Our Guides

Pam Christie - Managing Director

Pam Christie is the principal of PNG Trekking Adventures and has lived in Papua New Guinea since 1990 based in Port Moresby, she has a wide knowledge and understanding of local conditions, customs and traditions. Pam is qualified in Wilderness First Aid and is a very experienced career guide. Is extremely knowledgeable regards the WWll history relating to Papua New Guinea and the countries general history.

When PNGTA was founded Pam spent 12 months trekking through out Papua New Guinea going into very remote areas where white people let alone a white woman had not ventured since the end of WWll or before. As a woman and an explorer in this land this is extremely unique.
With the backing of the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority she has been able to open up tracks throughout the country allowing the villages to directly benefit from eco-tourism.

Prior to Pam going into the villages in these areas there was no health, education, water or communication. In liaison with such organisations as the Tourism Promotion Authority, the Kokoda Track Authority and Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea they are working together to implement sustainable tourism throughout the country so that Papua New Guineans directly benefit from tourism income.

Pam leads PNGTA's corporate obligations and is actively involved in sponsoring schools and joint venturing with private businesses based here in PNG implementing sustainable projects in villages.

Pam spends the majority of her time now promoting Papua New Guinea throughout the world and making sure that the PNG people that PNGTA comes into contact with are given the correct training and advise so that in years to come they are able to take ownership of a sustainable tourism product within their provinces.

It is worth noting that Pam has walked the Kokoda as of the end of 2019 69 times. This is a record for any woman outside of Papua New Guinea.

Pam has also joint ventured with local guides in Zimbabwe, Torres del Paine in Patagonia, Mt Kilimanjaro, and Borneo facilitating expeditions. None of these treks are within the normal tourist corridors. They are raw and out there. This is her specialty giving clients an experience that most operators will not venture into.

Chris Stevens -  Guide

Chris is PNG Trekking Adventures WWll Historian Guide along Kokoda. He is extremely knowledgeable about the WWII history within PNG, having spent many hundreds of hours in the Australian War Memorial reference centre, researching and mapping the multitude of PNG WWII campaigns. His battlefield tours are a rich blend of historical context intermixed with poetry, stories and cultural immersion.

Chris began working for PNG Trekking Adventures in 2005 after embarking on a personal PNG discovery trip, tracing the history of his grandfather, a Captain in the Signal/Survey Corp during WWII in Papua New Guinea. It did not take long for him to fall in love with the country, and that desire to share the diverse and enriching qualities of PNG with others became a passion.

Chris is well travelled within the Adventure Tourism field. He participates in Adventure Racing and Ultra-Marathon running as a past-time. Chris’ Melbourne based Mapping and Consultancy Company was responsible for surveying and producing the 2011 Kokoda Track Trekker Map for the Kokoda Track Authority and the Australian Government. This was as a result of Chris’ experience, knowledge and expertise of the Kokoda Track and Papua New Guinea.

Chris is a qualified Wilderness Emergency Responder (the highest Wilderness First Aid qualification possible) and is trained to an Emergency Medical Technician level. On top of this Chris is a Surf Lifesaving Gold medallion holder and holds a qualification to administer Methoxyflurane (pain relief). You can be rest assured that your safety and care will be of paramount importance when under Chris' care. Chris comes to PNG Trekking Adventures with a plethora of qualifications. Apart from multiple Bachelor degrees in Sport Science, Education and Commerce, Chris is a qualified teacher and has worked for some of Melbourne's most prestigious private schools. He has led outdoor education trips and experiential journeys alike around the world.
Wayne Gardam

Wayne is from Melbourne, Australia and brings to PNG Trekking Adventures an experienced, enthusiastic guide with a passion to share the Wartime history of the Kokoda track.

Wayne initially walked Kokoda 5 years ago as a medical escort for a large group of students with the Victorian Police Force with PNG Trekking Adventures.

This taste of PNG and Kokoda was all it took to spark a passion to research more and share that knowledge with others.

Wayne and his family are also involved in our training and localisation program, every year hosting several of our PNG Kokoda Crew who work with us along the track.

Wayne is an Intensive Care Flight Paramedic working for Ambulance Victoria on their Helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. This is the highest Paramedic qualification in Australia and worldwide. With over 15 years’ experience, you will be in safe hands while on any of our expeditions.

Wayne has a compassion and patience to ensure that all trekkers have a safe and an adventure of a life time on their journey across Kokoda.

Mick Wells

Michael Wells is an Australian Military Historian with special interest in the South West Pacific area of World War II. His interest in leadership especially in times of crisis, civil and military and has presented on this topic on multiple occasions.

Michael is an Ambulance Paramedic with 15 years as Intensive Care, 10 years working in aeromedical retrieval, helicopter and fixed wing. He has a passion for the people of PNG and their country, whilst helping those achieve their goal of trekking the Kokoda track and learning its intriguing history.

Michael specialises in the weaponry which was used in the Kokoda campaign and has an extensive private collection. Also extremely knowledgeable about the battles in the air and the aircraft that was used.
Cara MacDonald New Zealand

Cara guides 2 of PNG Trekking Adventures abroad expeditions, Torres del Paine in Patagonia and Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

Cara is 38 years old and has traveled extensively, taking on many challenging treks of the world. Including all our expeditions in Papua New Guinea.

She has high altitude experience taking groups across the Arrow Glacier climb into the crater of Kilimanjaro. Her African team is extremely experienced and have fine-tuned this challenging route taking 7 days to summit ensuring that all clients are given the best possible chance to summit.

Cara has spent a lot of her time in South America and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. Our full 10 day Torres del Paine Circuit trek in Patagonia is one of her favourites. This trek is as challenging as the Kokoda Trail. Her knowledge of the flora and fauna and this part of the world is extensive.