Hi, my name is Karan Anand and in a few weeks time I’ll be walking the Kokoda trail. Below, I’m hoping to share my experiences as I prepare to embark on this journey.

The Man

To give you a bit of background on myself, I’m a 23 year old Sydney resident, was born in Bombay, but spent most of my youth growing up in Darwin, NT. I completed my undergraduate degree at UNSW and currently work as a Management Consultant for a company called The LiTMUS Group, while also studying a Master of Finance degree.

The Mission

The Kokoda Trail is a trek that links the Northern and Southern coasts of Papua New Guinea and is famous for staging one of the bloodiest Australian campaigns in World War II. The Trail itself is single file and stretches 96 KMs from Port Moresby to the village of Kokoda through some of the most isolated and rugged terrain in the world. Across a series of battles through 1942, the Australian Armed Forces were able to subdue the largest land assault by the Japanese on Australian occupied territory to prevent Australia falling into Japanese hands. In the process, 600+ Australians were killed, and while the Japanese forces had over 6,500 casualties.

Over the last few years, the Kokoda trail has come to symbolise a pilgrimage of sorts for Australians of all ages who wish to pay homage to the young troops who sacrificed their lives for the luxuries we enjoy today.

For me, personally as an Australian and young Sikh this trek presents me with the opportunity to honour their sacrifice but also a compelling challenge in the discipline required during my training and on the trek itself.

Over the coming weeks I’ll taking you on this journey with me, as I prepare to embark on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Click here for my next update on my gruelling training regime!