Kokoda Memorial Walk (The Thousand Steps) — Attraction in Melbourne

This is a great place for fitness or just to enjoy the surrounds. Excellent in summer as the ferns provide a natural evaporative cooling effect. If you're interested in climbing to the top you can either progress via the actual thousand steps or the newer fitness path. If your primary goal is fitness, use the newer track. There's fitness stations on the way up for abs etc. and more space to allow overtaking. The steps are also far more even on the fitness path so if you're intending to do them at pace, there's a lower risk of injury. The thousand steps themselves are set out with historic markers and are a much narrower path. The steps are very uneven, but aesthetically it's a preferable climb. Tourists intending to walk the steps, definitely go this route. Also, once either path is completed, don't stop. Go the little bit further and check out the memorials on one tree hill. It's only another couple of hundred metres.

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I read on the Parks Victoria website that this is a very popular trail, so we arrived around 740am on a Saturday morning and found the carpark was mostly full already! Luckily some people who came earlier were finished walking so we didn’t wait too long to park the car. The trail itself is well maintained. Yes there are many steps but if you walk / hike regularly then this would be considered a moderate trail. It’s not very long, and once you reach the top junction, you can loop back to the carpark down Lyrebird Track. Before heading back we went further to One Treehill to see the four replica memorial cairns (originals in PNG). The history is well worth reading on the numerous plagues along the trail. The surrounding area is beautiful, and it was lovely to hear all the birds. There are many trails in the area so you can extend your route. I would love to...

The Thousand Steps is a great place to work on your fitness in the middle of a serene setting. The flora and fauna are well looked after although could do with someone enforcing fines for litterers. The steps can get slippery when wet or muddy, especially after heavy rain. Venomous snakes live here so be mindful and give them room. There are public toilets at the base and a playground for the kids. There is also training equipment at the base and the top. This place can get very busy, so you will not always get a park in the main car park and have to walk a long way just to get there or be lucky enough to get a park opposite on the road. Do not park on the bend as it is a "No Stopping" zone and extremely dangerous. Enjoy this natural wonder and take your...