Link: Papua New Guinea Smartraveller Advice as at 29 May 2025

The current Australian Government Smartraveller website warning Australians they might not be able to complete their Kokoda treks is reminiscent of the SS Titanic steaming towards the iceberg!

History records that the ship’s captain refused to heed warnings that could have avoided the collision.

Kokoda’s iceberg moment was last year’s illegal blockade which disrupted treks, caused cancellations, and left tour operators seriously out of pocket.

Prospective trekkers and schools across Australia now regard PNG as an unreliable tourism destination and are switching to alternative destinations such as Borneo’s ‘Sandakan Death March’; Tanzania’s ‘Mt. Kilimanjaro’; Nepal’s ‘Everest Base Camp’; the Northern Territory’s ‘Larapinta Trail’; New Zealand’s ‘Milford Sound Trek; and wilderness treks in Tasmania.

Many of these destinations are not only more reliable – they are also cheaper!

Of more concern now is the reputational damage the illegal blockade caused to the value and aura of pilgrimage across the Kokoda Trail which is no longer ranked in the World’s 10 best treks.

But rather than provide public assurances that illegal blockades will no longer be tolerated, Port Moresby tourism officials and their Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) counterparts have doubled down behind their computer screens and busied themselves reviewing academic reports from United Nations consultants and drafting Bills for a new management authority which is akin to rearranging their deck chairs on the Titanic.

One can only wonder how long it will it take PNG leaders to show some backbone and take a stand against Australia’s denigration of their country as a violent, lawless society to discourage tourists!

A glance at their Smartraveller website is enough to deter the most determined adventurer from ever trekking Kokoda:

‘There have been armed robberies and attempted carjackings of foreign day trekkers near Sogeri, Varirata National Park and on the Kokoda Track, mostly recently in 2023 . . .

‘Consider using a security escort . . .

‘Kokoda Track trekking – every year several Australians are medically evacuated. It’s expensive. Some people have died . . .

‘Serious crime and civil disorder occur throughout PNG, including along the Kokoda Track . . .

‘Track blockades can occur at short notice by local communities anywhere along the track.  Track blockades have occurred in May 2023 and September 2024 and can last several weeks. Trekkers should contact their trekking company for the latest’.

While these alarmist warnings might justify an increase in ‘danger money’ for Port Moresby based DFAT officials they don’t reflect the experiences of the 65,000 Australians who have trekked across the Kokoda Trail over the past two decades.

They certainly don’t reflect the fact that villagers across the Kokoda Trail are strict adherents to the Seventh Day Adventist faith – as a result there are no drugs, no alcohol, no domestic violence issues, and no crime. Some can certainly get aggressive if they or their livelihoods are threatened, but they are best known for the cheerful hospitality they extend to visitors.

Our experiences over the past 33 years verify that trek groups accompanied by local Koiari and Orokaiva guides and porters are safer on the Trail than they would be in some of the lawless areas of Alice Springs, Darwin, and the outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne!

Australian officials who write these dire warnings should be called on to advise how many of the 65,000 Australians who have trekked Kokoda have been victims of ‘serious crime and civil disorder’ to justify their claim – if they can’t produce the data they should be required to retract it.

They should also be required to advise of the circumstances leading to ‘trek blockades’.

Our experiences over the past 33 years indicate that local ‘blockades’ are a direct result of the dysfunctional management system imposed on the Kokoda Trail since Australian officials took control of it under a Joint Agreement in 2008.

Since then, trekker numbers have plummeted by 42% and village communities have suffered a cumulative loss of almost $20 million in forgone wages, campsite fees and local purchases.

Villagers are also frustrated at the amount of money siphoned off by corrupt officials and their failure to account for the millions they have received from trek permit fee income.

They have every right to feel frustrated at the lack of leadership from their own elected leaders and departmental executives who have failed to call DFAT officials to account for the misinformation on their Smartraveller website.

Until they do ‘SS Kokoda‘ will continue steaming towards its Kokoda tourism iceberg!

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