Author Archives: Dan

We are all one Mob

11 Friday Jul 2025

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from our National Newsletter …

During April 2024, thirty Queensland Scouts, Venturer Scouts, Leaders and adult helpers, embarked on an incredible journey for a five-day alpine experience at Kosciuszko National Park and an opportunity to meet the Ngarigo people of the Snowy Mountains.

After a long road journey South, the Patrol arrived late, tired, and hungry at the Scouts Alpine Centre campground in Jindabyne. Also staying there were the Ngarigo Snow People, the Traditional Owners of the land. In an extraordinary act of generosity and hospitality, they welcomed the Patrol to their fire and invited them to share in traditional foods. The Patrol feasted on roast possum, kangaroo, and even emu omelette after a Welcome to Country ceremony, and spent the evening learning about their lore and traditional food preparation techniques.

In the days that followed, the Patrol set off into the wilderness to complete their AJ journeys.

The meeting with the Ngarigo Elders has led to an ongoing dialogue. In the months that followed, the Patrol were honoured to recognise them as LTAF Ambassadors for their contribution to the expedition and also welcomed them as honorary members of the Victor Scout Group, acknowledging them as proud supporters of Scouting Australia.

All members of the expedition received certificates of appreciation from the Ngarigo people. A handful of Scouts have accepted the rare and meaningful invitation to become formal non-Indigenous members of the Ngarigo community – an extraordinary opportunity and a powerful step forward for Australia’s next generation.

LTAF Patrol Leader Samuel said “I really love adventure and wanted our whole group to experience the alpine wilderness, getting to know and experience the country with the Ngarigo was an incredible unexpected experience for us all…I didn’t really get why the LTAF program was called Leadership Through Adventure at first, but then after forming a unit council, coordinating  and developing expedition and all the individual hike plans and getting it all approved at state and interstate levels …nearly 300 pages of paperwork I really got the full experience of Leadership!, so thankyou to the Dick and Pip Smith – Leadership Through Adventure Fund and Scouts Australia” 

Click here to watch Samuel’s LTAF report

A Mob of Snowy Ambassadors.

11 Wednesday Dec 2024

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It seems like a lifetime ago that a group of intrepid scouts made the trip South to the Snowy mountains and then out into the wilderness. It was all made possible by the Dick and Pip Smith Leadership through Adventure Fund (LTAF) and Scouts Australia. Arriving late to their Basecamp they stumbled upon a gathering of the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the land. The Snow Peoples generously welcomed them to their “fire” and over the coming days shared traditional food, stories and cultural lore with our adventurers.

On returning home all participants in the Snowy Expedition were presented with their LTAF Ambassador badges from Scouts Australia. Additionally supporting adults including “yours truly”, Ms Melissa Bell from Snowy Mountains Grammar School (our Alpine consultant) and the Elders of the Ngarigo community with whom a special relationship was formed.

 Presentations locally were made at the Sunnybank, Victor and Albany Creek Scout groups.

Our expeditioners also received from the Ngarigo peoples numbered certificates of appreciation from their elders, which were also presented locally.

Albany Creek
Sunnybank
Victor

And in an extraordinary, and humbling, gift of inclusiveness came also an invitation to become a part of the Ngarigo Mob. Our scouting members are considering both the honour and responsibility of such an invitation and looking forward to joining the mob.

Catch the full expedition video here

See earlier posts about the trip

Snowy Mountains Expedition Video

28 Sunday Apr 2024

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Well the big trip south to the Snowy mountains for 30 Victor Scouts and friends is finally over. Funded as a part of Samuel’s Dick And Pip Smith “Leadership through Adventure” Grant through Scouts Australia (for $18k), its the culmination of a lot of hard work by Victor venturer Samuel with scouting buddies (inc. Patrol leaders Jaymi and younger brother Matthew) and leaders. As a part of the grants reporting Samuel put together this video of the trip.

Earlier posts about the expedition

Earlier videos about the trip planning

Planning promo video
Hike walkthrough video

Children and animals

11 Thursday Apr 2024

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Never work with children or animals, or so the saying goes, but that is just what our intrepid leaders and support crew did in Dubbo. Our tired youth members, after a record early start leaving Jindabyne, picking up ‘Grey Wolf’ our support vehicle who spent a luxury evening (ffor a 4WD) in Canberra airpot. before beginning the journey home. After a long day on the bus pulled up at 1st Dubbo scouts and checked out the western plains zoo the next day. Ably fed by their tireless kitchen master Chil they tackled the zoo safari style, ticking off most of the ‘big 5’ animals of the animal kingdom…and polished off most of the remaining food. Chll was heard to mutter something about “feeding the animals”….

By night they joined the 1st Dubbo Scouts for their term breakup night (school has just finished in NSW) with some slot car racing and a closing parade to say hello/goodbye to their new found scouting friends in Dubbo. And then it was all too soon and they were back on the road again and back to civilisation.

Snowys 2024 is a wrap! well except for the paper work 😉

Thankyou again to the Dick and Pip Smith Leadership through Adventure fund and Scouts Queensland, our intrepid venturer Samuel and leader in charge Jungle Jim and all the supporting leaders.

Seee more Snowy mountains expedition posts here

The return of the scouts

08 Monday Apr 2024

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Snowys expedition day 8 today all three patrols finished on trail. We’ve been getting media updates from two of the patrols whilst on trail but hike 3 has been in a blackout due to the lower elevation. Today was quite wet for all the patrols and their support leaders, we had so much gear to get dry in the afternoon/evening. We had tents, jackets, packs, boots littered everywhere through our alpine centre accommodation facility. The on-trail experience for the Scouts has been incredible with everything the Snowy Mountains / Ngarigo land could offer. Stunning views, sunshine, frosty nights, gale force winds and drenching rain. The Scouts all did very well and achieved what they came here for – life long memories and respect for one of Australia’s special and iconic places. The Scouts now have a more practical and tangible appreciation for the training and packing we were doing before the trip and I know that all of them are thankful for every single piece of kit that was in their pack.

Tonight none of our leaders had enthusiasm for organising dinner so pizza it was. The Scouts were not disappointed. Off to bed and we managed to squeeze in an extra hour of sleep due to the daylight savings shift.

Snowys expedition day 9: another driving day today. Jindabyne to Dubbo. A good pack and clean up this morning. The trailer fit like a globe again with just enough room to fit all our packs, bags and equipment. Staying at Dubbo Scout Den again tonight. Dinner tonight was a treat out at the Commercial Hotel.

Packing up, a game of Tetris
Jungle Jim, this is the one poo tube to rule them all!
Dubbo Country pub meal
Bug out day…next stop Dubbo
Post expedition… dry out
A delicious gift from the Ngarigo snowy peoples…yum!
Brumby Patrol water gathering
Brumby Patrol visiting Davies Hut
Petite prince Patrol (formerly known as Tarn Patrol) having lunch at an emergency shelter
Tarn Patrol, room with a view
Sentinel patrol “What happens on trail stays on trail”
Sentinel patrols first tree in 3 days
Brumby patrol team briefing

Other Snowys expedition posts

The mountain strikes back

06 Saturday Apr 2024

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Snowys Expedition Day 7 has seen rain come to the mountains after an amazing day on trail previously. Patrols woke to heavy fog and some drizzle and a slower start to the morning, after a big day yesterday. As the day wore on the weather turned a little more serious with visibility dropping to 50m or so, the wind picking up and the rain increasing. Up around 2000m Sentinel patrol got the full experience of the weather and the challenges of navigating and walking in such conditions. Tarn err… “Petite Princes Patrol” (PPP) as they now wish to be known, dropped down into the valley where the snowy river begins,  following it down towards tomorrows destination of Guthega. They were fortunate to have a food drop and may have spent some time in the expedition bus powdering their noses, as princesses do. Brumby patrol by all accounts had a good day, and we look forward to photos in due course (owing to no cell reception in that area). Brumby patrols 4WD vehicle, “the catfish express” though had at least some minor excitement to report on and had fresh fish for dinner?

Its days like today that you really appreciate the planning, skills and physical training, thankyou to our patrol leaders and guides for all the months of work you have put in to the expedition!

Previous Snowy mountains updates

H1 Sentinel patrol

H2 Tarn Patrol aka Petite Princess Patrol)

H3 Brumby Patrol

Snowy Mountains expedition…on trail

05 Friday Apr 2024

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After a day of high winds delayed the expedition somewhat (see Snowys Expedition Underway ), our intrepid scouts and venturers setoff on a cold but clear day to summit Kunama Namadgi (Mt. Kosciusko ), from there Sentinel patrol and Tarn Patrol headed off into the wilderness and Brumby patrol returned back to base camp and to start their Gungarlin river adventure the following day.

Previous Snowy mountains updates

Echidna, our H3 brumby guide reports

Victor Snowys trip day 5: gorgeous day for hiking today. All patrols successfully ascended Mount Kosciusko with high spirits despite the freezing cold winds! 💨
Brumby Patrol (hike3) completed 19.5km hike and are back at Basecamp to rest before heading out on our 3-day journey tomorrow. Sentinel and Tarn patrols are at their first night camps.

Snowys Expedition Day 6, saw H1 (Sentinel) and H2 (Tarn) patrols rise from their first night in the mountains and continue their traverse across the high plains of Australia taking in some spectacular scenery, which brought out the amateur photographer in many of them (and guides too). Whilst H1 took plenty of side trips to bag some peaks. H2 elected to explore some of the perched lakes giving rise to their Patrols name (Tarn), or so we thought, as a request to rename themselves “Petite princess patrol” came through shortly after lunch. We are fortunate that at some of the high points H1/H2 have cellular access and a steady stream of photos came through to tantalise parents, unfortunately H3 doesn’t have cellular access though so we will have to wait for their photos . H3 (Brumby) after an epic 20km day hike to the summit of Kunama Namadgi (Mt. Kosciusko )the day before, set out today on their adventerous journey with Baloo dropping them near Island bend to make their way into the Gungarlin River area. Here they were met by Catfish, with an equipment drop (to maintain pack weight restrictions for our lighter youth) and establishment of a 4WD basecamp.

The day saw our guides (who shadow the patrols) meet up occasionally with their patrols and using their sat devices to communicate occasionally. If the pictures are anything to go by they are having an amazing time.

Snowys Expedition Underway

02 Tuesday Apr 2024

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After 7 months of planning and 300 pages of documentation (we love paperwork in scouting) the Snowy Expedition is finally underway (see Victor Scouts on the top of Australia ). After 2 long days on the bus, our expedition arrived at the Scouts Alpine Centre in Jindabyne and were treated (unexpectedly ) to a welcome to country and the amazing hospitality of the sharing of traditional foods with the Ngarigo people. And spent the night learning how to prepare native flora and fauna for eating and learning more about our country’s culture. 

UPDATE: See them on trail

Possum, roo or emu for dinner…yum!, Jim hard at work with the paperwork , Lunch on the road

The next day was devoted to packing for the 3 Adventurous journeys into the Snowy high country, with food prep, safety briefings and equipment checks, with a few running to the Jindabyne outdoor stores to replace a forgotten item or two.

You can never have enough scroggin says youth expedition Leader Samuel
AJ Hike 3 patrol food packing…how can we fit all this stuff in?

Waking up this morning, a weather alert had come through for high winds (120km/hr) on the peaks and while it was back to sleeping bags for most , the leaders and AJ hike leaders Samuel, Jaymi and Matthew had a extra unit council to decide what to do and working through the logistics of some of the travel plans and leader availability into the mix . Its seems a sleep-in was the order of the day and putting into place the backup plans already developed back in Brisbane. Wow all the  risk assessments, procedures and journey planning are actually useful !

Its cold…even in Jindy, Equipment packing, safety and first aid briefing

Big thanks to expedition leader Jungle Jim and his team of guides Malcolm (Kaa) and Echidna (Lynda) and support leaders Chil, Baloo, Badger, Catfish, Achilles. and T. for all your efforts…you guys rock!.

Tomorrow they tackle the mountain..if it lets them!

Thanks Anaconda

19 Tuesday Mar 2024

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If you haven’t heard about Victor Scouts awesome expedition to the Snowy Mountains over Easter, you might have been living under a rock. Thanks to the support of the Dick and Pip Smith leadership through Adventure Fund, Victor Venturer Samuel was able to secure funding for a bus (and then some) to take a trip of almost 30 people to the snowy mountains for a backcountry adventure into one of the great Alpine Wildernesses of the world. (read more at Victor Scouts on the top of Australia …almost )

It’s been almost 6 months of training, preparations and skill building for everyone on the expedition. With an environment as unforgiving as the Snowys can be, an important component has been the upgrading of everyones personal equipment, as South East Queensland jumpers don’t quite cut it. Enter Anaconda Tingalpa stores Sully and Alex who graciously offered us substantial discounts on cold weather clothing, sleeping bags and just about everything else in store…including already on sale items.

From one group of adventurers to another, a special  thankyou to Alex and Sully! you guys rock!

Victor Scouts on the top of Australia …almost

05 Monday Feb 2024

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Late last year Victor Scouts intrepid guide Jungle Jim, put a Dick and Pip Smith “Leadership through Adventure Fund” (LTAF) notice under the nose of Victor Venturer Samuel, and a plan was hatched.

“What if we hired a bus and sent three patrols down to the Snowy Mountains to do some really cool adventurous journeys?”

and thus an idea was born. Dial forward about 4 months and plans are well underway, supported by the LTAF through Scouts Australia. 

Snowy mountains updates

It’s only taken a specially formed Snowys unit council, 8 or so meetings, hundreds of emails and numerous planning documents …and what young group of scouts doesn’t love writing activity plans, F32, C4, C5… documents for their Christmas holidays? With just a few months to go now the physical and skill based training is underway in earnest.

Planned for an Easter departure, the Snowy mountains expedition now has its own expedition shirt. Patrols  Sentinel, Brumby and Tarn have been formed , each will have  guide shadows, satellite devices, alpine gear and a base camp to support them as they head out. 

For Queensland Scouts,  the opportunity to head into  one of Australia’s (and the worlds) great Alpine wilderness areas is an opportunity not to be missed. It has seen a big focus on developing skills sets appropriate to the Alpine environment, including the outside possibility of a blizzard…how exciting. 

To kick start their walk they’ll take the Thredbo chairlift ( for the scenic views …and a rapid gain of 800m in elevation) – before heading out to Mt. Kosioscko with all the day walkers and then head off into the wilderness from there for perched lakes, mountain huts in the land of the legendary Brumbies.  

Its a large and complex trip, with many layers of planning and permissions, we have been fortunate to draw in expertise across Queenslands guiding network for support and participants from several scout groups including Albany Creek, Sunnybank and a Gold Coast group are coming as well. The expedition is even hoping to share a campfire with the scouts in Dubbo on their way down and back as well.

Here is their original video to participants to tell you more…

and thanks to the wonders of Alltrails here is a fly through of all the intended walks as well.

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