With 15 days down and 15 more to go, our competitors should have clocked up at least 48km to reach the 96km mark by the 31st of May. So where does that put you on the real Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea?
You would have now approximately reached Efogi village. This was the fourth staging post where many troops stopped overnight as they advanced over the Kokoda Track. Both Australians and Japanese camped in Efogi.
This is where General Hori established his headquarters for his attack on Brigade Hill. Many history books and unit histories recount the night of the 6th of September, prior to the Battle of Brigade Hill, when the Australians on Mission RIdge watched in silence as the Japanese came forward from Myola in preperation for their attack.
"Slim" Little, saw "hordes of Japs with lanterns coming down the hill opposite, while we had to sit there watching them".
During the counter offensive the 3rd Battlian reached Efogi on 4 October without meeting resistance. They were followed by the 2/33rd Battallion who buried the bodies of the Australian who were killed during the withdrawal.
Kokoda Virtual Competitor Sam has decided to complete the ENTIRE 96kms in one go!
Sam unfortunately didn’t make it to the 96km finish line when attempting the Kokoda Challenge in previous years and was determined that 2020 would be the year that he would complete the full challenge. After our events were unfortunately cancelled as a result of COVID-19, we later announced the #KokodaVirtualChallenge and Sam decided that this was his opportunity to do the full 96kms!
Sam autonomously mapped out his entire walking route and his Mum, plus some of his school friends and families, will be meeting him along the way as his support crew and to complete some of the walk with him.
What’s even more special is that Sam has already managed to raise over $1,000, making him our number one fundraiser, but he’s still determined to raise more and reach his fundraising goal of $2,000!
In an attempt to raise more funds, one of Sam’s Mother's friends has kindly donated a lovely quilt as she was not in a position to donate money, so we have decided that whoever donates the most to Sam’s page will receive this quilt as a gift!
If you would like to keep tabs on Sam's progress over the weekend then please follow our Facebook page for updates. We are truly overwhelmed by Sam's kindness, generosity and the enormous amount of endurance he has displayed thus far!
For anyone who would like to help Sam reach his $2,000 fundraising goal, you can donate to his page below.
Anna Henderson (who is the wife to Doug Henderson, the Founder of the Kokoda Youth Foundation) has already completed her Kokoda Virtual Challenge! In three days, over the Labour Day long weekend in Queensland, Anna walked Emerald Lakes a total of 22 times taking her grand total to a whopping 99kms!
What’s even more impressive is that Anna only has 20% of her lung capacity but has still managed to complete the challenge over the course of the long weekend. Anna dedicated her walk to the four police officers who recently lost their lives in Victoria, which she said gave her an enormous amount of motivation as she had their bravery in mind while completing the walk. Click on the button below to see Anna cross the virtual finish line!
