Tiffany Robinson - KK 2006

Tiffany's Story

My name is Tiffany Robinson and over the past year I have been privileged to be part of the Kokoda Youth Program as a 2006 Kokoda Kid. Over the duration of this program I have gone through experiences and challenges that have changed me and shaped me into the person that I am today. 

It all started in April 2005 when Doug Henderson, the chairman of the Kokoda Challenge Association gave a speech and visual presentation at my school calling for

year 11 & 12 students to participate in the Kokoda Youth program which, through an intensive training program, would eventually send 12 teens every year over to Papua New Guinea for an experience of a life time. I can remember leaving the room that day some how knowing that my life was going to change forever. Twelve months later I was offered a place in the program that was to commence training in May.

Two months later myself and the eleven other Kokoda Kids were ready to take on the Kokoda Challenge held in the Gold Coast hinterland in July and required us to cover 96 km, which is the length of the actual Kokoda track, walking all day and night without break. This was the hardest 22 hours of my life and I found myself out in the bush in the middle of the night, struggling to walk up hills with tears of frustration and despair running down my face.

People constantly ask me how this program has changed me and the beginning of the answer to this question, occurred at five o'clock in the morning on the Sunday of the challenge. As I have always been heavily involved in sport, all my life I have always pushed myself to the max and have put myself through torture in order to win every single race and event possible, as in my mind, I had to. However, at five o'clock that morning something inside of me changed. I was no longer able to walk, suffering hypothermia, dehydration, an unfunctional knee, having blisters on every toe and what felt like every muscle in my body ceasing up. Finally, after years of thinking I was invincible, I realized that I was not, that I was only human and that sometimes when the circumstance did not allow, I couldn't win.

This absolutely devastated me, although I did not let people know and for a while my life hit an all-time low. I found myself doing things that I have never done before and was forced to re-learn and find myself all over again. Although I felt for a time as if the challenge had broken me, I soon was able to see the lessons learnt from been bashed up and beaten by the bush.

At my first athletics competition after the challenge seven weeks later, I had a new vission and respect for competition. Instead of thinking that I had to win and the competitors around me were my enemies in which I had to crucify, I considered it an honor to be competing against these talented girls. For the first time in my life, I finally knew what it was like to be proud of myself for winning an event, instead of only been satisfied for completing the required task. I found that my competitive compulsion had vanished and even one of the Kokoda Kids mentioned to me that this had gone, that he had more respect for me and that I was a nicer and better person because of it.

As the weeks became less and the time to go to Papua New Guinea for the Kokoda. track became near, my excitement intensified and I was the happiest I had been in my life. My time on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea was the most sacred and spiritual time of my life.

There are so many experiences and events that occurred over those seven days that are so dear to me, that they are tattooed to my heart and embedded in my mind. Some I would never even attempt to explain because no matter how hard I tried, unless you were there, you could never understand exactly what I went through and how 1 felt.

I will however tell you about one. On the second day of walking after about three hours of walking we arrived at the Isurava war memorial, where four pillars stand, each containing one word, Courage, Sacrifice, Mateship and Endurance. Here we took a few moments to contemplate exactly what the soldiers had done for us. We were split into two groups and were invited to raise the Australian and Papua New Guinean flags. I have never been so proud to be an Australian as when myself and four others raised the Australian flag.

For some of the days on the track I was sick and extremely fatigued. However I constantly kept in mind the fact that unlike the Australian soldiers, who fought in the war to save our lives, I did not have Japs shooting at me and I was not in extreme starvation and sickness. This helped me keep focus and is the reason for the deep respect that I now have for these Australian heroes.

At the end of the track after seven days of walking I found myself along with some of my closest friends, walking through the archway at Owen's Corner, leaving no one behind. As we were driven away from the track and I watched the archway and the track getting smaller and further away, the feeling that I experience was a million times better than that of winning any race or age-champion and for the first time in my life I was at peace. 

This Kokoda experience has by far been the best experience of my life and all 10 people who walked by my side along the track have become my mates for life. I often find myself reflecting upon the Kokoda program and trip to Papua New Guinea and feel as if I have woken up from an amazing and beautiful dream that is so spiritual and sacred, that it has changed me forever.

Thank you for your time.

Tiffany
Nerang High School