What Do I Need to Pack?
Items You Need to Organise
- Your own passport
- A visa for entry into PNG
- Own transport to Port Moresby from your home city and return.
- Excess baggage (limit 20kg allowed).
- Personal Travel Insurance.
- Medical Certificate.
- Sleeping bag liner & mattress.
- Basic eating utensils (plate, bowl, cup, knife, fork spoon).
- 2.5 ltr water hydration pack & 1 water bottle.
- Trek snacks.
- Anti-malarial medication or inoculations as recommended.
- Personal Care and First Aid items.
- Sunscreen & insect repellents.
- Personal clothing.
- Food while in Port Moresby with exception of group dinner.
- Phone calls, laundry, drinks (incl alcohol).
- Personal expenses such as gifts.
- Any additional cost incurred if extending your trip beyond scheduled time frame.
- Packet of electrolyte (for rehyration if necessary).
- Ural.
- Water purification tablets.
Each night you will camp near a creek with plenty of fast flowing, crystal clear mountain water. You will therefore always have the opportunity to have a good refreshing bath. After this you will want to change into a spare set of dry clothing and your joggers/sandle.
Women should bring a sarong to wear while bathing.
Because it rains on a regular basis it is a good idea to have a waterproof poncho or rain jacket. It is a good idea to wrap your spare clothing within a plastic garbage bag, and then store this within a plastic camping bag. This will ensure you always have something dry to put on each evening.
- 30 ltr day pack or 60 ltr backpack.
- One rimmed hat or peak cap.
- One waterproof poncho/raincoat.
- Three long sleeve shirts.
- Warm vest (for evening).
- Two pair of long pants.
- Two pair of shorts.
- One pair of long thermal underwear.
- Five pairs of socks.
- Four sets of underwear.
- One pair of trekking boots.
- One pair of Gators.
- One pair of joggers/sandals (for river crossings & end of day).
- One sweat rag.
- One towel (the pack towels like a big wettex cloth you can purchase from camping/disposal stores are excellent).
- One pair of lycra gym shorts (prevents chafing).
- One Sarong (for women for bathing) and swimmers.
- Self inflating mattress or sleeping pad.
- One head/hand torch with spare batteries.
- A small pocket knife.
- One water hydration bag (or 3 one-litre water bottles).
- Plate, bowl and mug (plastic or enamel).
- Knife, fork and spoon.
- 1 bar of Soap/toothbrush/toothpaste.
- Toilet paper or baby wipes.
- Waterproof plastic bags or dry sack (to keep your clothing and other items dry within your backpack).
- Camera (ensure you have plenty of memory and spare batteries).
Note: You will need a set of casual clothing for your short stay in Port Moresby. This could be the clothing you travel in, or a spare set. This will be safely stored at the Niugini Adventure premises until you return from the trek.
Local food is often available on request from villagers. Fresh fruits such as oranges, bananas, sugar fruits (a kind of passion fruit) and others are sold by villages, so be sure to have some small change (K2, K5, K10) to buy these. All meals will be cooked and served by your Trek Guides.
Make a separate snack-pack up for each day and clearly mark your bag with your name. You will carry four days with you and the remaining snack pack will be sent to Kagi village – about half-way along the track. You will therefore need to pack these in a separate bag and mark it clearly with your name. Deliver it to your trek leader in the hotel lobby prior to your departure (you could include a treat in this bag – perhaps a large tin of chocolate, self-saucing pudding with a tube of condensed milk for example – as a reward when you reach the half-way.
- Zip lock bags – small & large
- Soft lollies – Jelly beans, snakes, extra
- Hard lollies – barley sugar, mints
- Mixed nuts/fruit bag
- Muesli bars
- 2 x Condensed milk tubes
- Treats – block of chocolate, peanut butter, tin tuna, marshmallows etc..
- Mocha/Latte packets
- 2 x Baby wipes
- Salt
- Small bath gel/soap
- Small shampoo/conditioner
- Deodorant
- Small moisturiser
- 2 x Gatorade/staminade/powerade
- Gu – energy gel (box) from Rebel sports
- Berocca
- Gastrolyte
- Malaria tablets (doctor)
- Anti-inflammatory tablets (doctor)
- Antibiotics (doctor)
- Panadine forte (doctor)
- Nurofen
- Cold & flu tablets
- Voltaren gel tube
- Laxatives
- Ural
- Gastro-stop (opposite to laxative)
- Water purification tablets
- Vaseline
- Betadine
- Mosquito repellent
- Bandaids & Blister pack
- Strapping tape
- Sun cream
- Scissors/tweezers kit
- 2 x Hand Sanitizer
- Toothpaste
- Tooth brush
- Spare shoe laces
- Knee guards
The Kokoda Trail is rugged and remote – as rugged as any trek on this planet!
Always communicate with your guide/porter as to how you are feeling, if you’re your feeling unwell let them know ASAP.
Drink lots of water and electrolyte drink to keep yourself hydrated.
Normal routine injuries in this environment can result in significant planning and preparation for safe evacuation. A severely sprained ankle or broken leg may involve the recruitment of stretcher bearers from nearby villages, the construction of a stretcher from bush material, organisation and co-ordination of safe evacuation by helicopter, medical arrangements in Port Moresby, etc. If the injury is more serious then emergency evacuation procedures are more complicated.
Niugini Adventure Tour Leaders are equipped with VHF radios + satellite phone to handle such emergencies, weather permitting.
The trek is tough and physically demanding. It is therefore important that you be physically fit. You must have a thorough medical examination prior to departure as you will be required to obtain a medical clearance as directed.
You should ask your doctor for three prescriptions during your check-up:
Anti-malarial medication – for Papua New Guinea (see below);
Anti-inflammatory medication. Have your doctor prescribe anti-inflammatory tablets in case of extreme muscle soreness; and
Antibiotics for treatment of infections
Panadine Forte – for extreme cases of injury (prescribed by your Doctor).
Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance is mandatory for all trekkers. Trip cancellation insurance will reimburse you for any non-recoverable air or land expenses should you have to cancel your trip due to personal or family illness or leave the expedition early due to other reasons. It will also cover any emergency medical evacuation expenses should you become ill during the expedition. We strongly recommend that you take out baggage loss and accident insurance. In the event that an aircraft evacuation is required, Niugini Adventure Tours will undertake to arrange the evacuation on the condition that the expenses will be reimbursed by the passenger before departing the country.
Note: Accidents caused by the inappropriate consumption of alcohol or drugs may void your travel insurance.
Tell your Doctor you are going to PNG for 12 days and will be spending eight-10 of those on the Kokoda Trail in the Owen Stanley Range. He or she will then prescribe the appropriate anti-malarial medication for you.
We have a comprehensive first-aid kit for your group however there are items which you should bring to treat minor ailments or irritations.
Plan to look after your feet. Ensure you have a comfortable pair of walking boots and good thick socks. Each night you will have the opportunity to thoroughly wash and dry your feet. It is then a good idea to give them a liberal covering of foot powder to dry them out during the night. Next morning it is advisable to massage some ‘Bepanthen’ antiseptic cream into them.
Blisters should not be a problem if you have a good pair of walking boots and have broken them in properly. Nevertheless it is a wise precaution to have blister kit with you. The ‘Spenko Blister Kit’ (containing a soothing ‘second skin’) or ‘Dr Scholl Blister Kit’ are recommended.
Personal First-Aid Checklist:
- Anti-malarial tablets (as prescribed by your doctor).
- Anti-inflammatory tablets (as prescribed by your doctor).
- Antibiotic tablets (as prescribed by your doctor).
- Tropical strength mosquito repellent.
- 3 X 50g tubes of ‘Bepanthen’ (Antiseptic Cream with Vitamin B5) – for your feet!
- Two (2) Dr Scholl or Spenko blister packs.
- Two (2) Rolls of broad elastic bandage.
- Strapping tape.
- Two rolls of Leukoplast waterproof elastoplast (5 cm X 5 m).
- Band-Aids (waterproof).
- Anti-histamine (Benadryl) – useful as a decongestant for colds or allergies and to ease the itch from any insect bites or stings.
- Panadol Forte/Aspirin tablets/capsules.
- Sunscreen.
- Scissors, tweezers, and safety pins.
- Staminade/Gatorade/IsoSport electrolyte drink powder (Two (2) jars).
- Gastrolyte (for re-hydration if necessary).
- Disinfectant – for washing hands after going to the toilet and before meals.
- Ural and water purification tablets.
Other suitable items which will benefit villages along the way are painkillers (aspirin/panadol), antiseptic and anti-fungal creams, anti-biotics, anti-malarial tablets and band-aids/bandages.
You can change this into the local currency (Kina) when you arrive at the Port Moresby International Airport. There is a currency exchange facility in the arrivals/baggage collection area. The PNG Customs staff will allow you to proceed through and change A$50 to Kina to pay for your Visa – you should use this opportunity to exchange a further A$100 into small K2 and K5 denominations for use along the track.
You will need to cover breakfast and lunch while in Port Moresby and any room service/telephone charges you incur in your room at the hotel.
Alcoholic Drinks
Souvenirs.
Note: You cannot use Bankcard in PNG. But you can use all other international credit cards.
Adventure Travelling in Style
The following items are included in the price of your trek with Niugini Adventure Tours:
- An experienced Australian or PNG Kioari Trek Leader.
- Meet and greet on arrival by Niugini Adventure Tours staff at Jackson Airport, Port Moresby.
- Airport/accommodation transfers.
- Accommodation on a twin share basis at a 4-star hotel in Port Moresby.
- 1 buffet dinners at hotel (Day 1).
- Visit to Bomana War Cemetery.
- Airfare from Port Moresby to Kokoda or Kokoda to Port Moresby depending on where you start.
- Sing-sing group on arrival at Kokoda.
- Trek permit and village access fees.
- Certificate of completion from Kokoda Track Authority.
- Village guesthouse/tent accommodation along the Track.
- PNG group porters for food and cooking equipment.
- 3 plentiful meals each day while on trek.
- A personal porter. (Optional at additional charge).
- Bus/4WD transfer from hotel to Owers Corner.
- Sleeping bag.
- 2-Man mosquito proof tent.
- Group camping/trek equipment. (includes safety and communication equip).
Variety of snack bars:
allow for at least 2-3 bars per day per person, approx 30 bars.
Everything needs to be sealed in a zip-lock bag with your name on it. You will need various sizes, take empty bags with you to PNG.
Divide snacks into two groups and seal in zip-lock bags:
First half of trek (Owers Corner to Kagi)
2nd half of trek (Kagi to Kokoda)
If snacks are enclosed in own packaging (unlike the bars above) they must be left unopened and taken through customs sealed in original packaging. When you get to Port Moresby, you will need to divide all your lollies into the amount of zip-lock bags for each day, ie 10 day trek will need 10 lolly bags, this way you have a lolly bag for each day, and you will know your supplies. Fruit and nuts (trail mix) – 2 bags to last you.
Take some treats. You will be grateful for them on the track. Remember everything will need to be in a zip-lock bag either before you leave Australia or when you get to Port Moresby. The more you pack in Australia the less you will have to do the night before in PNG. Don’t open any packages where the food is exposed as customs will throw it out if they check your bag.
It’s a good idea to put toiletries in zip-lock bags, when items are packed tight in the backpack they can sometimes burst.
When packing your medications, take them out of the box but cut out the label showing the name of the prescription, who it’s for and details for consumption. Note the Gastrolyte: You must have one of these with you for re-hydration if necessary. And also some packets of Ural.
Store items that you don’t want wet in a ‘dry sack’ they come in various sizes. I also use mine for a pillow on the trek.
Example of clothing (only necessary items) whilst on the track. Shirts, shorts, beanie, hiking gloves, swimmers, bike shorts, socks, waterproof jacket, quick-dry towel, sleeping bag liner & headscarf/sweat rag.