Paul Roberton  – Kokoda Track

My congratulations and thanks for a spectacular Kokoda Trek. From the outset, it was clear we were in excellent hands with you. Your cheery leadership and knowledge even made the 5am starts tolerable!

I really appreciated the time you took to help me get my pack sorted. You helped me get back to basics and once I knew I could cope with the pack, I started to relax a bit more and enjoyed myself so much!

I’d like to thank Sue as well. Our little chat at Kinglake was a timely kick in the pants about the amount of weight I was training with. Those last three weeks of ‘last chance training’ probably made it possible to for me to finish the trek!

Your passion for the Track, its people and its history really made this an opportunity of a lifetime. I could never have imagined being able to participate in a memorial service on Brigade Hill, or watch my Dad do the same at Isurava. I was absolutely astonished to see parties ‘power-walk’ straight through places like Brigade Hill, and I’m glad we weren’t one of them!

Two things stand out as highlights;

• Walking down into Isurava and seeing the Memorial pretty much stopped me in my tracks. The view over the back of Kokoda Gap above the cloud cover will remain with me all the rest of my days, and

• Being able to meet and bond with the Nationals, singing and learning songs with them, playing rugby with them and seeing them in their homes and meeting their families in Buna afterwards.

Walking the Kokoda Track has taught me about life, and about myself. This would not have been possible without you and Sue, and the rest of the Getaway Team.

My most profound thanks,
Paul Roberton.