On Anzac Day when most Canberrans will be braving the cold while they remember the fallen, Briony Boland will be sweltering in 90 per cent humidity and temperatures in the high 30s as she tackles the Kokoda Track.
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"I looked at the forecast and it says thunderstorms every day, which should be rather pleasant," she said.
Mrs Boland, 35, and 10 other trekkers from throughout Australia flew out on Monday to conquer the famed trail and raise funds for Lifeline's online Crisis Support Chat service.
On Saturday, the group, along with trekkers raising funds for other charities, will have reached Brigade Hill.
While the significance of reaching the location on the Anzac centenary is not lost on Mrs Boland, her reasons for taking on the 96-kilometre, nine-day trek are more personal.
"Having had depression myself in the past, I haven't ever had any need to ring Lifeline, it wasn't to that extent, but I love fundraising and enjoy hiking and so I thought it was a good test to put myself through and raise money for a good cause at the same time," she said.
"[Reaching Brigade Hill on Anzac Day] is going to be really emotional for everybody … I don't have any family connection to Anzac but so many people put their names in to go to things like this … to be able to do this on the centenary is amazing."
Mrs Boland is no stranger to tackling epic trails to raise funds for charity, having completed the four-day Salcantay Trek in Peru for the Cure Cancer Australia Foundation.
But at more than twice the distance, the Kokoda Track and its tropical setting will be a new challenge.
"[The Peru trek] was in the cold whereas this is going to be in the heat and I'm not really a hot-weather person," she said.
"I never actually wanted to do the Kokoda Track … it was more about the fundraising and setting myself the challenge to do something that not many Australians have had the opportunity to do."
Mrs Boland said her proud husband would be by her side if he could have time off work from the Defence Force, but she admits others in her family think she's crazy.
"My mum said to me 'once you get back how about you do some local fundraising, no more overseas treks'," she said.
To prepare for the terrain Mrs Boland has been training on Mount Tennent and Conder's Rob Roy Nature Reserve, and hot yoga has helped her prepare for exercising in the heat.
"They sent a topographical map with our welcome pack and there are parts that show two hours of climbing straight uphill and I'm a little bit worried about it," she said.
"We stay in tents and I think we can shower maybe twice on the trek so we're going to stink by the end of it."
Mrs Boland, the only Canberran in the Lifeline group, has raised $13,355, the most money of all her fellow trekkers, thanks to a trivia night, support from family and friends and a lucrative jellybean guessing competition at her work in the Department of Human Services.
To make a donation visit: https://lifelinekokoda2015.gofundraise.com.au.
