Kokoda Track

July ‘23

Rexford, Kokoda Track, Agulogo

Written by Paramedic Iain Reynolds

It was on the afternoon of the 17th of July when our group led by Gary (Gedza Gerry Amuli) and Travis (Travis Hocart of Kokoda Crossing), trekked our way along the Kokoda Track to the beautiful village of Agulogo.

As our porters set up our camp and prepared for dinner, most of us bathed in the pristine and very cool waters of the river which flowed past the village after another long day of trekking.

After washing off the days' accumulation of sweat, grit and deet, some prepared their gear for the next day, while Kylie and I set off to check out the village. Passing Travis, we asked if there is anything around of interest, to which we mentioned that there was a gorgeous little church at the far end of the village. Kylie and I set off and before no time, it was easy to see the little church in the distance.

We approached the church, a grand structure in the scheme of things, made from the spoils of the surrounding jungle. As with all the villages along the track, the local people take tremendous pride in their villages, with beautiful flower gardens everywhere. As Kylie and I walked up on the church it was evident that the flower garden at the entrance of the church was the pride of the village.

As ladies do go first, Kylie entered and I followed close behind.

We were both in awe of how grand it seemed on the inside. It had long logs laid down as pews and flower decorations adorning the walls.

Before I knew it, Kylie, who's curiosity and taste for adventure which can only be matched by.....hmm, probably no one, raced off to the corner of the Church, calling back to me with a huge smile on her face, "Look, a confession booth!" The timber doorway was covered by nothing more than a beautifully coloured pink and purple sheet.

As I approached for my own sticky beak, Kylie let out a deafening screech. For as she opened the curtain, a man suddenly stood up from a kneeling position and ended up face to face with our curious Kylie. All three of us jumped out of our skins at that point when Kylie screeched. A quick recovery and Kylie apologised sincerely to the young man as we had no idea he was in there. He handled it very well, smiling and saying it was okay.

His name? Rexford.

Now laughing, we were backing away to leave the Church, when Kylie spotted with her keen eye that Rexford had an injury to his hand and called me over. Kylie pointed out his hand to me. We sat down on the pews at the front of the Church whereby I asked several questions and examined his fingers, hand and arm.

Without going into too much detail, Rexford had a serious infection which was clearly spreading. I made the decision to go and get some antibiotics for him.

As we were leaving the Church, Jazzy (Janette Philp) and three of our porters arrived, including my personal porter, friend and brother Mack.

As I left to get the antibiotics, Kylie and Jazzy spoke with Rexford.

When I arrived back, Kylie explained to me why Rexford, a husband and father of a 6-month-old daughter was in the Church confession booth. Kylie said "After the 4 days of pain and fevers, he was praying to God in that booth and was asking him to send someone to help him as he felt he was going to become very sick and die without help. He just said Amen as I opened the curtain!"

Mind blown! We looked at each other and were like, what the!!

Mack helped with translating my instructions to Rexford about how to care for himself and take the antibiotics.

Like Rexford, many villagers along the track and Northern Beaches do not have access to basic medical resources and treatments. Rexford stated he neither had the money to pay for treatment in Port Moresby or the energy to do a 3-4 day walk there to seek help, leaving his wife and daughter behind.

A few days after our Kokoda experience finished, George and Mack, Kylie's and my porters passed back through Agulogo to check on Rexford and said he was looking better.

One of Kylie's friends is about to trek Kokoda next week and has generously offered to check up on Rexford.

The Kokoda family keeps getting bigger and better.

Kylie and I still buzz when we chat about this and other stories from our trek on the track. It’s an amazing and special place with beautiful people. It’s no surprise to us, or our family and friends, that we are planning on returning to the Kokoda track in November 2023 to continue to provide medical support.

Our intention is to educate our village friends about wound care and maintaining good health in general. We’re a small, tight knit team of 5 (Kylie, myself and our porters and dear friends Mack, George and Jack) and we’ll be on the track for nine days, carrying all of our own gear including food and medical supplies.

This will be the start of many trips back to the track and we are looking for some much-needed support. We don’t love this part as it's hard to ask for help, however, if you’d like be part of our journey and make a difference, please consider donating or sponsoring our trip, in the form of money to help fund our travel expenses and to purchase specific medical equipment and supplies.

Thank you for allowing us to share our story.

Love Kylie & Iain

Kylie Boxsell

Project Coordinator

Iain Reynolds

Paramedic