People join the Brisbane Bushwalker Club to have fun and enjoy the great outdoors. The club offers a range of activities to facilitate that interaction between people and nature, whilst ensuring that it is done in a safe manner. This enables members to participate in activities as much as the club activity calendar allows, whilst educating members about how to safely go on walks outside of the club. To do so, the club has a range of activities, an activity grading system and various rules and guidelines.
Activities the Club Undertakes
Brisbane Bushwalkers Club offers a wide range of activities for members' enjoyment.
The main club activities are day walks, through walks and base camps. These are supplemented by other activities, which include abseiling, kayaking, training, photography, cycling, and some social activities that don't involve walking.
The Club encourages its members to attain and improve skills associated with bushwalking and leadership, including navigation and first aid. The club conducts navigation days several times per year , and regularly organises first aid courses.
List of Activity Types
The table below contains the full list of activity types that Brisbane Bushwalkers undertakes.
- Activity: Abseil
- Code: ABS
- Description:
Abseiling is a controlled descent of a vertical drop, such as a rock face, using a rope. Abseiling activities often involve a walk to a steep drop, and a descent over that drop. Attending an abseiling training weekend, periodically offered by the club, is a prerequisite of nomination for these events.
- Activity: Base Camp
- Code: BC
- Description:
Base Camps involve traveling to a location, and then staying at that location and using it as a base for day walks or other activities. Base Camps are not always camping based. Sometimes Base Camps are offered where the base is a lodge or other built accommodation.
- Activity: Cycle
- Code: CYC
- Description:
Cycling activities are conducted similarly to day walks, however instead of walking, participants cycle.
- Activity: Day Walk
- Code: DW
- Description:
Day Walks are the primary activity the club offers. A Day Walk is a walk that is undertaken over the course of a single day.
- Activity: Easy Through Walk
- Code: ETW
- Description:
An Easy Through Walk is a subcategory of Through Walk. A multi-day walk, where one must carry one's own camping gear and food. Easy Through Walks are typically less challenging, and are conducted to introduce participants to through walking.
- Activity: Kayak
- Code: KYK
- Description:
Kayaking activities are conducted similarly to day walks, however instead of walking, participants kayak. Kayaking activities may take place in lakes, creeks, rivers or shorelines.
- Activity: Meeting
- Code: MEETING
- Description:
Meetings are conducted at the Newmarket Memorial Hall, on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Each Meeting starts at 7:30pm.
- Activity: New Member Induction
- Code: NMI
- Description:
New Member Inductions are training walks emphasising Minimum Impact, Maximum Safety, along with explanations of club culture and etiquette.
- Activity: Night Cycle
- Code: NC
- Description:
Night cycling activities are conducted similarly to night walks, however instead of walking, participants cycle.
- Activity: Night Walk
- Code: NW
- Description:
Unlike a Day Walk, a Night Walk is a walk that is undertaken over the course of a single night. These types of walks often present additional challenges, such as trickier navigation and traversal of terrain.
- Activity: Rogaine
- Code: ROG
- Description:
A Rogaine is a type of walk that is typically undertaken specifically for the purpose of engaging in using navigation skills. These are often timed walks, so a fast pace is often required.
- Activity: Safety & Training
- Code: S&T
- Description:
Safety and Training activities are conducted specifically to heighten the skills of leaders and other members. Examples of Safety and Training activities are Navigation Training weekends, Tape Workshops, First Aid Courses, and Leader Training Base Camps.
- Activity: Social
- Code: SOC
- Description:
Social Activies are activities where the purpose of meeting is to socialise and interact with other club members. The most common social activities are dinner evenings, however in the past there have been mini-golf days and film nights.
- Activity: Survey
- Code: SVY
- Description:
Surveys are activities conducted specifically for the purpose of scoping new locations, or locations that have not been visited for some time, for suitability to use for day walks, through walks or otherwise. Surveys usually consist of small, experienced groups.
- Activity: Through Walk
- Code: TW
- Description:
Through Walks typically begin on Friday night and finish on Sunday afternoon/evening. The walker must carry all their gear for camping out overnight, sometimes including water for the weekend. These walks are regarded as the ultimate in walking, as you are able to visit more remote areas not able to be accessed by road and therefore considered more interesting and sometimes challenging. In contrast there are some fairly easy through walks, which are, for the most part on tracks, yet still giving the impression of being somewhere fairly remote, interesting and away from civilisation.
- Activity: Training Walk
- Code: TRNG
- Description:
Training walks are geared specifically toward developing fitness, conditioning and pack training.
Activity Gradings
Brisbane Bushwalkers conducts activities over a wide range of skill levels. Consequently, we have evolved a grading and classification system which is designed to be easily interpreted. This system involves several components:
- Distance - Abbreviated
- Activity Type - Abbreviated
- Terrain Difficulty Grade - 1 to 9, ascending in order of difficulty
- Fitness and Endurance Requirement Grade - A to F, ascending in order of difficulty
Most activities which involve a physical component will have a classification which includes the Distance, Activity Type, Terrain Difficulty Grade, and the Fitness and Endurance Requirement Grade. Other activities, such as social activities and meetings, will not require these components.
An example
An activity that is commonly held for new members is a Day Walk at Daves Creek Circuit, a 12km graded track in Lamington National Park. The club's 'code' for this activity's classification is MDW-3A. This means that the activity is a Medium length Day Walk, with a Terrain Difficulty Grade of 3, and a Fitness and Endurance Requirement Grade of A.
Self Assessment and Activity Acceptance
Individual walkers are responsible for ensuring they are capable of doing the walk for which they nominate. Members are encouraged to contact the walk leader and discuss fitness and skill levels if they are in any doubt. Group safety and enjoyment can be jeopardised if an individual is unable to complete a walk, therefore walk leaders can refuse to take a member if they are unsure of their capabilities.
Easier Walks: Beginners and inexperienced walkers can expect assistance and guidance from the walk leader during a 1 to 3 Terrain walk; but Club members are responsible for their own safety and well-being, based on personal judgement and their own level of risk acceptance.
Intermediate Walks: Walks graded Terrain Level 4 and higher require increasing degrees of self-reliance, albeit in a cohesive and supportive team environment.
Difficult Walks: Very accurate self-assessment of ability is required before undertaking technically difficult day walks and off track through walks in remote areas. Total self-reliance and absolute personal responsibility for safety and risk acceptance are essential.
Reference
We have included the classification tables below for quick reference. These provide clear explanations of gradings and abbreviations.
Distances
- Activity: Short
- Code: S
- Description:
Less than 10km per day
- Activity: Medium
- Code: M
- Description:
10-15km per day
- Activity: Long
- Code: L
- Description:
15 - 20km per day
- Activity: Extra Long
- Code: X
- Description:
Over 20km per day
- Activity: Not Applicable
- Code: NA
- Description:
Terrain Gradings
- Code: 1
- Description:
Path with smooth surface and low gradient
- Code: 2
- Description:
Well-formed path or graded track with some minor obstacles
- Code: 3
- Description:
Graded track, with obstacles such as rock or root intrusions, fallen debris, or creek crossings
- Code: 4
- Description:
Rough, unformed track or open terrain, with obstacles such as rock or root intrusions, fallen debris, or creek crossings
- Code: 5
- Description:
Rough or rocky terrain that may require use of hands, and/or creek rock hopping that requires small to moderate steps. Fallen debris possible
- Code: 6
- Description:
Steep, rough or rocky terrain requiring use of hands, and/or creek rock hopping requiring moderate to large steps or jumps. Fallen debris possible
- Code: 7
- Description:
Ascend or descend steep rock, using hand or footholds. May be some exposure. Good upper body strength required
- Code: 8
- Description:
Ascend or descend near vertical rock with exposure, using widely spaced or small hand or footholds. Scrambling skills may be required. Good upper body strength required
- Code: 9
- Description:
Sustained ascent or descent of vertical or near vertical rock with exposure, using widely spaced or small hand or foot holds. Advanced scrambling skills may be required. Good upper body strength required
- Code: NA
- Description:
Fitness & Endurance Gradings
- Code: A
- Description:
Basic - Generally suitable for new bushwalkers. About four hours of walking and possibly minor hills. Slower pace with frequent breaks
- Code: B
- Description:
Easy - About five hours of walking and about 300m of elevation gain/loss per day
- Code: C
- Description:
Moderate - About six hours of walking and about 600m of elevation gain/loss per day. Agility required
- Code: D
- Description:
Hard - Good fitness, endurance and agility required. About seven hours of walking and about 800m of elevation gain/loss per day
- Code: E
- Description:
Very Hard - High fitness, endurance and agility required. About eight hours of walking and about 1000m of elevation gain/loss per day
- Code: F
- Description:
Extreme - Very high fitness, endurance and agility required. About twelve hours of walking and greater than 1400m of elevation gain/loss per day
- Code: NA
- Description:
Family Activities
Within the club we encourage family groups to participate in activities so that the younger generation can also enjoy the great outdoors. The family group within the club is comprised of members - probationary and ordinary - and their children under the age of 18. Sometimes this club group has been strong and vibrant as parent and grandparent leaders elect to lead family activities. At other times, there is minimal activity throughout a year. Within this group we organise activities that will involve and sometimes challenge the children and give them a sense of the great outdoors and the enjoyment that can be found there.
Grandparent weekend base camps are held several times throughout the year at the Mt Glorious Barracks. Children attending these camps have had the opportunity to participate in activities at varying levels, such as Northbrook Gorge, Greenes Falls and Lepidozamia Track. These activities are listed on the Club Activity
For the children to participate they must be registered as a guest member and be accompanied by an adult member ('the carer') that either is their legal guardian (which is usually their parent) or a member who has been authorised by that legal guardian. Members should nominate for family activities only if they are bringing a child or have been invited by the leader.
Children of members can enrol for up to 12 months. Other children (including grandchildren) can enrol for a single activity only, and this can be done twice in a 12 month period.
How to enrol a child for BBW Family activities
Enrol the child as a guest member by first completing a copy of the club's Guest Membership Form
- Sections 1 - for the child's details
- Section 2 - details of the activity
- Section 3 - carer's contact details
- Section 4 - to be read, signed and dated by the member taking the child on the activity ('the carer').
- Section 5 - to be completed by the activity leader
- Section 6 - the child's legal guardian to complete this - read, nominate the carer (who must be a member), sign and date.
Submit the form to the leader, by email or in person.
We look forward to fostering a love of the great outdoors with you and your children.