A team of four students from The Lakes College completed a 96km hike in under 30 hours as part of the 2024 Kokoda Pinnacle Challenge.
Months of training, kilometres of trails hiked, multiple mountains climbed, and The Lakes College Kokoda Team were as ready as they could be for the 96km Gold Coast Kokoda Challenge. This was the final leg of the Pinnacle Challenge which consists of the Sunshine Coast 30km, Brisbane 48km and finally the Gold Coast 96km.
Saturday 13 July dawned clear and cool, perfect hiking conditions. The atmosphere was filled with anticipation as The Lakes College Kokoda Team stood on the start line listening to The Last Post before they were released into the Hinterlands.
Five of the largest mountains in the Gold Coast hinterland and many, many smaller ones stood between them and the finish line, but they didn’t let that daunt them. Instead, they took it as the challenge it was designed to be and powered up and over each one.
Check point after check point was reached as the hours wore on. The Lakes College Kokoda Team were supported by a crew of parents and partners who anticipated each and every request the team could have when they saw them at the four different check points.
Glorious sunrises, spectacular sunsets, bright twinkly stars, views for miles across the Gold Coast skyline, The Lakes College Kokoda Team saw it all. But they couldn’t spend too long looking at them as they had a goal of crossing the finish line in 30 hours.
Closer and closer they got and they started to get excited, really excited … they were going to finish in under 30 hours. And before The Lakes College Kokoda Team knew it, the hours of walking came to an end with the team crossing the finish line in 28 hours, 58 minutes and 59 seconds.
Five students lined up at the start line, four completed the journey. They walked a layer of skin off their feet but didn’t let the tiredness, pain, discomfort or desire for sleep stop them … they did it!
Courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice: the four key pillars of the original Kokoda Military Campaign and now forever a part of their lives.
