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2009 Kokoda Track Walk
2009 - Celebrating 100 years of Scouting in Moonee Valley District
It is anticipated that during September 2009, a group of Rovers from Moonee Valley District, Leaders and lay people will travel to Papau New Guinea to walk the Kokoda Track.
Included in our journey are a number of days of working with the local people, helping in a community project to give a little back and acknowledge the role the people of Papua New Guinea played in protecting Australia from Japanese invasion in 1942.
So what is the Kokoda Track?
The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs 96 kilometres (60 mi) overland — 60 kilometres (37 mi) in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track is the most famous in PNG and is renowned as the location of the World War II battle between Japanese and Australian forces in 1942.
The track starts, or ends, at Owers Corner in Central Province, 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Port Moresby, and then crosses rugged and isolated, terrain, which is only passable on foot, to the village of Kokoda in Oro Province. It reaches a height of 2,190 metres (7,185 ft) as it passes around the peak of Mount Bellamy.
Hot, humid days with intensely cold nights, torrential rainfall and the risk of endemic tropical diseases such as malaria make it a challenge to walk. Despite the challenge posed it is a popular hike that takes between five and 12 days (depending on fitness). Locals have been known to hike the route in three days...
What Is Our Journey?
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Planning is underway. We anticipate a trip of about 2-3 weeks during September 2009.
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The journey will include a service component, assisting the local community in a community project.
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The cost will be about $3,000 but this might be reduced substantially by sponsors
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The Ramblers Badge may be achieved by those wishing to work towards it.
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The journey is being offered to Rovers of the Moonee Valley District
Kokoda Front Line - the movie
During 1942 Damien Parer, a war correspondant won an Oscar winning documentary about the Kokoda Track battle. This 6 minute film gives a very good idea of the battle, the conditions under which it was fought and the importance of the battle to Australia during the war.
View the film by downloading it here, courtesy the Australian Government.
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