After 101 treks across the Kokoda Track, one guide says it's too full of 'death traps' to go back
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Charlie Lynn led trekkers across the rugged Kokoda Track for three decades — guiding Australians as they paid tribute to soldiers who fought and died there in World War II. But after his 101st trip last year, he decided enough was enough. The mountainous 96-kilometre trail — a place of pilgrimage for tourists commemorating one of Australia's pivotal military victories — has fallen too far into disrepair, according to Mr Lynn. "It's in the worst condition it's ever been in, in the 32 years that I've trekked across it," he said. He described parts around Brown River, far inland on the track, as "death traps". "You would hardly call it a track. It's about 10 metres above the river and if anybody has a misstep with their pack on … you will never find them again," he said. Mr Lynn, the son of a WWII veteran, led one of the first Australian tourist groups across the famous track on the 50th anniversary of the battle in 1992. Military personnel from Australia, United States, France, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea walk the Kokoda Track in October 2022.(Supplied: Department of Defence) Since then, it's become an important source of income for villagers along the trail, bringing in 50 million kina ($20.4 million) annually to PNG's economy. But amid a decline in visitor numbers and concerns about the management of the Kokoda Track, PNG's tourism authority is seeking oversight of the agency tasked with managing tourist operations on the trail. The Battle of Kokoda is among the most celebrated Australian victories of WWII, when Australian soldiers and Papua New Guinean villagers repelled the Japanese advance on Port Moresby along the mountain trail. It forged an enduring bond between Australia and Papua New Guinea, which is now symbolised by the track — something that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will mark as he walks part of it on Anzac Day after arriving in PNG on Monday. The Kokoda Track runs through PNG's rugged highland terrain.(ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser ) At its tourism peak in 2008, about 5,600 trekkers crossed the Kokoda Track. Since then, Mr Lynn says, numbers have dropped 46 per cent, and some believe the trail is not fulfilling its tourism potential. Mr Lynn said the experience for tourists had suffered as management of the trail had declined. "There's not one decent toilet across the trail for them," he said. "What you'll have is two or three groups of 50-60 arriving at a campsite that only has capacity for 25 and they'll be having heated arguments for who stays there that night. "It's become the wild west." Another trekking operator, Mick O'Malley, isn't as critical and says he has seen improvements. "We are head and shoulders above where we used to be when I first started trekking," he said. "I agree … it would be great to have amazing toilets but, by the same token, toilets in Australia aren't run by the government. It's private enterprise. "It's not the government's responsibility to make sure toilets and guest houses are clean and up to standard." Researchers Kyline Koroka and Shahar Shalom Yadin, who published a paper on the Kokoda Track in the Journal of South Pacific Law, are calling for authorities and tourism operators to consult more with local communities that host the trail. The Kokoda Track Authority (KTA), established about 20 years ago, oversees tourism operations on the trail and sits under PNG's Department of Provincial and Local-level Government Affairs (DPLGA). However, deputy chairman of the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority, Andy Abel, said it was put in the hands of the wrong department. "It should have been parked within the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority because Kokoda Trail trekking … is a tourism asset," he said. "It's like parking a semitrailer in a sedan car park. "When I realised how the tourism authority was spending millions of kina promoting the trail in Australia, but we had no control over it, I made it my business to correct it." The Kokoda campaign is one of the most commemorated Australian victories from World War II.(Supplied: Australian War Memorial) Mr Abel is spearheading a push to shift the management rights of the Kokoda Track Authority from the DPLGA to the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority. He expects it to be approved within three months. "I've met with the minister for tourism, I've met with the governor, I've met with the prime minister … so it's now just a matter of time, and not when, for that National Executive Council submission to go before cabinet and that transfer to take place." The ABC approached the Kokoda Track Authority for comment. KTA chief executive Julius Wargirai has previously defended the agency, saying it is working to improve transparency and grow the benefits of the track for local people. He has also said the KTA had limited power to increase the benefits for people living on the track. PNG tourism authorities and researchers say there's need for a new direction in how the Kokoda Track is managed.(Supplied: Department of Defence) In the meantime, there are plans to encourage more tourists back to PNG by funding improvements to the Kokoda Track and building more WWII attractions in Port Moresby. Mr Abel and Port Moresby Governor Powes Parkop have signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada Bay Council in Sydney and not-for-profit organisation Network Kokoda to make the improvements. Mr Parkop said under the plan, historic sites such as Paga Hill, Wardstrip and Sabama would undergo development for new memorials. He said he would like memorial sites built in the Central and Oro provinces as well. "The plan from our city is to also encourage tourism in the area of war pilgrimage," he said. Mr Parkop said the National Capital District government (Port Moresby) would work with Network Kokoda and memorial designers to come up with ideas for installations. One idea included placing WWII aircraft at Wards Airstrip, which was used by heavy bombers and transport planes during the conflict. And Mr Parkop wants to extend the tourism market beyond Australia. "There is a very big gap in the market," he said "I think the potential for us to get more numbers here than Gallipoli is there, but the government hasn't really developed and harnessed this potential to create the facilities. "And of course, the other market is the Japanese and USA. We want to invite them too so they can tell their story and their version of things, so they can pay respect to lost loved ones."Trail has become 'the wild west'
A 'semitrailer in a sedan car park'