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Ep73 – Operation Flinders with Brendan Raets

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From the creature comfort of a campfire, to the rock and rubble of the off-track,

our outdoor experts Ben and Lauren sit down with Brendan Raets to chat Operation Flinders.

Trekking up to 100 kilometres of barren, sunbaked tracks – roughly 70 kilometres north of Adelaide – the young adventurers of Operation Flinders also take part in bushcraft, Indigenous culture, and abseiling.

Brendan details how he and his team travel the red, rugged roads of Outback Australia with them, transforming their lives far from the metropolitan maze.

Shortcuts:

00:00 – Intro

00:39 – Introducing Brendan from Operation Flinders

02:54 – Operation Flinders

04:13 – Participants

04:44 – Community Referral

05:50 – Program Experiences

07:17 – Navigation

08:47 – Bush Bashing

10:08 – Team Leaders: How They Manage

13:01 – Program Frequencies

14:39 – Distance Covered

15:13 – ‘Adventure Therapy’

18:25 – Gear

23:00 – Footwear

24:43 – Gear Maintenance

27:10 – Planning, Groundwork, and Volunteers

31:44 – Replacing and Repairing Gear

32:53 – Safety and Emergency Considerations

34:57 – Interstate Teams

37:15 – Considering ‘Adventure Therapy’

38:29 – Get in Touch!

Mentioned in this Episode:

Hiking Daypacks

Compasses

Lightweight Sleep Gear

Hiking Footwear

Hygiene & Safety

Thanks for listening, tune in again for next week’s episode!

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode of the Snowys Camping Show Podcast. Don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTubeSpotifyiTunesAmazon MusiciHeartRadioPocket CastsPodcast Addict, or Stitcher so you never miss an upload.

If you have any questions for Ben and Lauren, make sure you head over to our Facebook group and let us know as we’d love to hear from you.

Catch you out there!

Five trekkers are walking in a row, each carrying large backpacks and wearing shorts, hiking boots, and a hat. The terrain is dry, brown, and rubbly, and the sky is cloudy.

Young adventurers involved in Operation Flinders often trek up to 100 kilometres over eight days. Credit: Operation Flinders

A maroon rucksack sits on the rocky terrain, with a sprig of flowers sticking out of the top, a pair of Crocs clipped to the side with a green carabiner, and a silver drink bottle sitting beside the bag itself. The sky is blue but streaked with clouds.

From the creature comfort of a campfire, to the rock and rubble of the off-track. Credit: Operation Flinders