Leave No Trace

Thursday, 20 October 2011 13:49

Plan ahead and prepare

• Know the regulations and special concerns for the areas you’ll visit.
• Prepare for extreme weather, hazards and emergencies.
• Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.
• Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of 4-6.
• Repackage food to minimise waste.

Travel and camp on durable surfaces

• Durable surfaces include established tracks and campsites, rock, gravel and dry grasses.
• Protect riparian grasses by camping at east 100 metres from lakes and streams.
• Good campsites are found, not made. Altering the environment for a campsite is not necessary.

In popular areas:

• Concentrate use on existing track and campsites.
• Walk single file in the middle of the track, even when wet or muddy.
• Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.

In pristine areas:

• Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and tracks.
• Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

Dispose of waste properly

• Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for rubbish or spilled foods. Pack out all rubbish, leftover food, and litter.
• Deposit solid human waste and toilet paper in holes dug 20-25cm deep at least 100 metres from water, camp, and tracks. Cover and disguise the hole when finished.
• Pack out toilet paper and personal hygiene products.
• To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 100 metres from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.

Leave what you find

• Respect indigenous art and other sites of cultural significance. Always get appropriate permission.
• Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
• Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
• Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.
• Do not build structures, furniture or dig trenches.

Minimise campfire impacts - use a fuel stove

• Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the bush. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
• Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings. If fire rings are not supplied, fires are not permitted.
• Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.
• Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely.

Respect Wildlife

• Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
• Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviours, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
• Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and rubbish securely.
• Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young or in winter.

Be considerate of your hosts and other visitors

• Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
• Be courteous. Give way to other users on the track.
• Take breaks and camp away from tracks and other visitors.
• Let nature’s sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.

For further information, please refer to the Leave No Trace website at www.lnt.org.au