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6 hours
Canberra
Starting at AUD 0
Sat, 27 Sep, 2025 at 08:30 am to 02:30 pm (GMT+10:00)
Canberra, Australia
SAT 27 SEPT 2025 08:30 AM - 14:30 PM
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Join us in a small, all-women group of 8 maximum participants, where we cover:
We start the session with some easy but critical navigation theory in a warm, local coffee shop and progress to a close-by outdoor location (15 minute drive) for the practical part of the day.
At our field site, we'll use and apply the theory from our morning session, putting it into practice by walking a series of 10-11 bearings, and finding our way off-track around a route of approximately 5 klm with approximately 200 metres of ascent over 4 hours.
You'll learn plenty of tricks and tips too - how to use natural features to keep you on track; common mistakes people make and how people get lost. We'll look at how to know when you've made a mistake, and how to get yourself unlost - the steps to take to work out where you are, where you went wrong, and how to progress from that.
Even if you aren't planning on walking exploratory off-track hikes just yet - knowing how to find a direction, read and interpret a map, and keep yourself safe is an essential skill for staying found. It's a critical skill, that every outdoors person should have.
Once you understand paper map and compass navigation, then you can progress to using GPS and navigation apps, much more safely and with less risk.
We recommend that every outdoor participant carries a topographic map and compass, as one of their Ten Essentials whenever they head outdoors.
WHAT TO BRING
OPTIONAL
We can provide a loan compasses for the session - if you want to try a particular compass out, or, you can buy your own. If you need a loan compass, just indicate on the RSVP.
Here's our comprehensive article and summary of how to decide which compass to buy:
How to Buy a Compass (bushsafe.com)
In addition, we are looking to get in some more of Caro Ryan's 3rd updated Edition of 'How to Navigate' books, for sale. When these are available, we will list them up here to buy, and you can save on postage purchasing through us. If you purchase one, I'll bring your copy along on the day. It will be a fantastic prompter for what you will learn on the day, and you won't have to try and keep any notes.
If you'd like a copy of the book, just purchase one in the RSVP. [Note - Caro is about to release an updated 3rd edition, so we're waiting for that]
* I will send everyone details of our starting location, a week out from the event, but it will be in Central Canberra/Belconnen area**
This is the perfect beginner's course, and there are a series of graduated, more difficult practice sessions and Intermediate Skills courses, to follow.
WHAT WE DON'T TEACH
In our experience, beginner navigators do not need to spend an entire weekend learning more advanced navigation theory that they are unlikely to use the first dozen times they attempt to practice navigating. You're also likely to forget that information, if you don't use it straight away.
We would rather teach you solid foundations first, and when you're comfortable with that, we then suggest you consider our more advanced courses that cover techniques such as navigating in limited visibility or in more challenging terrain, route setting and using GPS and Navigation Apps.
In teaching navigation, we find that most people have had enough by around the 5-6 klm mark - learning to navigate requires additional physical effort, in addition to requiring more concentration - so it's much more tiring that just straight trail walking.
We don't run 10 klm+ waypoint exercises or overnight hikes for beginner navigators, because we've generally found that people give up on navigating to concentrate on the hiking instead, when hikes are longer in distance and/or harder.
We do recommend you get in as much practice as possible, which is why we generally run our Refresher Event the day after our Learn to Navigate Course. The Refresher Event is a 6 klm/11 Waypoint activity that starts navigating right off the bat. If you need a reminder about the theory, we do that along the way. It's a great way to cement the learnings from the previous day.
This is the perfect beginner's course and there are a series of graduated, more difficult practice sessions and Intermediate Skills courses, to follow.
REFUNDS
If you are unable to attend the course for any reason, unfortunately we do not offer refunds. We may consider a request to transfer your spot to an alternative participant, but unfortunately a refund cannot be provided from that name transfer.
ABOUT THE ACTIVITY LEAD
Kelli Jackson is a former Search & Rescue member who has deployed to Afghanistan for 9 months, and has helped get over 6,000 women in Canberra, safely outdoors. Through Bushsafe, Kelli also runs practical Survival Skills courses specifically for women hikers who might find themselves in an emergency situation.
Kelli teaches navigation in an intuitive, easy to understand way that she hasn't ever encountered or seen elsewhere. Kelli is regularly featured on ABC radio and in print media, talking about survival and safety in the outdoors.
You can read about her, here:
Women's survival skills instructor warns hikers learning the basics can be the difference between life and death - ABC NewsFive remarkable mental health benefits of hiking - Wilderness MagazineHow light is too light? - Wilderness Magazine
Also check out other Workshops in Canberra, Trips & Adventurous Activities in Canberra, Health & Wellness events in Canberra.
Tickets for Women's Learn to Navigate Course can be booked here.
| Ticket type | Ticket price |
|---|---|
| General Admission | 86 AUD |
| Free loan compass | Free |
