Scouts Victoria - Bushwalking Team

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Scouts Victoria - Bushwalking Team

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The Scouts Vic Bushwalking Team is one of several Adventurous Activities Teams within Scouts Victoria.

We exist to provide bushwalking training and support to youth members and Leaders.

21/10/2026

Fire Danger Ratings: should your hike still go ahead?

As we head into fire season, Fire Danger Ratings should form part of the planning for every bushwalk. But mentioning fire in a Risk Plan is not sufficient. Scouts planning their own walks should have an understanding of the ratings and their implications.

Check the rating for the fire weather district you’ll actually be walking in, not just the forecast at home. And keep checking conditions while you’re out.

So what does each rating mean for your hike?

🟢 MODERATE — Go, but stay aware

Most hikes can proceed as planned.

Check conditions before you leave, know where you could get to safety and keep an eye on conditions during the hike.

Moderate doesn’t mean no risk.

🟡 HIGH — Stop and reassess

Your hike may still be able to proceed, but don’t just look at the rating and carry on.

Think about where you’re going.

Are you heading deep into bushland? Are there long sections with no easy way out? Will you have communications? Where are your safe locations? How quickly could you get the group out if conditions deteriorate?

If you’re not comfortable with the answers, change the route, change the location or change the date.

🟠 EXTREME — Remote bushwalking is off

Extreme doesn’t automatically cancel every Scout activity, but Scouts Vic requires significant additional controls.

You need reliable two-way communications, continuous monitoring of conditions, an evacuation or shelter plan, sufficient transport, predetermined evacuation triggers and access to a safe location.

For a remote or overnight bushwalk, that’s a very high bar.

If your planned activity takes you several hours’ walk from a road, vehicle or genuinely safe location, a day of Extreme Fire Danger is not the day to be there.

If you can’t meet the Scouts Victoria requirements, cancel, relocate or reschedule.

🔴 CATASTROPHIC — Don’t go

If a Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating is declared and your hike is in a designated Bushfire Prone Area, you must cancel, relocate or reschedule it.

And if there’s a warning, act.

An Emergency Warning, Watch and Act, Recommendation to Evacuate or warning against travelling to the area overrides your plans.

Don’t wait for conditions to get worse.

The important decisions should be made before you leave home. Set your trigger points when you’re planning the hike:

“If the rating reaches X, or conditions reach Y, we change the plan.”

Then you’re not trying to make a difficult decision when you’re already committed to the route.

Always register your hike in scOut and About. That will allow Scouts Victoria to contact you if they are aware of anything in the local area.

Remember, some fire districts cover a large area and the Fire Danger Rating published for a Fire District may not be the same for your local area. Scouts Victoria will reach out to local groups, campsites and activities registered in scOut and About if the local FDR is significantly different to that of the wider fire district.

Getting to the destination is optional. Getting home safely is mandatory.

—————-
If your activity is in a National Park or similar, you can check the status of the park at:
https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/get-into-nature/safety-in-nature/fire-affected-parks

Fire Danger ratings and bushfire notifications can be accessed from the Vic Emergency app, which allows you to set a watch zone around your activity location. You can also access this information at:
www.emergency.vic.gov.au

Extreme weather and emergency management guidelines:
https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/media/8242/2023-interim-extreme-weather-and-emergency-management-guideline-38-1.pdf

18/10/2026

What would your Scouts do?

A routine bushwalk in the Grampians turned into a major rescue operation when a rockfall left two hikers seriously injured.

This firsthand account, shared by Bushwalking Victoria, is well worth reading. It’s also an excellent opportunity for an activity.

Give your Scouts the scenario and ask them to role-play their response.

* Who takes charge?
* How do they assess the injuries and provide first aid?
* When should they activate a PLB or call 000?
* How would they communicate their location to rescuers?
* How would they attract the attention of a rescue helicopter?
* What would they do with the rest of the Patrol?

Don’t give them all the answers. Let them make decisions, then introduce complications and see how they respond.

Then read the article together and compare their decisions with what actually happened.

It’s one thing to know what to do in an emergency. It’s another to make those decisions under pressure.

Read the full story:
https://bushwalkingvictoria.org.au/a-split-second-in-the-grampians-the-hollow-mountain-rescue/

14/10/2026

OAS Bushwalking 4: “I have practiced taking a bearing, and adjusting for magnetic variation, to prepare for a bushwalk.”

Grid to Magnetic — what do you teach?

First, a quick reminder. There are three different Norths.

- True North points towards the geographic North Pole.
- Grid North follows the vertical grid lines on our map.
- Magnetic North is the direction our compass needle points.

When we take a bearing from a topographic map, we’re working from Grid North. When we follow that bearing with a compass, we’re working from Magnetic North.

But those two Norths don’t necessarily line up.

The difference between them is called the Grid-Magnetic Angle. And unless we account for it, we could end up off-course.

So, what’s the easiest way to teach Scouts to make that adjustment?

In Victoria, and much of Australia, we can use a simple rule:

Grid to Magnetic — Subtract.

Just remember “GrandMa’s Socks” — Grid to Magnetic, Subtract.

For example, if we measure a bearing of 100° on our map, and the Grid-Magnetic Angle (shown on our map) is 10° east, we subtract 10°.

Our compass bearing is 90°.

Simple enough.

But there’s a catch.

Grid to Magnetic — Subtract isn’t a universal rule.

The Grid-Magnetic Angle varies depending on where we are, and it changes over time.

In Melbourne, it’s around 11° east. In Alice Springs, it’s closer to 4.8° east. And in parts of southwest Western Australia, Magnetic North can actually lie west of Grid North.

So the more general rule is:

Magnetic East — Subtract.
Magnetic West — Add.

In other words, if Magnetic North is east of Grid North, subtract the angle. If it’s west, add it.

That works wherever we have a reliable grid-magnetic angle, but it requires a little more understanding.

So perhaps the question isn’t which rule should we teach?

It’s when should we teach each one?

For younger Scouts learning to take bearings, start with the simple local rule. Let them develop confidence taking and following bearings.

Then introduce the underlying principle, so they understand why the adjustment works, and why the rule might be different somewhere else.

Teach the simple rule first. Then teach the reason behind it.

Lastly, here’s a nice tool for finding your Grid-Magnetic angle no matter where you are.

https://geoprims.com/geodesy/magnetic/grivation

11/10/2026

It was a glorious day at Warrandyte for our River Crossings Course last weekend. Our participants learned multiple techniques for safe river crossings, as well as how to spot hazards and what to do when things go wrong.

This could be you!

Courses for 2027 are now live and taking enrolments. Be sure to book your courses early to avoid disappointment.
https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/activities-events/activity-teams/bushwalking/

09/10/2026

Your phone could save you from getting lost. But could it also get you into trouble?

More and more bushwalkers are relying on their phones to navigate. And while modern navigation apps are incredibly capable, over-reliance on them can have serious consequences.

The problem isn’t necessarily the technology. It’s relying on it without understanding its limitations or having a backup plan.

Apps such as Gaia GPS and Avenza Maps can turn your phone into a powerful navigation tool. But there are a few things you should know before heading into the bush.

Download and test your maps

GPS doesn't require mobile reception, but downloading maps generally does. Download maps covering your entire route and the surrounding area before you leave.

Then test them. Put your phone into aeroplane mode and check that you can still see your maps and location.

Remember, saving a route doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve downloaded the map.

Know what you’re looking at

A blue dot doesn’t replace map-reading skills.

Learn to recognise contours, tracks, waterways and ridgelines, and relate what you see on the screen to the terrain around you.

Google Maps generally lacks the topographic detail needed for navigation in remote bushland.

Manage your battery

Start with a fully charged phone, minimise unnecessary screen use and carry a power bank and cable.

Consider using aeroplane mode to conserve power in areas with poor reception. Your phone’s GPS can still determine your location without mobile coverage, provided you’ve downloaded your maps.

For longer walks, think about how you’ll keep your phone charged for the duration, including an extra day.

Protect your phone

Water, impacts and cold conditions can all affect your phone. Use suitable protection and keep it dry, particularly overnight. Many phones will not charge when moisture is detected in the port.

Practise before you go

Don’t wait until you’re lost to learn how your navigation app works.

Practise finding your position, reading coordinates, following a route and navigating back to a known location somewhere familiar.

Most importantly of all, have a backup plan

What happens if you drop your phone, the battery dies or the app stops working?

A backup might be a paper map and compass or a dedicated GPS. The more remote the walk, the more important it becomes to have a reliable alternative.

And remember, carrying a compass isn’t much help if nobody knows how to use it!

There will always be people who are critical of using phones for navigation. But smartphones are already part of how many people navigate, and we would be letting our Scouts down if we didn’t teach them how to use these tools safely, understand their limitations and be prepared for when things don’t go to plan.

05/10/2026

OAS Bushwalking 4: “I have compared my bush walks to the Australian Walking Track Grading System.”

The Australian Walking Track Grading System gives walking tracks a grade from 1 to 5 to help walkers understand what they may encounter and decide whether a walk is suitable for their experience and abilities.

It considers factors such as:

* Experience required
* Steps
* Gradient
* Path quality
* Signage

The grades progress from:

Grade 1 — No bushwalking experience required. Flat, even surface with no steps or steep sections. Suitable for assisted wheelchair users.

Grade 2 — No bushwalking experience required. Hardened or compacted track with gentle hills and occasional steps. Walks up to 10 km.

Grade 3 — Suitable for most ages and fitness levels. Tracks may have short steep sections, a rough surface and many steps. Walks up to 20 km.

Grade 4 — Bushwalking experience recommended. Tracks may be long, rough and very steep. Directional signage may be limited.

Grade 5 — For very experienced bushwalkers with specialised skills, including navigation and emergency first aid. Tracks are likely to be very rough, very steep and unmarked.

Remember, the grade isn’t an average.

If just one of the grading criteria reaches a higher grade, the track receives that higher grade.

Track grades help us:

* Plan an Adventurous Journey appropriate to a scout’s skills and experience.
* Record walks in our logbooks.
* Meet OAS Requirements (e.g. Bushwalking 4).
* Determine what training is required to supervise certain hikes — Scouts Vic’s “What Can I Do?” guide links track grades to Leader qualifications.

Before choosing a walk, check its grade, and then look at the actual route, distance, elevation, conditions and hazards as part of your planning.

27/09/2026

OAS Bushwalking 2: “I know when and how to contact the emergency services in an emergency.”

000: Emergency services — Police, Fire or Ambulance.

112: An alternative emergency number from a mobile phone in Australia. It is also an emergency number in many countries overseas.

106: Emergency number for people who use a TTY (text telephone). Other National Relay Service options are available for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have difficulty using speech.

Personal Locator Beacon (PLB): An emergency beacon for remote areas where you don’t have phone coverage. A PLB sends a distress signal and your location, but doesn’t provide voice or text communication.

When should you call 000?

Call 000 when someone is seriously injured or ill, someone’s life or safety is threatened, or you need an urgent response from Police, Fire or Ambulance.

If you’re in a remote area without phone coverage and need urgent assistance, activate your PLB.

When you call triple zero, be ready to tell them:

1. Which service?
Police, Fire or Ambulance.

2. Where are you?
Give the best location information you have.

3. What has happened?
Keep calm. Explain the emergency clearly.

4. Answer their questions.
They may ask your name, how many people are involved, injuries, hazards and other information. Don’t hang up until you’re told to.

Being able to quickly communicate your location can save vital minutes.

Emergency+ is the Australian emergency services app.

If you need to call 000, Emergency+ can display your phone’s location so you can give it to the call-taker. It also provides direct access to appropriate emergency and non-emergency numbers.

The app also displays what3words, a location referencing system that divides the world into 3 × 3 metre squares and gives each square a unique combination of three words.

Those three words can be much easier to communicate verbally than a long string of coordinates.

For example, rather than trying to explain:

“We’re somewhere off the track, about two kilometres past the creek…”

you could give the call-taker your three words:

avocado.students.perforated

Those words identify a particular 3 × 3 metre square.

ACTIVITY

1. Download the what3words app.*
2. Head to the local park.
3. Give each patrol a list of cryptic locations and the first letter of each w3w word as a hint.
4. Patrols race to find each location and record its three words.
5. The patrol with the most correct answers wins.
6. Afterwards, give each patrol an emergency scenario. Ask them to explain:

• Who would they call?
• What information would they give?
• How would they communicate their location?
• What would they do if they didn’t have mobile coverage?

Finish by showing everyone the Emergency+ app and discussing how it could help them communicate their location in a real emergency.

what3words
what3words.com

Emergency+
emergencyplus.com.au

*The standalone what3words app isn’t connected to emergency services. For a Scout night, we don’t want to risk accidentally calling the police!

Address

Monash, VIC
3149

Telephone

+61385439800

Website

https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/activities-events/activity-teams/bushwalking/

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