Wanda Battel, a 73-year-old grandmother from Orbost, Australia who loves to walk, will hike the Kokoda Track as part of a fund raising effort. Battel is raising money for an Honour Roll in memory of those Orbost locals who lost their lives during WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Battel was inspired to make the trip when she watched a documentary on the Kokoda Track.

“The walk, and the interesting parts about the walk. How hard it was for the soldiers, carrying all the machine guns and all the gear. Walking the track it looked really steep and muddy and terrible,” said Wanda about what about the documentary interested her.

Wanda is very familiar with walking long distances – she’s hiked around Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Tasmania and Singapore.

To train for her eight day Kokoda Track walk, she has been walking every day and has set-up a gym routine that includes work on a treadmill, step machine, and weight lifting. Because Orbost does not have the mountainous terrain that she will experience while doing the hike, she has been focusing on improving her stamina. Though she did say, she’s more worried about the heat and humidity than the steep parts.

The Honour Roll has been something the descendants of Orbost’s servicemen and women have longed for to recognize the supreme sacrifice they made for their country.

Wanda Battel’s Kokoda Track trip begins on Saturday August 11. To donate to her cause, contact:

Don Osborne
PO Box 229
Orbost 3888

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 11:27 am and is filed under Camping Tips, Hiking, Outdoor Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.