Testimonials

WHAT THEY SAY

Lynton, SA
KOKODA – What a way to get connected with our WW II Troops!
TOOGEE TREKS are the way to do the Track. I was so lucky to select them from the number I saw when I surfed the net to fullfil my dream of completing the Track in a way that I would enjoy.
10 days with the most informative Tour Leader Robert Frost and a group of porters that just do so much to help you enjoy the days and nights out there.
Scenic, tough, awesome, mind blowing and every other thing you can think of to try and explain the best holiday you have ever had.
I want to go back and do it again and I will do that with TOOGEE TREKS because the group really do it so well. Food,people,equipment and the caring nature they extend to all the loverly people that live along the track are just some of the reasons.
If you are thinking about it please call me as I will give you heaps more reasons to choose TOOGEE TREKS as your life changing Kokoda experience.

Darlene, NSW
Hi Robert,
A fantastic personal tour.
No one was left behind and everyone was encouraged all the way. The food was great (far better than I had imagined). We had our own Chef on trek with us & it was a very tasty and varied menu.
The porters were a fantastic support – they were always there to lend a helpful guiding hand. Robert was a wealth of knowledge and imparted his knowledge of the history of The Track and of the culture of the people in a very interesting manner.
I learnt so much from the tour – about myself and about the War along the Kokoda Track. I cannot recommend this tour highly enough – Robert knew all the ‘off the track’ historic sites to visit; the entire trek was well organised & the pace was comfortable to allow you to ‘take it all in’.
The equipment provided was of a high quality so the tents didn’t leak and the packs were sturdy and comfortable to carry.
I have recommended to anyone interested in trekking Kokoda to go with Toogee Treks – they provide the best value for money & a wonderful insight into the history and culture of New Guinea because of their connection with the people & their wealth of knowledge & experience.”
And it’s all true!!!!
Cheers

Doug, WA
Robert,
Thought I would send you a few words about our experiences on the Kokoda Trek, PNG and your company.
I’ve enjoyed travelling with your company; I like the idea of having the tents and back packs supplied. The costs of the trips are very good with internal travel, meals and accommodation, etc supplied/included.
I appreciate all the help that Colin Obed gave us when we were stranded in Naduri in 2007 when the cyclone came through and the track was closed. Mike and I both enjoyed our experiences, including travelling to Rabaul last year, well organised.
Me experience of the track in 2007 was “I can’t do this.” in 2008 was “Why am I doing this, I need my head read.” To wouldn’t mind doing the track back to back (Owers Corner, KKD, Owers Corner) in 2010?. Can that be arranged if we a serious about it. What I am saying is I would go back again. There is something magical about the track, the people who live there and the history pre, during and post war that wants me to go back.
Bye for now.
Regards
Doug
NOTE: Doug trekked with us 2007, 2008 and again in 2010.

Toni, QLD
Robert,
Where do I begin? Not only was this trip a ”soul-searching” experience for myself & a couple of friends, but I was also honoured to be surrounded by some of my newest, most wonderful friends.
The key element of Toogee that I recall was that Robert was not only our fearless bearded leader, but he continually ensured our trip was not “…let’s race through the jungle and see who is the fittest.” But more of a “get in that freezing river whilst I tell you about the battle that happened right here!”
Robert always put us in the thick of things, nothing beyond what we were capable off but into areas that certainly took us from our comfort zones.
We definitely got more then we paid for.
Still after 2 years I carry many memories, especially of those fresh freezing rivers, that soothed sore, swollen legs & feet; of the huge smiles on porters that would dive into jungles to catch you if you slipped; the sweet harmonic melodies of local voices soothing us off to sleep; of fire flies floating down rivers at night, like soldiers in our dreams; of friends full bellies after some of the best meals prepared and cooked by villagers, that then sang to us in the rain; of tears from today for those of yesterday.
As I always tell the many people that asked about my Kokoda trip…if you want to do it…do it with Toogee and experience it for what it truely is today…a memorial and a place that allows us to appreciate it for it’s true significance as an Australian.
Thank you Toogee!
Toni

Dee, NSW
My experience with Toogee Treks exceeded my expectations.
Everything was so well organised and we were kept informed throughout our trek.
The food was amazing and it was really great to try the local produce and see the cooking technique.
It was great to see the respect and mutual friendship Toogee had with the villagers along the way. I would go with Toogee Treks again hands down!!
Dee

Daniel, QLD
Hi Robert,
Glad to see business is still booming for you.  I was with Dad today and we both think we will do it again it will be just a matter of time and getting some other people that need a life changing experience as we all had.  Keep up the enthusiasm and I really do enjoy seeing your jokes and emails come through on occasions when the usual daily grind gets a bit much. 

Something from my heart for you to add on the website:

The idea of a Trek in PNG started as something that was a dream of mine.  My grandfather never spoke of his time in PNG during the war however once I began going to PNG for business he began to show emotions towards me that other family members had never seen before.
In his last years of life, with his mind disappearing more and more each time I saw him, his eyes would get a glimmer of excitement knowing that I was experiencing part of his life that was probably more gruesome than any of would ever like to experience.
Toogee Treks are different from the rest; with commentary and information that other groups do not experience. Toogee shows you things and makes the feelings of the soldiers on that muddy track become part of every step that you will make.
The meals and local village experiences are things that you will never forget not to mention the team of porters that will assist you if required and continue to amaze you at the top of every hill with their never ending energy levels that is their home.
Daniel

Craig, NSW
Dear Robert,
My memories of last year’s Kokoda Trek are of fascination, enlightenment, comradeship and true adventure.
The management and porters were very well mannered and polite.
The trek was well organised and catered for. In a sense the trip was life changing for me. To be surrounded by the hardship, cruelty, beauty and wonder of the Jungle, plus the simplicity, complicated, danger and warmth of the highlanders, has enable me to be more respectful, content and understanding of life.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Toogee Treks for a trip away. I would also like to walk it again at some point!
All the best.
Craig

Tim, SA
Dear Robert
Just wanted to send you an email about the experience that Chris, Maryanne and I had on our 9 day/8 nights private trek from Kokoda – Owers Corner.
Firstly, and without question, if anyone asks us about trekking Kokoda we will only be recommending they do it through Toogee Treks.  For each significant statement I make I will back it up with reasons.
Along our journey we passed the following groups: Kokoda Adventure, No Roads, Executive Excellence, Kokoda Spirit, Kokoda Trekking, PNG Trekking (I think) and possibly some others.  They all had large groups and in some instances you couldn’t really tell who was in charge.
What was interesting is that in almost all circumstances the porters from the other trekking companies all made their way over to Colin and our boys to talk or to sit around the fire but in general they didn’t seem to be as close knit and possibly that was because of the size of their groups.
I mainly make that point to say that not one other company gave us any reason to doubt our decision and quite the contrary, as we passed and met with each company, we formed an even greater opinion that we had made the best possible decision and often used that as a comfort level whilst we were eating our cooked meals versus them struggling to get the packet meals open.  We were actually quite disgusted with Executive Excellence who was leading a charity group from Sydney with NRL players and other corporate people.  On their departure from Naduri a few locals collected at least two garbage bags full of rubbish that had been left behind.
To round out this first point, I will highlight that our choice came down to you and Adventure Kokoda.  Our final decision was made because your food appeared more appealing and you responded to all of our requests, something that Adventure Kokoda did not do.
The three of us could not speak higher of the group Colin assembled to lead us on the trek and to look after us through all the conditions.
Having viewed Colin’s interaction with locals and other companies and watched him negotiate for people to get on the plane in Kokoda and get us into the Royal Papuan Yacht Club, all I can say is that you could not have hoped for a greater person to be in business with.  He made us laugh, he had lots of great tales to tell but I think more than anything he made us feel safe because it is his track and I expect that very few know it better than him.  He also keeps a tight control of the boys and if/when he thinks they need to be told something he tells them and they listened as carefully as we did.
Russel was our chef and what he did with canned corned beef was quite amazing.  We certainly never went hungry and the meals each night were exceptional.  I can safely say that the food was great and the envy of many others.
Overall Experience
The track was everything I imagined plus some more.  I honestly don’t think it was as tuff as some people suggest it is but maybe that was a reflection of our training prior, maybe it is also a reflection of the direction we did it in but there is only one way for us to find that out.  By the way, that doesn’t mean I thought it was easy because it was far from it, it was still the toughest thing I have ever done but I actually expected it to be worse.
We also have a greater understanding and appreciation for what you do and how that impacts the boys.  Obviously your training of Colin has developed him into an outstanding young man but likewise your generosity towards their families and the support you have given them in the past clearly makes it a tight bond between you and your employees.  We were in Efogi shortly after news broke about the death of one of the village elders in Port Moresby, the porters told us you had flown him to Moresby a couple of months earlier so he could get the necessary medical treatment and that was something that meant a lot to the boys
All in all Robert I could keep typing for hours but I’m sure you’ve read enough to get a pretty good feel about how we think it went, and I’m pretty sure Chris and Maryanne have read enough.  I will keep in contact with you because we obviously will send stuff to you and to Port Moresby but in addition in some years from now, Chris and I want to take our young sons along and we want to make sure that if there is no Toogee Treks that at least we still know where to go to contact the best guide along the track.
In absolutely no disrespect to yourself but we are so glad we did the private self-guided trek because it gave us this whole experience that we may not have had had we relied on another Australian to lead the way but we are obviously very grateful to you because you assisted us all the way along and then provided us with this great group of men to lead us on the journey.
Thank you very much and I look forward to communicating again in the near future.
Kind Regards
Tim