A Journey of Endurance, Sacrifice, and Legacy
Traipsing through torrential rain, up and down incredibly steep, slippery, and narrow tracks in terrain so thick with the jungle seems to grow before your eyes, crossing ravines on bridges made from vines, and forging rivers chest-deep in muddy water for 8 days straight; only to return home and declare it to be "the biggest, proudest and most amazing thing I've ever done for myself".
This was the experience of REB top 10 women in real estate, and Singleton-based One Agency business owner, Lindy Harris. Ms Harris, along with 22 other women completed the Kokoda Trail trek in late March. In doing so they raised $422,000.00 in funds for the Mark Hughes Foundation, who work to support patient care and brain cancer research.
As a very busy and successful selling agent and business owner, Lindy understands the value of being in a peak physical and mental state to commit to a task and see it through to achieve a desired result. However, in this instance, Ms Harris said nothing could have prepared her for how emotionally and physically challenging the trek was.
Exhaustion, pain, and incredible discomfort were constant every day from the moment they were woken at 4am for breakfast until they climbed into their sleeping bags at 7:30 each night. Ms Harris commented that through the assistance of the Papuan guides who hacked the trail with machetes, hunted the food to feed the trekkers -- and worked to keep the spirits high with their big smiles, stories, and songs -- she was struck by how much of a contribution the locals made to facilitate the ANZAC troops to victory across one of the most arduous battles of WW2.
"At times on the trek emotions were palpable", Lindy said. "In particular, the time we spent on Brigade Hill was quite eerie. Also, walking amongst the gravestones at the Bomana War Cemetery, seeing the ages of the 3000+ soldiers who lost their lives fighting -- most aged around 17 to 19 years. It was just so incredibly moving." Ms Harris went on to reflect "It's so important that we share the stories to younger generations so that as a country we will always remember the legacy of those young men's sacrifice, the Anzac spirit, and the invaluable assistance to the troops by the local Papuan and New Gunian men."
Back at work in her Singleton office and preparing to extend her One Agency business by opening a second office, Lindy Harris said that every day she finds herself looking at the photos and watching the videos of her 10-day adventure.
"Looking back at that time fills me with an appreciation for everything in my life." Ms Harris explained "The struggle day-to-day was intense, and despite doing the walk in the company of 22 other women, plus our team of guides, the nature of the Kokoda trail is quite isolating.
The trail is so narrow, steep, and at times perilous, that you have to walk single file. It's so strenuous you can't talk so you're very much in your own head."
Prior to leaving for the trek, each member of Lindy's office team had written a little note of encouragement and placed them in a single envelope with the instruction to open and read them if things became too overwhelming. It was on the second last night on the trail Lindy realised she hadn't opened and read the notes, "I was so proud in that moment to realise that I hadn't had a meltdown or cried once."
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