As grey nomads continue to head out to remote country in ever greater numbers and undertake activities such as bushwalking and prospecting, the authorities continue to appeal for them to take all reasonable precautions to remain safe.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says that, across the country, land-based search and rescue (SAR) incidents are increasing in frequency and complexity … due in part to more people venturing into unfamiliar environments.
In 2025-26, AMSA responded to 832 land-based SAR incidents, and this figure doesn’t include incidents which police may have responded to without AMSA involvement.
One of the key recommendations the organisation has for grey nomads and others heading bush is that they carry a distress beacon, such as a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB).
Vehicles getting bogged in the Outback can spark major search operations. This picture was taken at night using an infrared camera. PIC: AMSA
“PLBs are easy to use and carry, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive, and can be purchased at most outdoor retailers or online and can even be hired if only needed for a short period,” an AMSA spokesperson told the GNT. “When activated in Australia, PLBs send a signal via satellite to the AMSA Response Centre in Canberra.”
The organisation says it is critical that a distress beacon is properly registered with AMSA, so they know who to contact when it is activated in an emergency. This information can also help them coordinate a rapid response more effectively.
While huge searches for lost adventurers occasionally make headlines, there are also a frighteningly high number of close shaves that most people never hear about … but carry equally pertinent warnings.
Certainly, when grey nomads, Tony and Lesley Melville, hear of one of these disasters, or near disasters, they immediately think ‘that could easily have been us’.
Several years ago, the pair were at Mount Augustus in northern WA when they got disorientated while out on a designated walk.
“An easy short walk turned into an hour of wondering where we were,” said Lesley. “We managed to miss one of the national park’s posts on the very ‘unmarked’ dry creek bed and then, when trying to back track to the last marker, we became totally lost.”
The pair suddenly found every direction they went looked exactly the same, and they had no idea where they had started from.
“My calm-headed husband made the decision to walk south in the creek bed keeping the mount on our right and in the direction of the car park,” said Lesley. “It felt like we were walking on the spot as the landscape, including Mount Augustus, didn’t seem to change, making it very hard to pick a place to use as a landmark.”
To their great relief though, they eventually found a fire trail and were able to walk back to the road.
“With my husband being a diabetic, we always have snacks and water, and also lightweight jackets,” said Lesley. “But it was a lesson learnt not to move too far from one marker until sighting the next one.”
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