I trekked Kokoda to represent The Man Cave alongside Kokoda Centurions and Breakthrough Mental Health Foundation.

I was there to help facilitate a modern rite of passage. To hold space when the challenge began to pull people apart. To challenge myself, physically and emotionally. To advocate for young people who rarely get given a voice. And to raise funds to reach more boys with our preventative mental health programs.

But underneath all of that, I knew there was something deeper waiting for me.

I became the student

Walking Kokoda wasn’t just a physical challenge. It became something deeper.

I became the student in the rite of passage I thought I’d be holding.

Out there, the noise of modern life drops away. And what remains is you and what you’ve been carrying.

I wasn’t walking in the same conditions as our diggers. But standing in that environment, through the lens of history, was profound.

On Kokoda, stripped back and exposed, I couldn’t hide.

Not from my story. And not from theirs.

Not the surface-level version. The deeper one.

The old beliefs that still lingered.

The quiet shame that shaped how I showed up.

The parts of myself that still felt like they’re not enough.

And the courage Kokoda asks for is the courage to face that.

And in that space, the courage, endurance and sacrifice of our diggers, and the mateship they lived by, became something we could lean into.

I wasn’t doing it alone

I was walking it with my Mum.

What unfolded wasn’t just about carrying the challenge together. It was about revealing the parts of our story we had both kept hidden.

The shame. The fear. The things left unsaid.

In a space built on honesty and connection, we were able to face it. And begin to let it go.

Held by the people around us, we realised we didn’t have to carry it alone.

That’s where the shift happened.

The ANZAC spirit isn’t just history

It lives in how we show up today. In the way we face adversity, support each other, and choose who we become next.

Courage, sacrifice, mateship. We say those words every year. Kokoda is the place where you stop saying them and start living them.

In 2026, The Man Cave returns to Kokoda

A small group. A shared journey. A chance to do the work, and to give back.

If something in you feels called to it, we’d love to have a conversation.

Find out more about the 2026 Kokoda trek.

Follow the link in to register your interest and find out more about what the journey involves.
https://www.kokodacenturions.com.au/register-your-interest