Walking - The Kokoda Memorial Walk
I am still feeling the soreness of my thigh muscles, so it’s probably about time to write about my first time experience on the Kokoda walk and the 1000 steps. No, this is not the Kokoda track in PNG but it is a memorial walk in Ferntree Gully. The walking club died down during the past few months, with me being lazy, and the other two giving up. However, one of my colleagues who used to sit opposite me introduced me to the Kokoda Walk at the Dandenongs, which includes the 1000 steps to One Tree Hill. It also sounded fun, so K and I decided to go walking there after work on Thursday.
The trip took just a little under 30 minutes and it was pretty was straightforward - we left Mitcham at about 5pm, got on Canterbury Rd, then turning into Sprinvale Rd and Burwood Highway. It was then a straight trip from there until we turned off at Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd just after the Upper Ferntree Gully station.
The carpark was packed when we got there. There were people having barbeques, some playing at the playground. There were also red-faced people coming out of the track and there were also joggers who ran around in circles.
We started walking at the entrance of the Kokoda Memorial Walk track at about 5:40pm. The first half of the track was not too bad, but it had lots of hilly slopes and bends. There were plagues all throughout the walk, to remember those who fought in Papua New Guinea in WWII. The walk on the Tree Fern Gully Track from the Ferntree Picnic Ground to the base of the 1000 steps was about 20 minutes.
The start of the 1000 steps was very very steep. As my fitness level was quite low, I was struggling to climb up the steps and I used handrails for most of the way. We also passed through people on the way up (or people passed us on their way up). Some were just walking with iPods on their hands, some were piggybacking their babies up the steps and others carried huge backpacks and ran up the steps. The 1000 steps was newly renovated with seats and handrails and it had stubs with emergency numbers written on them. (In fact, the numbers were the number of steps on the climb. I didn’t know till K told me on the way down). On the way up, K was talking and I was so focused on getting up each step that I couldn’t say anything. I also had to stop a lot on the way up (perhaps every 2 minutes) just to get more oxygen and rest. My heart was beating like a drum and it was so loud that I could even hear it with my ears. I’ve never really done any cardio work before, so this was quite unusual for me. As I was struggling, I would get the occasional encouragement from either people heading down or others who also found it difficult. It was very surprising that I did not complain/whinge in the entire walk and I only asked the question “How long to go” once through the entire walk. As I was making the effort to climb up each step, I told myself NOT to complain but to move forward and to have faith in myself to finish the climb. In fact, I kept reminding myself of the following quote as I climbed up the steps:
The journey from Kamakura to Kyoto takes twelve days. If you travel for eleven but stop on the twelfth, how can you admire the moon over the capital. Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin; Vol. I, pp. 253 - 262.
I guess if I had not studied the text, I would have reminded myself about it. I would have gone crazy during the climb and my colleague would have been even more annoyed at me for that.
The 1000 steps took 30 minutes to climb for the first time. I hope to do it in 25 minutes in my next attempt. Once we reached the top of the climb, I felt a sense of achievement, but it wasn’t was strong as I thought it would be. Maybe I was anticipating it. Or maybe I felt disappointed about the time it took to climb up and having K to wait for me every few minutes. At the top, I took some photos of the area and rested for 5 minutes.
We took a different track on the way back down - The Lyrebird Track. The Lyrebird track was just a steep track with no steps, so it was pretty easy. One thing I realised going downhill was that I felt the impact of my weight pushing down on my knees with each step I took. The downhill return trip was definitely easier than the steps and the path was much wider. Going downhill only took 25 minutes altogether. When we got to the carkpark, it was still light out there due to daylight savings.
The walk is a must, especially for those wanting to work out. It’s not only good for your heart, lungs, muscles and general fitness, but doing the walk can also test out your patience, teamwork and perseverance. I will definitely go again, even if it is just by myself.