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3 unusual facts about Kokoda Track


Airlines PNG Flight 4684

The passengers included eight Australian tourists on their way to trek the Kokoda Track, two tour guides (one Australian and one Papua New Guinean) from No Roads Expeditions tour company, and a Japanese tourist.

Kokoda Track

John Landy, the long-distance runner, set a record of four days for the crossing using carriers and guides during the 1950s, and in 1964 Angus Henry, the art teacher at Sogeri High School with two of his students, John Kadiba and Misty Baloiloi, set a new record which was to stand until after the millennium by completing the journey in three and a quarter days without guides, carriers or any signposts or bridges.

The Kokoda Track Foundation was established in 2003, to help villages along the Kokoda Track by assisting with their education and healthcare, by trying to protect their environment, by helping to foster the growth of an eco-friendly trekking and tourism industry from which they can benefit, by working to keep the story of Kokoda alive, and by seeking to identify and foster the next generation of PNG leaders.



see also

49th Operations Group

The 49th participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea.

7th Fighter Squadron

The squadron participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea.

8th Fighter Squadron

The 8th participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea.

9th Attack Squadron

The 9th participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea.