I Did the Kokoda Trail with Seven Other Women this Year…

Are you thinking of doing the Kokoda trail, or maybe you’ve had it on your bucket list but never got to it?

This was the case for some of the women who went on our first ever Kokoda expedition in 2024. One of them had it on her travel bucket list for over 20 years and she just recently completed it!

Here’s what their experience was like (without sugarcoating it).

This will probably not come as a surprise to anyone that’s considering the Kokoda trek but our group experience just confirmed it. Only about 5,000 Aussies do this trek yearly…

Our group of eight women hiked for eight days – a total of 96 kilometres in the sticky, humid conditions of Papua New Guinea. It was steep, slippery and wet and some of the pictures below will illustrate that for you.

Wendy said that the track was hard but the support made it so easy. 

Chris kept reminding herself of how hard it was and the feeling of accomplishment – it was harder than Everest base camp! 

This absolutely determined lot of eight Camino Women hiked an impressive 4,217 metres in ascent and then descended 4,301 metres. They spent six to 10 hours walking for most of the days, but their group spirit and encouragement from the local team kept them positive and motivated to continue. 

Here’s what Phoebe had to say about the group: “We’re best friends for life and are keen for our next adventure in 2026 to Annapurna (possibly).”

And Debbie also felt a similar way: “The group of women were just fantastic, I have never met a better group.”

Our goal as an adventure travel company is to attract a community of women who enjoy each other’s company and share the same buzz for off-the-beaten-track destinations. 

Trips like our recent Kokoda adventure are so special in that likeminded women can have life-changing experiences with the deep involvement of local communities, in all corners of the world. 

The Kokoda trek is a great confirmation of this.

Kathryn shared: “The PNG guys just made the trip so special, hearing them singing in the jungle as they hiked was just bone chilling. The hike was amazing. To have completed it is such an achievement.” 

Phoebe said: “I will never be the same since returning. I learned to slow down and really appreciate life after spending time in PNG.”

“I can’t put my experience into words, I really enjoyed it, it was well paced and well designed.” – Julie.

Yes, it is. It was always meant to be more than just landing in PNG, doing the trek and leaving the country. No matter how cool the experience of trekking Kokoda is, you can’t come all this way and not use the opportunity to see a thing or two of the local life.. 

PNG as a whole is still relatively undiscovered by mainstream tourism thanks to its unchanged wilderness, tribal rules and Wantok system, and it would be fair to say a decent chunk of visitors go there with just Kokoda on their mind 

But not us – our trip has four extra days so you can decompress after you conquer the trail, and get some ‘ins’ of the local’s lives and their villages. We kick off in Buna village, where the porters on your trip most likely live. Our women were shown around their village and welcomed into their porters’ homes, getting to meet the whole family and treated to homecooked food.

Kathryn shared: “The northern beaches were such a highlight – I cannot imagine arriving in Kokoda and not having those days of being in the villages, swimming in the sea, seeing the families, I would have HATED to go on Kokoda with any other company who would have just flown out straight out after Kokoda.”

Chris said: “The villages were amazing, visiting the guides and their families was really special. Nice way to finish the trek!”

And Debbie felt in a similar way: “Loved the interaction with the boys on the track and the locals, I actively went out to talk with the children and their mums and laugh together, I felt grateful to do the cultural aspect that other groups don’t get to experience.”

Do you recall reading at the beginning of this post, only 5,000 Aussies a year finish this trek? Yes, it’s challenging. And it’s hard. But if you know in your mind you want to do it – that’s half the battle. Still, absolutely nothing compares with that feeling of getting across the ‘finish line’ of such a great adventure.

The end of the trail was a real ‘goose bumps’ moment (for the team here at Camino as well as our group on the track) – passing through the Kokoda Track Arch. Crossing it together, without a doubt, was a profound moment on so many levels for all of them. 

Here’s what they had to share: 

Wendy shared: “I was and and still am totally elated having completed the trek – the last 5 kilometres were incredible. The whole group all joined arms and walked across the line together. It was a very emotional moment and I smile every time I think about it.”

Julie felt similarly: “The walk itself was incredible, the scenery, doing the walk was a big highlight and feeling like ‘oh wow’ going through the arches at the end.” 

So did Debbie: “This trip is one of my life’s greatest memories, the comradery we all felt was so special –- the journey we all took together was massive, that feeling at the end at the finish together when we linked arms and walked through the arches was indescribable.” 

Chris said: ”I LOVED the trek itself, the different terrain each day, the forests, the adventure, going through the arches was pretty emotional, we all went across together at the same time which was really special with a sense of ‘wow’.”

Of course not! One of our Camino’s was injured on the trek and had to leave the Trail early but we had every possible contingency in place to ensure that  the experience was as good as possible for her. The local team showed us what absolute superstars they were in the complexity of the situation. 

Here’s what she shared with us: 

“I absolutely loved it and I was gutted when I had to be helicoptered out, but couldn’t fault anyone. The support I received from the Camino Women team, the on-the-ground team, the pilot, the hotel staff was just incredible. The helicopter ride out was awesome. I got to see some other villages. The pilot pointed out the trek that I had completed and some of the villages that I’d stayed at which were really special. My highlights were the people,  coming into the villages at night time and getting to spend quality time having in-depth conversations with the porters.”

We would have loved to have prepared a special hiking patch or a commemorative t-shirt  for this huge accomplishment for our Camino Women, but we didn’t get around to it. Our trekkers felt the same. 

Note! We listened very carefully. We’re still growing and always learning so the feedback we get from our guests helps us become better at what we do.

Negotiations between the Landowners of the village of Nauro and the PNG government have been completed and formal agreements have been made. The official Kokoda trekking season for 2025 is officially starting in March this year.  

If you liked reading this post, maybe Kokoda could be your next adventure with us!. We’ll be running the trip only once in 2025.🙂

Reach out to us if you want to know how to prepare yourself for this challenge – we can help you train for this adventure.

Or, to find out more about our female-led Kokoda Track expedition you can read more via the link.