Media Articles

With just a high school level of war history and new boots, a rather underprepared Mark Watson follows in the footsteps of our Diggers. In PNG, he discovers a new challenge – and a whole lotta pain.

National Geographic Magazine - 2017

After serving 21 years in the Australian army, Major Charlie Lynn was invited to organise a race over the Kokoda Trail in 1991.  Seeing its abandonment and neglect over 49 sad years, Charlie was moved to do something about it.  This was a pivotal moment and he has since never looked back.

GWP Magazine - 2009

Walking the Kokoda Track is an awe-inspiring prospect but its punishing climbs don't get any easier as you get older.  As John Newbery found out, the rewards are well worth the pain.

Great Walks Magazine - 2008

Charlie Lynn leads a group of Sydney Swans including Brett Kirk, Ryan O'Keefe, Leo Barry, Andrew Schauble, Gerard Bennet and Rowan Wharfe across the Kokoda Trail in the wet season.

Sydney Swans Football Magazine - 2002

The first mother and daughter team from Australia complete the Kokoda Trail.  Trek leader is 47-year-old Charlie Lynn.

South Pacific Magazine - 2002

'He's the Vietnam conscript who "forgot to get out".   Charlie had a plan to commemorate the 50th aniversary of the 1942 Kokoda campaign with a race along the track; unable to interest any sponsors, he started leading historical treks.

Runners World - 2002

Two teams, one consisting mainly of CRA employees, the other a combination of Young Liberals and 16 to 20 year old former street kids, undertake The Kokoda Challenge, a leadership program developed by Charlie Lynn.

Australian Geo Magazine - 1997

A 41-year-old mother of two teenage sons knew little about the 1942 battle along New Guinea's Kokoda Trail.   After listening to Charlie speak  with great passion at a breakfast meeting about the young heroes of Kokoda, she decided to see for herself what our soldiers had endured

The Australian Women's Weekly - 1997

What do you get when you combine the historic Kokoda Track with a bunch of celebrities?  The answer, judging from Nine’s A Current Affair, is a disaster, of significant proportions, with the odd triumph thrown in. 

The Australian - April 24, 1996

Charlie Lynn leads a group of teenagers across the Kokoda Trail.  Two film crews from Channel 7's Witness program are also on the expedition.  Can a 12-day adventure really change a teenager who has had so many black marks against them?

Sunday Life Magazine - 1996

'Colette's life-changing challenge' - Actress Colette Mann encountered adventure and self-discovery in Papua New Guinea.

Impressions Magazine - 1996

'Charlie Lynn’s trek package includes a good measure of fear, exhaustion, injury and shock, which may be why Australia’s largest companies think he’s great.'

The Sydney Morning Herald - 1995

Fifty years on, Australians are still drawn to the famous track.  Battling through the jungle, Fiona Kennedy hears prayers for the fallen, curses for official neglect and a call to corporate adventure.

The Australian Magazine - 1995

The ghosts of the diggers still wander Papua New Guinea's infamous Kokoda Track.  As Marc Llewellyn reports, this tortuous jungle route can still make or break your spirit.

The Northern Herald - 1995

Two young News Limited financial managers faced unexpected challenges when they decided to walk the infamous Kokoda Trail.  The trek group of 30 people included  men from Australian Defence Force Academy, lawyers from Sydney firm Blake, Dawson & Waldren staff from CRA and Prudential-Bache, an Amercian Army liaison officer as well as local porters.

News Limited Magazine - 1994

Adventure on the Kokoda Track - Seven days walking the infamous Kokoda Track has left a group of Defence Force members with a renewed appreciation and admiration for those who fought there.

Australian Defence Information Bulletin - 1994

'I was the first of many journalists to accompany Lynn along the track. For me, the Kokoda Trail is a metaphor for life - sometimes you've got to sink low into the valleys to appreciate the view from the mountains.  Of all the trips I've taken, no souvenir or photograph will ever equal what I took away from Kokoda...'   
- Helen Pitt

Qantas Magazine - 1993

An unprepared Marion Frith joined the commemorative trek into Kokoda, arriving on the 50th anniversary of the date of its recapture by Australian troops, November 2, 1942.  She found the rugged jungle terrain as back-breaking and soul-destroying today as it was for the young, ill-trained and outnumbered Diggers who fought with remarkable spirit.

The Canberra Times - 1992