Navigating In The Australian Bush.

• Many people love spending time in the outdoors, from walking along well marked pathways to forcing through wilderness, bushwalking is great for the mind, body and soul. This short slideshow aims to give a few tips to the novice bushwalker about navigating safely in the Australian bush.

Using a compass and map.

First you will need:

• A good compass• A detailed topographic

map

CHECK your equipment

• Before leaving home you need to check that your compass is in good working order and your map is in good enough condition to read clearly.

Parts Of Compass

• To use your compass properly you need to know a bit about it.

Map Legend

• A topographic map has a Legend or Key. This legend explains the symbols that are on the map.

Contour Lines

• Contour lines allow us to get a three dimensional idea of the land

• The closer the contour lines the steeper the hill• Most contour lines go up or down in 10 metre jumps.• Widely spaced contour lines mean a gentle slope.

Closely Spaced Contour Lines

• Closely spaced lines means that the country you are traveling on is very steep.

• Closely spaced lines could easy mean the walking will be harder, slower and perhaps more risky.

Four Step Compass ReadingStep One • What quarter of the compass is my bearing likely to be

in? (The bearing is the direction I will be walking in).• 0 degrees to 90 degrees (North through North East to

East).• 90 degrees to 180 degrees (East through South East to

South).• 180 degrees to 270 degrees (South through South west

to West).• 270 degrees to 360 degrees (West through North West

to North).

Four Step Compass ReadingStep One • What quarter of the compass is my bearing likely to be in?

(The bearing is the direction I will be walking in).• 0 degrees to 90 degrees (North through North East to

East).• 90 degrees to 180 degrees (East through South East to

South).• 180 degrees to 270 degrees (South through South west to

West).• 270 degrees to 360 degrees (West through North West to

North).

STEP 3• Turn your compass dial until North points to the

TOP of the map. The writing on the map will be the right way up!

STEP 4 Now turn your whole body, holding the map and compass until the RED arrow is between the marks facing North (the orienting arrow).Allow for DECLINATION: subtract 12 degrees from the bearing the index line points too.The INDEX line should now point to the bearing you need to head in to reach your destination.

What is DECLINATION?• Declination is the

difference between magnetic north and true north. We want to know where true north is so we need to deduct 12 degrees off all our bearings because they show us magnetic north. The amount we allow for declination will change depending on where we are in the world.

Navigating In The Bush

TRACK HEAD

Track head.• The first thing we need to do is find the track head. The

track head is where we are going to begin our bush walk.

• At the track head we need to orient the map in the correct direction. This means we will be facing the way we want to walk with the features on the map aligned to the physical features of the land.

• For example if we are walking to a tall, steep hill we will turn and face our map with the tall, steep hill on the map facing the same way.

Thumbing the map.• Using your map, find a feature

on the track you have chosen to head towards. It might be an intersection with another track, or a change in the terrain. Place your thumb on the map at the track head and begin your trek, heading for the spot you have chosen. When you get to that spot move your thumb to the spot you are now at.

• This is called thumbing the map.

Micro Navigation

The next step when navigating in the bush is keeping an eye on where you are going by looking at the landscape around you.

Look in the direction you wish to head towards, what landforms are visible from a long way away that you can use as a quick visual guide to keep you heading on the correct course? What is directly behind you when you are facing the way you need to walk? Can you turn and refer to it as you progress so that you have two points you are walking between that will guide you?

Look for something in front as a guide.

• In front of this group of walkers was a distinctive cliff face that rose above the surrounding landforms.

What’s behind as you walk?

• This group had taken compass readings from a tall rocky outcrop that could be clearly referred back to as they headed towards their next checkpoint.

Micro navigating using your map.

• You can use your map to keep track of where you are.

• By noting the contours on the map you will know if you should be going up or down, how steep the terrain is you are on, if you should have crossed a creek, gully or spur.

Stop Features• A handy way to keep on

track is to identify features that tell you you have gone too far.

• This cliff face would be an easy feature to identify on a map and an obvious Stop Feature to let you know that you have gone too far.