Thursday 8 April and Friday 9 April 2021

Barry and Ian, our teacher!

The tools of the course

Putting theory into practice

Glenn and Sharon with their maps and compass

Trying to put theory into practice

Karen and Gary looking a little bewildered

So very patient, Ian

So Rob – where to next?

Creek crossing

Peter and Karen finding their way out of the creek

Finding our way out of the creek

Yay we found the cars

Where are we?

Sixteen members of the Batemans Bay Bushwalking Club took part in the map and compass navigation course last week, developed and presented by Ian.

After receiving a very positive response to holding the course, Ian very kindly decided to offer it over two days, so that the groups would be more manageable. I was in the first group and certainly the smaller groups were much better.

Ian took us through the theory of navigating, positioning oneself, planning and following a route, using maps and compass to find our way.  There was more involved than I had expected and it was a good feeling, when one got that ‘light bulb moment’ and it all started coming together.

We put all of our theory and compass practice to the test after lunch, when Ian sent us off into the bush to find our way back to the cars.  With the thick undergrowth and no tracks, I, for one, was certainly glad I was getting the hang of using that compass!

Thank you Ian from all of your ‘students’.  We appreciate all of the planning and effort that you put into developing the Navigation Day and particularly splitting it up into two days to allow smaller group sizes.   In return, we promise to practice, practice, practice!

Gay