Western Australian Rogaining Association

Nav Academy #2: Compass Confidence – Learning to Trust the Needle

Your map might show you where you are, but it’s your compass that tells you what to believe when the world turns sideways—literally.

In the heat of a rogaine, it’s easy to doubt yourself. “Wait, didn’t we already cross this creek?” “Was that fence supposed to be on our left?” “Why is the sun setting behind us when we’re meant to be going west?”

If you’ve ever felt like a possum lost in daylight, then this Nav Academy is for you. Let’s sharpen up your compass game so you can stop second-guessing and start trusting the needle.

The Compass: Not Just for Scouts

Most WA rogainers use a baseplate compass—flat, transparent, and made to sit neatly along the edge of your map. It has a needle, a dial, and some mystery lines that, with a little practice, can tell you exactly which way is north and how to get wherever you're going.

In rogaining, your compass does three essential jobs:

  • Orienting your map (so the terrain matches reality)
  • Following a bearing across country
  • Rough nav during low-visibility moments (think: night time, thick bush, heat-stressed foggy brain)

1. Orienting Your Map: First Step, Every Time

You can’t navigate well if your map is upside-down. Or sideways. Or spinning around like a game show wheel.

As soon as you step into the course area—or even better, during map prep—use your compass to line things up:

  1. Lay your compass flat on the map.
  2. Line up one of the blue north lines on the map with the edge of your baseplate.
  3. Turn the map and compass together until the red needle points north on the dial.

Your map is now oriented to the terrain. The creek on your left on the map will now actually be on your left in real life.

2. Taking and Following a Bearing

This is the big one, and it’s magic when it works. Let’s say you’re standing at a control and need to head straight to a hilltop that’s not visible through the scrub. The map says it's 400 metres to the southeast. What now?

  1. Place your compass on the map with one edge between your current location and your target.
  2. Rotate the dial so the orienting lines inside the capsule align with the map’s blue north lines.
  3. Hold the compass flat in your hand and rotate your whole body until the red needle sits inside the red orienting arrow.
  4. Pick a visible feature in that direction (a tree, rock, termite mound) and walk toward it.

Is it perfect? No. Is it 95% better than “vibing southeast”? You bet.

3. When to Trust the Compass (Even if Your Gut Disagrees)

Here’s the thing: in rogaining, your sense of direction will lie to you. Especially after a few hours in the bush.

Trust your compass if:

  • You’re in flat or featureless terrain with no visual landmarks
  • You’re navigating at night or in thick bush
  • Your teammate is “pretty sure” they’re right but hasn’t looked at the compass in an hour
  • You’re dead reckoning between two controls across unknown terrain

In WA rogaines, this often comes up in the wandoo and marri woodland sections where everything starts to look the same. The compass is your anchor when the bush starts lying to you.

Local Tips from WA Rogainers

  • Keep your compass on a lanyard around your neck. You’ll use it more often.
  • Don’t use it near metal gear or phones—they mess with the needle.
  • Double-check your bearing when tired—180° errors happen more than you think.
  • If using night lights, check that your compass needle still swings freely when your torch is on.

Do You Always Need to Use a Bearing?

Nope. Many top rogainers only use a compass for general orientation and corrections. In WA’s open bush, terrain reading and catching features often do most of the work.

The compass is your safety net when the bush gets weird, the sun disappears, or your brain melts at hour 9.

Further Learning (WA & Aussie-Specific)

Next in Nav Academy: Route Choice – Playing the Strategic Game

We’ll talk about how smart teams rack up big points not by running faster, but by choosing smarter. Think path of least resistance, risk vs. reward, and how to read a course like a chessboard.