Search and Rescue Day 1-10

I have allowed Simon on the blog to regale tales of his first 10 days of Search and Rescue. He was based out of the Tasmania Police Academy in Hobart.

First ten days was mainly focused on navigation - how to find your way through the bush without any formed tracks etc - how to plot a course/route via a magnetic bearing or grid bearing and the variation between the two. We spent two nights roughing it out in the middle of nowhere, walking through the night with just a compass to find our way to test our abilities to find our way. It was quite miserable, walking through the snow, rain and wet terrain and then having to bivouac (sleeping minus the tent and other luxuries) in these conditions while the wind was howling around us and thinking what tree was going to fall down on us. I am now home for 4 days of recovery before out there starting on Monday for another 10 - I hope the weather is a bit warmer.

Okay so Simon does not prattle on as much as me - maybe that's a good thing but you kind of get the gist of what he has been doing.

One of our navigational treks at Risdon Brook dam

Practising crossing rivers with full packs on - we had to carry them on our backs in chest-deep water.

If you enlarge this photo you can actually see the rain coming in sideways...brrr!!

Walking out of Mt Field after our first night sleeping out in the open

This is us walking out after our second night out in the open - nice and clean aren't we?

The view of the terrain and environment where we slept for two nights - nice to see the back of it

On one of our last days we did helicopter ground school - good idea to practice on the ground first.

After practicing on the ground with the helicopter, it is up-up-and away