A mid-week navigation “weekend” on Tuesday-Wednesday with the “Fabulous 6”. Certainly fabulous is the word for this fun group of ladies who hike together a lot and wanted to build their navigation skills so they can safely find their way on future adventures. We did the morning navigation briefing in the comfort of the Katoomba YHA, an excellent alternative to the windy and cold car park at Bell. We then set off on the walk in the late morning and began putting into practise the newly learned navigation skills and learning more on the way. It was windy on the first day but our campsite was quite sheltered and the ladies were well prepared with plenty of food, wine and port to keep us warm, and they did an excellent job of collecting firewood. The second day was very windy with forecasts of gusts up to 107km/h but the average windspeed was probably 50-60km/h. It made for interesting and challenging walking along the exposed ridges as we were buffeted by the wind. But the Fabulous 6 managed fine and the wind did not deter them from engaging in all the different navigation skills covered on this spectacular 2 day hike. Another great 2 day adventure enjoyed by all!

I have stopped operating navigation weekends in midwinter due to the likelihood of cold windy weather. So how do the weather gods respond? By bringing forward that cold windy and wintry weather to a navigation weekend in May! It was certainly very cold but not too windy early on, as this weekend’s navigators gathered at Bell, and we picked a nice sunny spot for the morning nav briefing. We enjoyed sunny but cool conditions for the day’s hiking, with the wind picking up that afternoon. Stephane and some of the other blokes on this trip did a magnificent job of getting firewood so we had a nice warm fire in our sheltered campsite as the wind picked up during the evening. It was a windy night and Sunday was blowing a gale. It didn’t deter the hardy group of navigators and we enjoyed a scenic and educational walk in bracing conditions. Clients learned a heap of new navigation skills and mastered the process of planning a route, setting the compass and walking off-trail whilst keeping the navigation spot on. Lunch on Sunday was blowy but at a scenic little spot by a river with the trees writhing in the wind. Some steep scrambling was capably accomplished by the whole group and we returned to Bell invigorated after a weekend of cold and windy walking, but thrilled to have learned a huge body of new skill to increase confidence in the bush for future adventures!

This was the final navigation weekend of the autumn 2023 season. Attending this trip were two blokes, both keen to get out into the bush and learn navigation despite the wintry conditions. The weather was the best of all the navigation weekends this year. It was also the coldest. But with sunny skies, no rain and only moderate wind, the cold did not detract from what was a very nice weekend to be out in the bush. This was especially the case considering the warmth of the campfire and the sheltered camp which kept us warm on the cold evening and out of the wind. The scenery in this area is an amazing backdrop for an educational bushwalk where you learn a huge wealth of new navigation skills to build your confidence in the bush and empowering you with the skills to venture into wild places. A great weekend indeed!

A group of 6 guys from the one extended family were willing to brave the elements by signing up to a navigation weekend in midwinter. In the end the weather put on spring like conditions and was probably the best weather of any navigation weekend so far this year. Temperatures were mild and winds were light or moderate, and the sun was shining. These guys are tough and the highlight for them was a side trip to a freezing cold pool in a tiny canyon where the boys enjoyed a bracing swim. The cold water was nothing to them. At camp I was their guest at their dinner, which was another highlight of this trip. Amazing skewers of succulent fresh lamb, carried in on ice all the way, barbequed in the traditional way of their culture, and pulled off the skewer using Lebanese bread as a glove, and chewed on as the next skewer roasted slowly. And so it went on until we’d all had our fill. What a treat after the freezing cold swim! The guys were at home in the bush and had a great time and learned a heap of new navigation skills to equip them for their future adventures together!

The first navigation weekend of the spring season took place on a weekend of perfect cool spring weather. The weather doesn’t get better than this – nice long days giving plenty of time to reach camp and setup before dark, not much wind, and cool and crisp for this time of year. Mostly sunny with a little cloud. Perfect. It was also a great group of good walkers, some very experienced and for others it was their first overnight self supported hike, but all did really well and took the rough terrain in their stride. An enormous amount of new skills were learned by all, not just the essential step by step process for navigating through the bush, but a whole new thought process and way of thinking to widen spatial awareness as you explore and venture deeper into an unfamiliar landscape. Essential skills for building safety and confidence when walking out in the bush. A great evening at camp relaxing after a long day, and an adventurous hike on Sunday brought the group memories and skills to take home and reflect on!

We do more than just learn to navigate on the MountainSphere nav weekends. Some nav weekends are cold and we sit around the campfire drinking schnapps and roasting marshmallows. Sometimes we have cultural experiences where a family cooks for the group. Sometimes it rains, once it snowed, and sometimes we have a knowledgeable botanist who shares their knowledge of the abundant wildflowers we see in the spring. On this navigation weekend we took time out to enjoy swimming in the crystal clear water of the Wollangambe River on a hot and dry weekend. And we camped in an amazing peaceful crater. We even got up at midnight to look for the meteor shower that never happened! We were accompanied by abundant numbers of flies on this weekend also! It was a really fun and diverse group of people on this navigation weekend and everyone had a great time and enjoyed the hike as well as learning an enormous amount of new navigation skills which will equip them with increased confidence and self sufficiency on their next forays and adventures into wild places. Thank you to everyone who came on this fun and enjoyable navigation weekend!