Brad Watson and his son Zac, 17, will form part of a 25-person team to make the arduous 96-kilometre journey through the PNG forest.

The group is taking on the track to raise awareness and funds for the 10,000 Toes Campaign, an initiative that aims to stamp out diabetes in the South Pacific.

Dr Watson, a lecturer at Avondale College of Higher Education, in Cooranbong, and Zac, a student at the college, have been training for more than three months.

"There's a walk called The Gap, at Freemans Waterhole, which is described as 1.3 kilometres of vertical pain," Dr Watson said.

It has become a popular training ground for people preparing to take on the Kokoda Track.

"We've been walking there, sometimes at night, and getting spooked by rustling in the bushes," Dr Watson laughed.

Zac, meanwhile, has been fitting exercise into his daily routine at the college.

"There's a four-storey building here and I've been going up and down the steps for an hour whenever I can," Zac said.

Dr Watson lived in Papua New Guinea in the 1990s, so he has a better understanding than most of what the group will encounter.

He said the historical significance of the Kokoda Track would not be lost on the group.

During World War II, the track was the site of the 1942 battle between the Japanese and the Allied forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua.

"Learning about the military history there has been really humbling," he said.

This time, though, the Australian contingent will be battling diabetes in the Pacific Islands.

The 10,000 Toes Campaign takes its name from the amputations that Pacific Islander people endure as a result of acquiring type-2 diabetes.

Dr Watson and Zac have each set a fundraising target of $1,500.

The trek is a joint initiative of Adventist Health and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Australia.

Visit 10000toes.com to support the pair and donate.

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