Three words young Orange resident Will Parish used to describe his experience walking 96 kilometres along the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea earlier this month.

Mr Parish said the Kokoda Track, the scene of one of Australia’s poignant World War II memories, was an eye-opening experience and one he rated among his best achievements.

“The whole experience was very rewarding. I was amazed to see what the soldiers had to carry along the trail. We carried 15 kilograms on a backpack and it was exhausting - I could only imagine how difficult it would have been for them,” he said.

“I’m very glad I got the opportunity to experience it. It’s right up there as one of my best accomplishments and it’s something I’ll never forget.”

The opportunity to participate in the Kokoda walk came about after he was encouraged to participate as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, a program which identifies the state’s young leaders.

Award organisers recognised Mr Parish for his leadership qualities and asked him to be a mentor  for 20 young indigenous people who took on the track as part of the Halo Foundation.

“They [Duke of Edinburgh organisers] were impressed with my leadership skills and asked me to participate as a mentor for the Halo Foundation, which gives disadvantaged indigenous kids the chance to turn their life around,” he said.

 When asked to pinpoint a highlight of the walk, Mr Parish said that was difficult because each day was better than the next.

“Each day threw up a lot of different challenges on the walk. They were all different,” he said.

“But the thing that gave me the most satisfaction was seeing all the local kids in the small villages. The smiles on their faces when you said hello and gave them gifts, it really touched us all.”

It took Mr Parish and his team more than nine days to complete the 96 kilometre single-file foot thoroughfare trek. And just to prove how hard it was, five people from his team dropped out after the first day.

“I had been training really hard for the past year preparing me for the walk but it was even harder than I expected,” he said.

“Every time you looked up there was another hill, followed by another hill. It really was difficult, but thanks to my personal trainer Del Byron I was well prepared and got there in the end.”

Mr Parish said he enjoyed the experience so much, he’d love to do it again one day. Until then, he said he’d treasure the memories and lifelong friends made during the experience.

luke.schuyler@fairfaxmedia.com.au