Key topics: Why Health Hygiene is Important | Washing Hands | Sharing Food | Medication | Showers | Water Purification | Toilets | Betel Nut
Health and Hygiene on the Track
One of the biggest health risks on the Kokoda Track is picking up a stomach bug. This can lead to dehydration from the associated vomiting and diarrhoea. Personal hygiene is one area that a trekker needs to be extra vigilant about while on the Kokoda Track. The entire trip can quickly turn into disaster if a stomach bug is picked up.
Care needs to be taken with the food and water consumed not only on the track, but also prior to starting on the trek. A bug picked up in Port Moresby the day before the trek may not manifest itself until a later stage, on the track.
It is possible to stay healthy while trekking the Kokoda Track. All that is required is to be aware of the risks and have effective strategies to reduce those risks.
Care needs to be taken with the food and water consumed not only on the track, but also prior to starting on the trek. A bug picked up in Port Moresby the day before the trek may not manifest itself until a later stage, on the track.
It is possible to stay healthy while trekking the Kokoda Track. All that is required is to be aware of the risks and have effective strategies to reduce those risks.
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MedicationsIt is wise to establish a routine of taking your medication (if you have any) either in the morning or evening (or as prescribed) so you remember to take it. If you have special medication make sure you take it when you should and with purified water.
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Washing HandsHands should be washed regularly especially after toilet stops and just prior to eating. As in normal hygiene measures in the city to guard against bacteria and viruses, you should avoid putting dirty hands in your mouth, nose and eyes as this is a common way for nasties to enter your body.
The alcohol‐based hand wash gels are perfect for trekking. Just a small amount is required to effectively sterilise the hands once all the visible dirt has been removed, so only a small bottle needs to be carried on the Kokoda Track. Keep a bottle in one of your outer pack pockets so you can access it easily, otherwise you may decide not to use it when you should if it is buried deep in your pack. No Roads will place a bottle of the hand wash on the table for all meals and at the campsite. |
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Sharing FoodIt is very tempting whilst trekking to reach into a bag of lollies offered by your mates and eat them. Did you wash your hands? Did other people wash theirs also? Whilst this might sound pedantic and an overkill, a bout of gastro could very easily spread throughout an expedition group quickly ruining your trek. Always think about hygiene to help prevent infection.
Buying fruit from the villages along the track is one of the simple pleasures of a trek along the Kokoda Track. Avoid purchasing or eating any food that is not prepared by No Roads porters unless it is original form, such as a banana. If you open the fruit, such as a banana, you can check for contamination. |
ShowersWe are the only company that discourages washing in rivers with soap. Even biodegradable soap pollutes. Whilst most people either duck into the river, creeks or local shower (water pipe) for a rinse, we provide a portable shower tent that is erected away from rivers and streams.
If you wish to wash with soap, we provide the liquid soap and the shower tent. If you want a hot shower that can be arranged for ten kina with all raised money going to the porters who need to fetch the water and boil it for you. Not all villages will have a shower type facility. In some locations the nearby river or stream will be used for bathing (without soap). |
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Toilets
The Kokoda Track is in a remote jungle location with very small villages dotted along the track. These villages usually have a lean-to style shelter with a pit toilet located under it. They are not what you might currently be used to, but you will get used to them very quickly. Make sure you bring with you a few rolls of toilet paper as you will not be able to resupply anywhere along the track. You may need to go more frequently than you do at home so bring more than you would expect to use.
Good Tip: Keep your roll on a short length of string around your neck so it doesn't roll away or drop into the dirt or puddles.
In some locations No Roads Expeditions has assisted with an important project called "Krappers for Kokoda" where $20 from your expedition fee will be used to purchase and install environmentally-safe eco-toilets along the Kokoda Track. These toilets will ensure the Track remains pristine for generations to come and help local communities. Over the 2010 trekking season this amounted to nearly $10,000 in funds going towards eco-toilet installations.
The current plan is to have 11 working units by the end of the 2011 trekking season at the following locations:
Good Tip: Keep your roll on a short length of string around your neck so it doesn't roll away or drop into the dirt or puddles.
In some locations No Roads Expeditions has assisted with an important project called "Krappers for Kokoda" where $20 from your expedition fee will be used to purchase and install environmentally-safe eco-toilets along the Kokoda Track. These toilets will ensure the Track remains pristine for generations to come and help local communities. Over the 2010 trekking season this amounted to nearly $10,000 in funds going towards eco-toilet installations.
The current plan is to have 11 working units by the end of the 2011 trekking season at the following locations:
- 4 x camp sites - Ua-ule Creek, Agulogo, Menari
and Kagi
- 1 x Kokoda Skills Centre
- 3 x Primary schools (boys & girls) x 2
each - Manari, Efogi and Kavovo.
 There are eco-toilets installed in several locations along the Track. No Roads has assisted in having these toilets installed and more are planned. Check out No Roads Expeditions Foundation website for more info.
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 Most of the toilets along the Kokoda Track are pit toilets with either a seat (as pictured) or a hole. They are placed under small shelters and found in most villages. Some have doors and some don't!
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Dangers of Betel NutIn Papua New Guinea one of the first things you will notice is the brilliant red-stained teeth and lips of the local men and women. Betel nut, or what the locals call buai [boo-eye] is the cause.
Green betel nut is a nut that grows in the tropical climates of South East Asia and is popular in the South Pacific Islands. It can be found on every street corner in Papua New Guinea and is chewed as part of social occasions or as a part of everyday life. Betel nut has a mild stimulant effect and in addition to reasons of tradition local people chew it for stress reduction, heightened awareness, and suppression of hunger. The Betel Nut is a proven carcinogen. While relatively uncommon in other countries, oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) is the most common malignant cancer in Papua New Guinea, with an average 47% mortality within 5 years of diagnosis. One study shows chewing Betel Nut increases the risk of oral cancer 28-fold. Do not try Betel Nut please. Betel Nut is a drug and can become very addictive. In recent years several trekkers have ignored our advice and taken betel nut. They subsequently became very sick which ruined their expedition. References: |
 An areca nut bunch hanging from the palm.  Betel nut will make your teeth and lips very red, sometimes permanently if chewed a lot. |
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