FIFTY students from Tamborine Mountain State High School have taken to the Scenic Rim and Gold Coast bush trails on Sundays since February, to train for the 20th Gold Coast Kokoda Challenge, an annual charity event.
Accompanied by their enthusiastic team leaders and some adventurous parents, they have hiked the aptly named Hellfire Pass, The Terminator, Waterfall Creek Circuit, Pages Pinnacle, Wild Cattle Break, and Fairview Mountain, culminating in a return hike from Numinbah Valley to Purling Brook Falls at Springbrook.
The Kokoda Challenge is Australia’s largest and arguably most challenging team endurance event.
It both honours the Australian World War II Diggers of the 39th Militia who fought in the 1942 Kokoda Campaign in Papua New Guinea, and fundraises for the Kokoda Youth Foundation’s free adventure-based youth programs.
Fifteen Tamborine Mountain State High School teams, each sponsored by a local business or organisation, will take part in the 2025 Gold Coast Kokoda Challenge on July 19 and 20.
They will trek non-stop for 30, 48 or 96 kilometres, through the beautiful and rugged hinterland.
The focus during the Challenge is on the values of courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice, as displayed by the soldiers of the 39th Militia.
Sincere thanks go to our team sponsors, who generously paid the event registration and team t-shirt costs for each student: Tamborine Mountain RSL Sub-Branch, Tamborine Mountain Psychology, Adept Plumbing and Gas, Physique Physiotherapy, WATUP Watson Family, Live Fit Gym Yarrabilba, Oxenford Veterinary Surgery, B&C Plastics, SJ Drilling, Balance Veterinary Care, Witches Falls Cottages, Scenic Rim Seafoods, AB Psychology and Play Therapy, Grade A Consulting.
If individuals or organisations would like to encourage the students in this endeavour, donations can be made to any of the TMSHS Kokoda Challenge teams via https://www.kokodachallenge.com/sponsor?kw=tmshs.
