Preparation guide · 8 of 8

After your trek

Cleaning up, celebrating with the team, saying thank you and getting home.

Before you head home

Cleaning your gear

Boots and pack must be clean before you re-enter your home country. Customs will check, and unclean gear can be held, fined or cleaned at your expense. Take time at the hotel to remove mud, seeds and dirt from boots, gaiters, poles, pack and clothing. The hotel can arrange boot cleaning. Be considerate with how you clean gear in rooms.

  • Wash clothes straight away when you get home, and air your pack outdoors to avoid mildew.
  • Clean your hydration bladder properly, then dry it fully before storing.
  • Leave gear behind? Ask your guide how best to pass on spare clothing or footwear to the local team.
Washing boots and gear after the trek
Muddy boot after the trek Transfer van after the trek Group dinner
Celebration dinner with trekkers and the guide team
Celebrate

The celebration dinner

Back in Port Moresby there is a celebration dinner with the guide team: songs, stories and plenty of laughter. It is a good time to thank the local team personally, share photos and swap contact details with the people you've trekked with.

Celebration dinner
Celebration dinner
Trekkers and guide team together
Trekkers and guide team together
Say thank you

Tipping and gifts

A tip, shared among the group guides, is optional but appreciated, and a personal guide, if you hired one, is tipped separately. Ask your expedition guide how the tipping works for your trek and how best to give gifts of clothing or footwear. Bring the tip in small kina notes so it can be shared fairly.

Trekkers thanking the local team The guide team at the farewell Thumbs up at the end of the trek
A trekker and a local team member
A trekker and a local team member
With the guide team
With the guide team
Heading home

Your flight home

Confirm your flights home, allow extra time for airport transfers, and pre-book your seat on the hotel bus. Weather can delay the return from the Track, so avoid tight connections. Keep your anti-malarials going as your doctor advised, and if you develop a fever in the following weeks or months, see a doctor and mention that you've been to PNG.

Waiting for the flight home
Waiting for the flight home
Help the next trekker

Feedback

Share your feedback with No Roads Expeditions. It helps every future trekker, and the team reads it. Once you're home, send us a message or tell the office directly. And when people ask how it went, tell them: the best advice for the Kokoda Track often comes from someone who has just walked it.

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