It isn't hard to tell Prime Minister Tony Abbott's tent from all the others in the sea of khaki amid the stringybarks that is the centre of a government on a footing of war.

Just pick the one with the running shoes, neatly positioned inside the open flap.

Many of the other tents have the name of the occupant, whether it be a cabinet minister or a departmental heavy, in a laminated sign to help them identify their lodgings, lest they lose their way. But not the PM's.

His tent has no name, but is a short walk from the Gulkula Learning Centre, which has been transformed into the secure bureaucratic hub that enabled Monday's conference call between Mr Abbott and the incoming director-general of ASIO Duncan Lewis.

A sign on a nearby gum gives the learning centre its temporary new name. To PMO (Prime Minister's Office), it says. Yet another sign gives the only indication that Mr Abbott has some special privileges. It is on an ablution block and it says he is the only one allowed inside.

If it seems an incongruous headquarters for a leader poised to send his soldiers into harm's way, think again.

Set in a forest with views to the Gulf of Carpentaria, this is a special ceremonial place for the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land. It is where the ancestor Ganbulabula brought the yidaki (didgeridoo) into being among the Gumatj clan.

But it has been transformed to resemble a military village, one that affords Mr Abbott the added bonus of being able to complete his morning work-out with the soldiers who created the tent city, are running it and will pack it up when the week is done.

For a prime minister with a passionate interest in indigenous affairs, the instincts of a commando and a penchant for pushing himself to the limits physically, this just may be heaven.

"Yes, this is a remote place, but in its own way it's the heart of our country," Mr Abbott declared on Monday, insisting it was important the government had a "good handle" on what was happening in remote Australia.

Asked how he was coping, running the country from a tent on the north-east tip of Arnhem Land, he seemed unfazed.

"I've only had about 18 hours of this and, so far, I seem to be able to change into official gear without too much difficulty," he said, having exchanged his working gear and a high-visibility vest for a pressed white shirt and pale blue tie. "I manage to do my emails, to make my phone calls."

When Mr Abbott began spending a week volunteering in indigenous communities, the aim was simple enough: to make a personal contribution and absorb as much information as possible.

In time the focus changed and Mr Abbott invited business leaders and others to join him in endeavours such as refurbishing the library at Aurukun on Cape York.

Now the focus has shifted again and Mr Abbott is not so much volunteering, but engaging a cross-section of his ministry and bureaucracy in high-level indigenous interactions on multiple fronts and levels, and preparing to confront an evil foe in a foreign land.

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