Lost in the outback

[Stumpjumper]

There are many great places to go in Australia, some close to population centers and others more remote. For those people who travel to the remote areas their wellbeing depends on their vehicle, they rely on that vehicle carrying them into and back from their destinations. The water it carries and its supplies of food, bedding and shelter permit the traveller to these places to survive in the normally harsh conditions.
GPS can tell you where you are and which direction to go, a simple compass or even landmarks can assist in identifying your location……….
Laverton WA,
Lost prospectors have proven to be a persistent problem for Laverton Police, with more than 15 reported rescues over the past 18 months.
If you lose the vehicle for what ever reason you are in serious trouble, you are on your own with whatever you have with you.
Why are you separated from the vehicle? Well many are the reasons and each story is different. One guy found a gold nugget got excited and kept going until he was well and truly lost. Lost for 5 days nearly died.
Walking from camp just going to try the ridge, going for a short walk to check out a rock outcrop, all these reasons and more in a part of the world where all the trees look the same and often there’s no clear view to the horizon.
This is not the vehicle breaking down drama its just the people have left the vehicle to go wandering about and then cant find the way back to camp.

GPS batteries do go flat, clouds can hide the sun and rocks cannot keep footprints.
Check these sites for more details.
http://golddetecting.4umer.net/t7152-lost-out-bush
http://www.cairnsconnect.com/visitor/gettinglost.php
http://goaustralia.about.com/od/prac...cksurvival.htm

I am a gold prosector and I have lost the vehicle on occasions, once south of Maytown QLD on the Palmer and again couple of hundred kms NNE of Laverton WA. So take all precautions and be careful when you’re out there.

Lets hear your ideas on how to make it easier to find the way back to the car.( Other than a police helicopter).

I thought of a few.
Don’t go bush alone……then you could listen for a VB tinny being cracked at beer o clock!
If the horn could start tooting when it got dark.
Strobe light flashes when it gets dark
Dinner GONG (Smelling eggs and Bacon)

No serious guys...............have you got any ideas?

[the ferret]

Agreed,
A hand held GPS, mark the vehicle as MOB, and you will find your way back.
A GPS and an EPIRB are a must for outback travel.
There is a GPS that you can wear like a watch.
Cheers, the ferret.

[rkinsey]

IMHO.. The only way not to get yourself lost in the bush is good pre trip preparation.

Detailed paper maps of the area (batteries dont go flat in these babies..!!) Study not only how you are going to get to the area in question, but study the area thoroughly.

Identify landmarks such as buildings, farms, mountains or large hills with transmitter towers.

Major rivers and streams (Where they start and where they end up!)

Take a compass with you or learn to tell which way North is without one (Use the Sun and a watch. Place the reflection of the Sun at 12 o'clock and halfway between 12 o'clock and the hour hand in a clockwise direction, is North.)

If you are unfamilliar with the terain, stay within site of your vehicle or camp site. Stop every 15 mins to get your bearings until you are familiar with the area.

Always take a day pack with you with enough supplies to last 2 days at least. I alwasy take a backpack with water, food, matches, rope and plastic sheet whenever I take the family walking in the bush and I have them carry supplies as well.

Understanding your surroundings is the only way of staying safe in this very big country of ours.

Cheers,

Rob

[Sir Roofy]

gday stumpy. I'm not a prospector so dont generally do the wandering you do, however i do head outback from time to time, and sometimes alone. You are spot on saying your vehicle is your life out there and i like the idea of mounting a strobe light on your vehicle however this would only work if you were still in direct line of sight with the vehicle. I would think the simplest solution would to be always carry a handheld gps and spare batteries. Set the gps to show tour track and then follow it back to your car when it comes time to return. In fact i would probably carry 2 sets of spare batteries just to be sure. Not sure what else might be better, perhaps tie a strobe light to a helium balloon and float it 50m above your car? Lol.

plassy mate what about a compass in your kit as well,work out where you are before leaving camp
then come back on that bearing

[the evil twin]

Yep, as Rob said above take paper maps and a compass and know how to use them. My compass never leaves the car and i always have paper maps of where i am. I dont have gps mapping, it makes you lazy and you cant navigate by them.

They certainly are the lazy navigators godsend and I always have a compass with me as well... but I am curious about the "can't navigate by them"

Navigation wise, what can't a GPS do that a paper map can?

My GPS's (or should it be GPII) will all do distance, bearing (true, grid, mag), route profile, X track, T.A.E. isn't affected by Mag Deviation and the back track function is very, very handy as well... plus never have to fart around doing a resection.

Flat batteries are a bitch tho

[the evil twin]

snip....

but i would think you wouldnt be navigating anyway unless your gps had sh@t itself, in which case you'll need to know your way around a compass and paper map.

Hi cobber,

Ain't that the truth...

Soooo... Stumpies challenge to us is finding your way back to the vehicle and in 95% of WA's bush that is a real hassle if you get geographicall embarrased (Lost).

I teach Navigation in the SES and get to do my share of searchs as does DX Grunt. A couple of things about the WA Goldfields is...
You can't see the horizon or the features for the scrub...
You can't climb a tree because there isn't any...
You miss the vehicle by 50 metres then you probably won't see it in the scrub...
There are no power lines or fences and 1 railway line...
There are about 3 mapped roads for every 1 gazillion squre kilometres...
There are about 1 gazillion 'old' vehicle tracks for every 3 roads...
There are a lot of Mine Haul Roads but they invariably are not on the maps but are on leases where you normally aren't...
Every one of those vehicle tracks looks EXACTLY the same as the next one...
Every hill is close to the same height so you can't tell if the one your standing on is different to the ones you can see or which is which on the map...
Every dry watercourse you cross looks EXACTLY the same (there are no rivers or creeks)...
It's almost impossible to walk a decent compass heading by yourself (there are some good tricks you can use if there is a couple of you)...

As Stumpjumper says, it is a real challenge in that sort of country.

[DX grunt]

I’m not an expert in bush survival or bush survival techniques. The info I have supplied is from my life’s skills, knowledge and experience.

This information is provided in good faith, and is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Here’s a handy website with lots of great info.
http://www.police.wa.gov.au/Portals/...rival_2007.pdf

Info you should consider leaving behind, with somebody you trust:
 Your full name
 Your nickname/s
 Your date of birth
 Your current residential address
 Your current business address
 Bank’s name and branch (you decide if you want to hand your account details over)
 Your mobile/landline/satellite phone number
 Your contactable email (skype, ect) address
 Your height
 Your weight
 All marks, scars, tattoos and piercings
 List all the medication (prescribed or otherwise) you’re on, and the frequency you take it
 What are you allergic to?
 If you wear a medic alert bracelet, what is its colour, number, and which part of your body do you wear it?
 The name and address of your local doctor
 A list of all sicknesses, illnesses, injuries and diseases you have
 The name and address of your dentist
 Make, model, colour, registration number and any accessories fitted to your vehicle
 Your HF radio callsign (HF selcal)
 What HF radio channels you will be operating on
 Who and what times you will be doing your HF radio skeds with
 What communications equipment you will be carrying with you (eg. UHF/AM CB, mobile phone, satellite phone, HF radio, laptop
 If carrying an EPIRB, the number of it
 If taking a pet, its name, make, model colour and age, Local Government Authority animal registration number
 Is your pet microchipped? What’s the number?
Very recent pictures of:….
 Yourself (including marks, scars, tattoos)
 Your pet/s
 Your vehicle (4 pics –1 of each side and 1 x front and back – INCLUDING the number plate/s)
 Your vehicle fully kitted up and ready to go.
 Your campsite, the way you’d normally set it up/leave it

The bush can be as cruel and untrusting as the sea. All caution is to be exercised, before, during and after your adventure.

I’d also suggest you consider wearing flouro, glow in the day and night clothing. It should immensely help any rescuers, day and night.

If you change your route, tell somebody, BEFORE you start that route.

Feel free to copy and paste this list, and fill in the missing gaps. Trust me, it will go a long way to helping the emergency services locate and identify you, in your time of need.

Take care out there, and remember, proper planning prevents poor performance.

Rossco

[the evil twin]

Just to give you an idea this is a pic from a WW II Aircraft crash site I was at last week out on the fringe of the Goldfields. My Patrol is less than 40 metres away just off the track in the upper left



The Pilot walked for four days and was found alive. The Navigator was never found.

The country can best be described as "gently undulating". You usually cannot see the next crest from the one you are standing on and it goes for miles and miles and miles and... anyway I am sure you get my drift.

The track in the pic goes about another 50 metres and thats it. So if you wander away and then walk back and miss by 60 metres you will just keep walking till you get to the next track (if there is one) by the time you suss out someone has either stolen your truck or it's the wrong track it can get real confusing real fast.

[Silver]

All good and interesting info here.

My small contribution is to suggest that the minute you suspect you might not know where you are, is to stop, sit down, take a breath, and think things through, rather than keeping on walking.

[the ferret]

I am one who snaps a branch or twig, or sticks a piece of dunny paper in the ground when I think things could change and there is a chance of becoming lost.
Lay a few sticks out as an arrow, tie something to a tree.
Cheers, the ferret.