If Only the Trees Could Talk: Kokoda in My Footsteps

By Kristy-Lee Jones

How do you remember something so great, without forgetting those little moments?
From the moment 22 year old Kristy-Lee Jones booked her historic adventure of Trekking Kokoda in Paupa New Guinea, she had decided she wanted to do exactly that. For eight days of the trek Kristy-Lee put pen to paper and documented the events of each day, the moments that made her laugh, cry, challenge and push her to mental and physical strengths she never knew she had. She captures the moments between her two uncles Jim and Andrew, and also Andrews friend Tim and the groups Trek guide, Tony.
From the very first page Kristy-Lee makes it clear that no words or photos could describe the Kokoda experience, the tranquillity and vibrant colours of the jungle. This Raw and honest narrate however attempts to give insight to those wanting or about to trek Kokoda whilst acts as a memoir for her family and friends to share. As you follow her experiences from each day you are exposed to this young girls personal life and perspectives encapsulated through both her words and photos whilst at the same time being invigorated to start tackling your bucket list of things to do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jul 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499005523

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Kristy-Lee Jones. 622825

ISBN: Softcover      9781499005516

ISBN: EBook          9781499005523

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 07/14/2014

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Dedication

I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart Andrew, Jim, Tony and Tim for helping to create our own little bit of history on a trek that already holds so much historic memories. To our Paupa New Guinea Porters and now new friends; Jimmy, Jacob, Harry, Ivan and Kila. You are all beautiful souls and without you, our trip could not have been as amazing and adventurous as it was.

Contents

Day 1 of Kokoda 01.08.13

Day 2 of Kokoda 02.08.13

Day 3 of Kokoda 03.08.13

Day 4 of Kokoda 04/08/13

Day 5 of Kokoda 05.08.13

Day 6 of Kokoday 06/08/13

Day 7 of Kokoda 07.08.13

Day 8 of Kokoda 08.08.13

Starting from the start

It is funny when you try to think back to the time when an idea popped into your head. For me the idea of trekking the Kokoda Trail had always been on my ‘To Do List’. From as young as grade 6, I loved history of the war, reading books such as ‘Simpson and his donkey’. I had read Kokoda by Patrick Fitzsimons years ago and was fascinated by the stories encapsulated within both his words and the photos of the Kokoda Campaign. Reading a book is one thing, and walking in the footsteps of the lives lost is another. The process of organising the trek was quick and smooth. It started out by having a casual cup of tea at Grandma’s and for some random reason mentioning in conversation that I wanted to trek Kokoda within the next year. Little did I know that two of my uncles Andrew and Jim had also had a similar conversation. From there, it took one message to Andrew to say I was keen. One of my cousins Emma had done the trek just one year earlier with a guy called Tony who had his own trekking company (TQ Trekking) and lived back near my home town of Korumburra. Andrew and Emma had been talking, and like any small town, everyone knows everyone. Within no time at all Andrew, Jim and I were sharing a beer at Tony’s house discussing the beginning of our trip. The whole experience, right from that very first conversation at Grandma’s excited me. To this day when people ask where I have travelled overseas, the first thing I mention is ‘I have been to PNG and trekked Kokoda’. I am beyond proud that I have been so fortunate enough to have had such an amazing experience and to do it with the four guys has made it that much more memorable. Words cannot describe the trek. I remember trying to tease information out of Emma about what it was like, and simply replied ‘it is something you just have to do and then understand why nothing you explain does the trek justice’. For me, Kokoda was more than just an adventure and more than a ‘tick off’ my to do list. It was 8 days in the wilderness where so much thinking can happen. It was 8 days in the wilderness with the basics and rawness that many will never and have ever experienced, yet it taught me about life in a way that I hadn’t necessarily considered before. At the end of each day guaranteed, I had learnt something about myself, whether it was making sense of things in the past present and future giving me a fresh direction with a bounce in my step to continue being the free bubbly spirit I want to carry through life. That is one of the reasons I decided to keep a diary each day of the trek. To capture the highs, lows, challenges and hilarious moments that made the trek one of the best things I have done. It is a personal journey that I never thought I would publish for all to read, rather something that I could share with the four guys and reminisce