Walk safely
Preparing for
your walk
Parts of the Great Walk are remote and isolated. Accidents have happened, even to experienced bushwalkers. Be well prepared and responsible for your own safety, even on short walks.
Read more about planning your walk.
General safety guidelines
- Wear sturdy, enclosed boots or shoes. Surfaces can be slippery.
- Take warm clothes and raincoats - weather changes.
- Avoid walking in extreme heat or high fire danger.
- Avoid creek crossings during floods or after heavy rain.
- Be careful of falling branches, especially during high winds. In extreme winds, camping is not advisable, and walkers' camps may be closed temporarily.
- Carry drinking water, food and a first-aid kit. Treat all water taken from creeks.
- Plan to complete your walk well before dark.
- Wear a hat, sunscreen and insect repellent.
- Stay on marked tracks. Taking shortcuts can cause erosion and you may get lost.
- Use a map or track guide, and take a compass for longer walks. Know your location at all times.
- Tell a responsible person where you are going and when you expect to return.
- Ensure an experienced adult accompanies children.
- Obey all safety and warning signs. Accidents have happened, even to experienced bushwalkers.
In an emergency
Mobile phone coverage
on the Great Walk
is unreliable
- Know your location at all times.
- Follow your movements on a map and know the location of the nearest road crossing and township in case you need to get out quickly.
- Do not rely on mobile phones. Mobile phone coverage on the Great Walk is unreliable.
- In case of an emergency try calling 000. If you have difficulty getting reception from your mobile phone, try dialling 112.
Fire safety
- Check this website and www.qld.gov.au/camping for updates on fire danger and planned burning before you go.
- Be prepared for fire dangers. Bushfires pose a threat to walkers and can occur without warning.
- In case of a bushfire, follow the track to the nearest road, firebreak or waterway for refuge. Large logs, a ditch or burnt ground can also provide protection. Avoid areas of heavy fuel (such as deep leaf litter). Stay low to the ground where the air is coolest and contains the least smoke.
- Observe all signs. In extreme conditions, the walking track may be closed for your personal safety.
- If you see a fire, please alert a ranger or the police as soon as possible.
Wildlife safety
Goanna, Lace Monitor
- Do not leave food for native birds and animals.
- Goannas, possums, kookaburras and butcherbirds have caused serious injuries because people have fed them or encouraged their attention.
- Native birds and animals need their natural diet to survive. Eating processed foods can cause them to become sick or die.
Last updated: 01 August 2006