Our story begins a very long time ago, decades ago, probably long before many of you were born. During the Second World War, Japan had the intention to attack Australia and thought that Papua New Guinea would be a strategic place to launch an attack from. They had heard of a trail that the locals used to move from village to village and thought they could take that over and use it to move their men back and forth from Kokoda to Owers’ Corner.
What began as a relationship forged because of war remains to this day because of the unbreakable bonds that grew between the Australian soldiers and the locals, named by the soldiers as their Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. We are the descendants of the original Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.
Australia was not about to stand idly by and let this happen and positioned their men on PNG and specifically on Kokoda to ward off the potential attack on Australia. There began what was to become, months of horrific fighting. The local people, our forefathers, stepped in to help the Australians in their battle to defeat the Japanese by carrying their wounded, their dead, food, artillery and ammunition, guiding the soldiers safely through the jungle along the Track throughout the battle. Ultimately, because of the knowledge and unwavering help provided by the local villagers, the Australian soldiers were successful in defeating the Japanese and defending Kokoda.
Guiding people along Kokoda is in our genes and our blood. It is who we are. We are the first Indigenous group in Papua New Guinea to offer an authentic trekking experience while directly supporting our people, villages and communities along the Kokoda Track. We have safely guided trekkers along Kokoda for decades for other tour operators and we have now stepped forward to reclaim our heritage and legacy.
This is authentic sustainable travel at its best and we invite you to come and experience our culture while challenging yourself in a truly magnificent setting.
Ne isivi alu a lohoveve ige au noele. Lohoi eleha abika teho Kokoda
(We would be honoured to be a part of your journey while you become part of ours. Come find yourself on Kokoda.)
Our vision is to provide an absolutely authentic travel experience for all interested travellers while directly supporting and giving back to our local communities along The Kokoda Track.
Our Mission is to provide a challenging yet safe way for trekkers to engage in a life changing journey and also ensure that proceeds from fees are put directly back into the local communities to help upgrade our community infrastructure. Your dollars will go to our schools and school libraries, our medical clinics and other village infrastructure in need of maintenance and upgrading. There is no middle man – we are it. We live on The Track; our families have lived here for generations. This is authentic travel at its best and we invite you to come and visit our home.
We allocate a 1:1 trekker to porter ratio to promote a strong bond between your porter and yourself. Our goal for each trek is to not only ensure that all trekkers safely complete their journey from beginning to end, but also to promote solid relationships between trekkers and porters. This relationship becomes one of the most memorable experiences of the trip and is reminiscent of the wartime bonds that were established during the war between the Australian troops and the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.
