/ Malaysia from 1970-72, and as an exchange instructor in Airborne Logistics with the United States Army from 1977-78. He is a graduate of the Army Command and Staff College.

Why choose Adventure Kokoda?

Why is Kokoda so important?Dive into the History