Selfies, snacks and ceremonies: Albanese sets up camp for night on Kokoda Track

Kokoda Village: Greeted by the sound of tribal chants and pounding drums, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived in Kokoda Village on Tuesday morning for an extravagant traditional welcome ceremony before beginning to walk the Kokoda Track.

Thousands of locals, some of whom walked up to an hour for the event from remote villages, lined up along the hillside to welcome Albanese as he descended in a PNG defence helicopter after travelling from the capital, Port Moresby.

The crowd included scores of schoolchildren wearing the national colours of Australia and PNG. Many waved national flags as they greeted Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape.

A public holiday was declared in the area for the visit from the prime ministers.

Longtime residents said it was the most lavish welcome an Australian leader had received in the country since Paul Keating visited in 1992, when he kissed the ground at the site of one of the most important military campaigns in Australian history.

Leaders from the Oro tribe welcomed Albanese by dressing him in a traditional costume including a feathered headdress, shell necklace and patterned apron – regarded as the ultimate sign of respect for a visitor.

The prime ministers’ entourage makes it way up the Kokoda Track. Credit: Matthew Knott

“You’re the chief now,” Marape told Albanese as tribal leaders placed the headdress on his forehead.

Setting off around 1pm, the prime ministers started their two-day 15-kilometre walk with a 30-strong contingent of media, advisers, porters and a well-armed security detail.

After a brief rest stop at Hoi Village, where Albanese threw a mini rugby league ball with children, the walking party began a steep ascent in formidable humidity to the day’s final destination: the Deniki camp ground.

Marape, a keen golfer, completed the climb in white golf shoes with little trouble.

Albanese received an energy boost along the way from his favourite sweet: a bag of liquorice Black Cats, which he shared with fellow walkers.

He posed for selfies along the trail with returning Australian hikers from Mudgee, Scone, Lithgow and Brisbane who were surprised to encounter the prime minister at the end of the journey.

The prime ministers arrived at the camp site at around 5pm, greeted by a welcome song from local women and spectacular views of the lush jungle mountains of PNG.

On Wednesday they will make the arduous climb to the war memorial at Isurava, where they will attend a dawn service on Thursday morning.

The Kokoda campaign, which lasted from July to November 1942, played a crucial role in preventing Japanese forces from isolating Australia from its allies.

An estimated 625 Australians were killed and more than 1600 were wounded along the track, which was part of Australian territory at the time.

Albanese said Australians would never forget the Papua New Guineans who fought alongside Australian troops in their “darkest hour” in 1942 as they beat back the invading Japanese forces.

“The prime minister, my dear friend James Marape and I will walk side by side, step by step, together,” Albanese said to applause at the start of the walk.

The prime ministers’ entourage sets up camp in Deniki on Tuesday.Credit: Matthew Knott

“This symbolises the fact that Australia and Papua New Guinea’s future is together.”

Noting that “Oro” translated to “welcome” in English, Albanese thanked the locals for their “extraordinarily warm” welcome to Kokoda.

“The Australian national anthem has never sounded better,” he told the PNG children who sang Advance Australia Fair for the leaders.

Marape, in turn, praised Albanese for becoming the first sitting prime minister to walk the track.

“We don’t take your visit for granted,” he said.

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