The three young bushwalkers who spent a freezing night in a Victorian state park after getting lost are being praised for keeping their nerve during their ordeal.
While losing your bearings in the first place probably isn’t in any Scouts ‘how-to’ manual, Kirrilee Ord, 21, says her time in the organisation helped her keep her head.
She, along with her 12-year-old brother, Mitchell, and boyfriend Ben Warlond, 24, built a shelter from bark, rocks and reeds. They then huddled together, along with their dog, to try to stay warm until help arrived. Overnight temperatures in the area had plunged to about 6 degrees.
The trio were all wearing shorts and T-shirts when they became lost in Lerderderg State Park, near Bacchus Marsh, on a planned two-hour walk. They only had one packet of Twisties between them.
Kirri, an experienced camper, said she turned the Twisties packet inside out to its reflective side in an effort to signal helicopters.
After the alarm was raised by concerned family members, about 30 people from police and SES were involved in an overnight search. The bushwalkers were eventually found safe and well about five kilometres from their campsite.
Police search and rescue Leading Senior Constable Matt Roberts said the young hikers had done the right thing by staying in the one place once they became lost.
I like to make sure I am walking in a square if I am in an unknown area and helps to keep me in touch with the camp site. It also helps to keep a look out of where the major land marks are and keep them in sight as well. Also do have a back pack with a few nibbles and water even if it is a short walk or estimated walk. Sometimes these parks do not tell you how long it could take to walk certain distances, due to the terrain that you need to traverse.