Kokoda Youth Leadership Challenge 2018 recipients return

Angus Dunne and Jack Parr joined a group of 21 young Australians on the gruelling 144 kilometre trail, as part of an annual challenge sponsored by the Orange Ex-Services’ Club.

Mr Dunne, who is studying Ecological Agricultural Systems at university, said 10-hour days of walking in the heat with blisters and sunburn was part of what made the trail unforgettable.

“It was more of a mental challenge than a physical one,” he said.

James Sheahan Catholic High School student Jack Parr said the group camaraderie got them all across the line.

“We kinda made it easy for each other – someone would start singing and you’d join in and forget how hard it was,” he said.

Mr Dunne said it was amazing to see how quickly the group of strangers became friends, with the duo joining those who volunteered to carry items from injured or tired walkers packs each day.

He said he wasn’t expecting the experience to have the effect it did.

VIDEO: Take a look at what the group got up to in PNG...

“It’s hit me on a few different levels, I wasn’t expecting to learn more of what it means to be Australian,” he said.

“How they did it [the trail] and what they did it for has set an amazing base of understanding for me.”

The duo followed in the tracks of other 17-25 year olds selected for the Kokoda Youth Leadership Challenge for the ways they contribute to the community.

Previous trekkers include Meaghan Kempson, a finalist in this year’s Spirit of Kokoda Award and Jennifer Culverson who was awarded the Spirit of Kokoda in 2017 after her trek in 2016.