Bushwalk Australia

Is anyone aware of any upcoming workshops or courses to learn off-track navigation? Keen to get my map reading, compass and all things navigation skills up to speed. I am based in Victoria so looking for events that are local.

I know some bushwalking clubs sometimes run activities (e.g. navigation weekends) that cover this. or you can learn from a book or websites.

Have a look at this http://mbw.org.au/mbw_activities/traini ... gation.php

Probably the best way is to go with a club or experienced friend and navigate. Learn the basics from a book or online - handrails, offset, etc - and apply these in the field. I've found that knowing how to navigate off track is quite useful, and has taken me to places that not many see.

Another worthwhile way is to go to a place you know fairly well and practice offtrack walking to specific points that are familiar to you.
This take the getting lost element away and lets you focus on accurate navigation.
http://www.mountaineering.ie/_files/Nav ... niques.pdf
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/safety/aiming-off.shtml
http://www.navigationtips.com/glossary.php

neilmny wrote:Another worthwhile way is to go to a place you know fairly well and practice offtrack walking to specific points that are familiar to you.
This take the getting lost element away and lets you focus on accurate navigation.

Yeah, this is an excellent way to start. I used to make a point of walking on the tracks in an area and getting to know the basic lie of the land from that (and comparing what I could see to the maps) before going off-track.

ScorpioBoyRising wrote:Is anyone aware of any upcoming workshops or courses to learn off-track navigation? Keen to get my map reading, compass and all things navigation skills up to speed. I am based in Victoria so looking for events that are local.

Last week I completed a four-day course run by the guys from Wild Pedder on behalf of TasTafe (Navigating in intermediate environments) as part of the Essential Skills for Guides and Adventure Guiding Certificate IV courses.
The field trip was in Tasmanian Conservation Trust land near Bronte Park, on the border of the World Heritage Area. Navigating off-track in a variety of vegetation and topography. A great experience and extremely valuable skill set.

If you can't get a local course - I recommend you make contact with TasTafe Launceston:
http://www.tastafe.tas.edu.au/contact/? ... ale+Campus
about whether they will put the course on again or directly with Cody and Louis at Wild Pedder: http://www.wildpedder.com.au/#wild-pedder
all the best,

Ben

The VNPA run a course each year I think. I found it pretty good.

I've found Rogaining a great way to learn & practice navigation for bushwalking. You can pick points as easy or hard as you like. Plus either hitting or missing the checkpoints tells you how well your navigating.
They run regularly around Victoria.

Lots of great recommendations here peeps, thanks. I am a member of VNPA and will suss out their program too for any upcoming events. I have wanted to do Rogaining if I can find others to form a team.