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[NSW] Free Hire of Personal Locator Emergency Beacon (PLB) from National Parks NSW & NSW Police

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[NSW] Free Hire of Personal Locator Emergency Beacon (PLB) from National Parks NSW & NSW Police
Go to Deal
HamBoi69 on 09/06/2023 - 07:32 nationalparks.nsw.gov.au (2398 clicks)
Last edited 09/06/2023 - 07:32

Full credit to @nocure for the title and description

OzReminder for new members heading out to grab one of these just in case. Previous post for reference here.

Where you can hire a PLB for free?:
You can hire a PLB for free at 13 locations in NSW. When you pick up your PLB, all you have to do is fill in a trip intention form. PLBs are available from:

Kosciuszko National Park

  • Snowy Region Visitor Centre in Jindabyne
  • Perisher Valley Office
  • Tumut Visitor Centre
  • Khancoban Visitor Centre

Blue Mountains

  • Blue Mountains Heritage Centre in Blackheath

Central West

  • Warrumbungle Visitor Centre

North Coast

  • Dorrigo Rainforest Centre

South Coast

  • Merimbula office, 47 Merimbula Drive, cnr Sapphire Coast Drive, Merimbula 2548. Phone: 02 6495 5000

New England

  • Tenterfield office, 10 Miles Street, Tenterfield 2372. Phone: 02 6736 4298
  • Glen Innes office, 68 Church Street, Glen Innes 2370. Phone: 02 6739 0700
  • Walcha office, 188W North Street, Walcha 2354. Phone: 02 6777 4700

If you're visiting a different national park area in NSW, it's a good idea to buy or hire your own PLB and bring it with you in case of emergency. You can get one at quality outdoor supply shops.

Stay safe! Enjoy!

Sports & Outdoors Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon

Related Stores

NSW Government
NSW Government

Comments

  • cashless on 09/06/2023 - 07:41
    +1

    iphone 14 also works as satellite emergency system in AU/NZ - apparently…..

    • cmyk on 09/06/2023 - 07:43
      +6

      Battery life …

      • Commodore64 on 09/06/2023 - 08:39
        +2

        Suggest taking a power pack so you don’t run out of tunes

        • cmyk on 09/06/2023 - 09:07

          Suggest hiking lighter and tune in to nature

        • OzComment on 09/06/2023 - 13:32

          bring a portable solar charging matt for all day charging

        • Munki on 09/06/2023 - 15:40
          +2

          Nature needs to hear my sick beats.

    • eug on 09/06/2023 - 09:51
      +2

      Make sure. you are aware of the differences. One requires you to point your phone in a certain direction and start a text chat (which is good for less serious emergencies), the other lets you just flip out the antenna and press a button.

      Also if you tripped and fell and broke your phone screen, you might be in trouble.

    • joelmuzz on 09/06/2023 - 16:42
      +1

      Great if simply lost.
      But if in a lot of pain from broken bones, snakebite or heart attack it wont be so easy to operate since you currently have to keep it aimed and big trees or being next to a big rock or cliff disrupt it, and then you have to type stuff.

      PLB is good at getting signal out and is pretty simple operation of pulling antenna and pushing button, you can do semi conscious in the dark. But drawback is it summons a helicopter, its all or nothing.

      iPhone is good for "hey the mountainbike ate its gears 20km down the trail, get Dave to come down in the 4WD"

      • eug on 09/06/2023 - 16:51

        iPhone is good for "hey the mountainbike ate its gears 20km down the trail, get Dave to come down in the 4WD"

        That actually can't be done at the moment; it will only send messages to emergency services. Your emergency contacts will be able to read the transcript of your texts with emergency services but they won't be able to respond.

        • Ridiculous Panda on 10/06/2023 - 00:00

          Yeah that was meant for emergency services to just send Dave.

  • serbpie on 09/06/2023 - 08:07
    -7

    Anyone else read it first read it as "free hire of personal LACTATOR" … or was it just ne

    • seamonkey on 09/06/2023 - 08:10
      +5

      Who's ne?

    • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 09:52

      You need this

  • jagimc on 09/06/2023 - 08:27
    +4

    For Blue Mountains, I usually get from the Katoomba Police Station… you can add to the list too !

  • xoape on 09/06/2023 - 08:44
    -4

    Pleb

    • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 09:34

      We are more than happy to send you the full invoice if you ever get lost in a national park and have to be rescued / air lifted out of there.

      • Chazzozz on 09/06/2023 - 09:51

        Nice idea, doubt it would ever be put into practice. The RAN wanted to invoice Tony Bullimore after rescuing him from the Southern Ocean but they soon realised he'd never be able to pay it back anyway. I think NPNSW and NSW Pol understand that handing out PLBs for free is far cheaper than mounting full-scale search & rescue ops for underprepared folks who get into strife.

        • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 09:58

          That was the point. So search and rescues dont go on for far too long than they have to.

          We get that people get into strife in the bush. Shit happens. The least they could do beforehand is get a locator beacon at the park rangers or local police station nearest to the national park in the event the get into an accident. Sprain an ankle. Break a bone. Or whatever.

          • Chazzozz on 09/06/2023 - 10:02

            @xoom: They can register their adventure plans, too, which has always been encouraged but nobody bothered to do. That alone can save a lot of time early in an emergency.

      • xoape on 09/06/2023 - 16:45

        Personal Locator Emergency Beacon.

  • frewer on 09/06/2023 - 09:33
    +1

    Will it works if I go to deep underground military base ?

  • WavingNotDrowning on 09/06/2023 - 09:36
    +1

    Damn. Spewing this is not available in Victoria :-(

    • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 09:36

      Dan don't like you. Maybe ask jv to put a word in to Dan. They are buddies.

  • Mario g on 09/06/2023 - 13:10

    this is going to sound racists but ill say it from experience… Ive know of many chinese groups that go into the blue mountains to hike completely unprepared, now some of these groups that have ventured out had become lost and also some people have passed away and yet after all these incidents they simply dont care and still go out hiking with the mentality that the mountain rescue/police that its there job to go and find them if they get lost and soforth. Meanwhile the tax payer pays for it all. My point is that this should be advertised everywhere in Mandarin and Cantonese.

    • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 13:12
      -2

      Its about face. Until someone loses face shit aint going to change. Grand pooh bear please dont make me disappear. Just spiting facts.

      • Mario g on 09/06/2023 - 13:13

        what do you mean loses face…?

        • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 13:14

          Not physical face. More embarassment or shame. Then they cry victim.

          Tbh if you get lost in the mountains or bushes because shit happens. Ok. Whatever. But at least help the rescuers by helping yourselves to a locator beacon.

          • Mario g on 09/06/2023 - 13:19
            -3

            @xoom: exactly, they dont and they dont give 2 shits! i feel like after a certain amount of times they do it..no one should be bothered to launch a search and rescue…let them figure it out the hard way..

            • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 13:24

              @Mario g: Because they don't like being told what to do. Even if it is entirely to their benefit.

              How do i figure this is to be so? Getting rescued earlier benefits the one being rescued because if they need medical help they get it asap.

              This is not whether they will rescue them or not. Even without a beacon they will still try to rescue you. But you will be waiting a long time to be rescued if you dont have one.

              Though I sort of agree. We should make an example of one so the rest do the right thing.

              • LowRange on 09/06/2023 - 13:41
                +1

                @xoom: One elderly guy we were called to find was only missing 4 days and we found him deceased. It was winter with -1c nights, he was stripped naked (hypothermia often makes you think you are hot). So people can't assume they will be found before its too late.

                Good initiative, hire a PLB.

                • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 13:51

                  @LowRange: There is no doubt people will look for you when you go missing out in the bush. Locator beacon or no locator beacon.

                  What could be doubtful is will they find you before you kick the bucket. And your story is only one of many that don't end well in the search and rescue.

                  It highlights the importance of being found sooner rather than later. The longer it takes to find anyone in the bush the higher the chance the outcome is not good.

    • eug on 09/06/2023 - 14:31
      +7

      Ive know of many chinese groups that go into the blue mountains to hike completely unprepared, now some of these groups that have ventured out had become lost and also some people have passed away

      Seeing that Chinese tourists make up the highest number of short-term visitor arrivals to Australia, you'd definitely be more likely to see a Chinese tourist group in trouble.

      The question is, are they just unaware of the risks - maybe because it's not advertised everywhere in Mandarin and Cantonese? They might not come from a very outdoors-oriented society and not know what the risks are.

      Of course there will always be dumb risk-taking tourists, which isn't unlike Aussies going to Bali and riding scooters unlicenced without travel insurance.

      and yet after all these incidents they simply dont care and still go out hiking

      Are these the exact same people who go out again? Or is it a different group who does not read Australian news and are unaware of the other group that got in trouble?

      with the mentality that the mountain rescue/police that its there job to go and find them if they get lost and soforth.

      If that was their mentality, wouldn't they specifically pick up a PLB? How would they contact mountain rescue/police if they were in the middle of nowhere with no phone reception?

      Meanwhile the tax payer pays for it all.

      You could say that's the cost of doing business. Foreign tourists brought in $39.6 billion into our economy pre-pandemic so it probably isn't unreasonable to support them in some way.

      Making sure PLBs are easily available to borrow (and making sure someone who doesn't speak English knows what a PLB is and how to use it), with information in multiple languages (the National Parks website is only in English), is definitely a step forward.

      I was recently trying to look for information on hikes in Japan. Turns out their government websites and signage outside the popular tourist areas are mostly all in Japanese. I guess I now know how some foreign tourists feel when they look for info on our parks.

    • wildmx on 09/06/2023 - 23:33
      +1

      If one has to preface his comment with "This is going sound racist but …", the comment will sound racist and hence is racist!

      I hope you've read Eug's reply and realised how ignorant your comment is

      • Mario g on 10/06/2023 - 19:50

        Sorry I disagree saying factual and being racists is 2 different things.

        The same groups are doing it over and over again that’s what my WeChat’s group messages say.

        So that being said it’s far from being ignorant.
        I think you actually look up what being racist and ignorant means before assuming I’m being ignorant and not knowing what I’m talking about.

        This being said I said it may sound racists - don’t twist my words.

        Second of all these ain’t tourists!

        Thirdly it’s the friends and family that contact others on WeChat that haven’t come back and then other members contact the police..

        Lastly if I was in another country and rescue was called for me to be recused they would send me the bill to pay for it.

        • wildmx on 11/06/2023 - 20:34

          Ignorant and racist don't have the same meaning. It's a well known fact that most racist behaviours are due to ignorance rather than having extreme hatred towards particular groups. Due to ignorance, people who act/sound racist always have justification to convince themselves they are not racist, even when they know they "going to sound racist"

          Do you have evidence that Chinese made up the largest proportion of lost hikers in Australia (adjusted to their population size)?

          Just because some Chinese hikers need to be rescued doesn't mean all Chinese should stop hiking. All hikers think they're well prepared until they're lost and found themselves unprepared.

          Assuming these Chinese in your chat groups were not at all well prepared, likely due to being ignorant of what being well prepared means rather than knowing they were unprepared and could likely die if they got lost and not being rescued in time; Did you let them know they could borrow PLB for free? If not, why not? If yes, did they refuse to borrow them and what was the refusal reason in the chat group ?

          It sounds like these unprepared lost hikers just didn't know they could borrow free PLBs and thought they were well prepared, just like the rest of the unprepared lost hikers without PLBs.

          • Mario g on 11/06/2023 - 21:13

            @wildmx: Lol so now I’m being ignorant because I’m trying to convince myself that I’m not racist ….hahahaha I can’t help to laugh at these comments .Lol why do people reply with statistics when it’s really not the focus of conversation - as far as me letting them know I did, they didn’t like it and hurled abuse but I did laugh at the abuse as it was chinglish ( English & Chinese ). So back to my original point which was that it should be written in mandarin and Cantonese a free PLB and you’re going around in circles with your reply which I couldn’t be bothered to answer.

            Ever heard that saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink..

            and I’m not here to give you evidence and statistics I was providing my personal experience.

            • eug on 11/06/2023 - 22:06

              @Mario g:

              and I’m not here to give you evidence and statistics I was providing my personal experience.

              How confident are you that reading messages in a chat group provides an accurate picture of an entire race?

              Would it be fair for me to say Aussies are irresponsible because they go overseas without travel insurance or do stupid things and end up in jail because they go with the mentality that Australian embassies will always be there to help them at the expense of taxpayers?

              Or are only some Aussies like that and the vast majority of Aussie travellers do everything right - you just don't hear about the ones that don't get into strife.

              Confirmation bias is a real thing.

              • Mario g on 12/06/2023 - 07:48

                @eug: You fail to understand what I wrote - I didn’t mention entire race…what are you babbling on about…. And why are you still talking about Aussie tourists in another country … your clutching at straws ..

                • eug on 12/06/2023 - 09:00
                  -1

                  @Mario g:

                  You fail to understand what I wrote - I didn’t mention entire race…

                  Have a read of what you wrote again:

                  Ive know of many chinese groups that go into the blue mountains to hike completely unprepared, now some of these groups that have ventured out had become lost and also some people have passed away and yet after all these incidents they simply dont care and still go out hiking with the mentality that the mountain rescue/police that its there job to go and find them if they get lost and soforth. Meanwhile the tax payer pays for it all. My point is that this should be advertised everywhere in Mandarin and Cantonese.

                  Why specifically Mandarin and Cantonese? Are Mandarin and Cantonese speakers the problem? Or is it the specific chat group you're in?

                  You say the people in your chat group ignored you and "hurled abuse" at you when you tried to help. Will they pay attention to signs instead?

                  It sounds like the problem is with the mentality of the people in your group rather than people who speak a certain language. Your point that it should be advertised everywhere in Mandarin and Cantonese doesn't address the problem you described, which is the people in your group.

                  And why are you still talking about Aussie tourists in another country

                  There are bad apples everywhere, but they don't necessarily represent the majority.

                  • Mario g on 12/06/2023 - 12:30

                    @eug: I love how you take an extract out of what I said rather than the whole thing… if you actually read the whole thing you would understand.You’re asking irrelevant questions . And you’re still not understanding anything I’ve written. You can give as many excuses as you want too and blame everything and everyone for simple common sense.

                    Not my concern why why why why …

                    If you can’t understand what I’ve written then I don’t think common sense is your forte.

                    • eug on 12/06/2023 - 13:13

                      @Mario g:

                      I love how you take an extract out of what I said rather than the whole thing

                      I quoted your entire first post apart from the first line where you said it sounds racist.

                      Summary:

                      • You claim Chinese people in your WeChat group repeatedly go on hikes unprepared and require rescue. You also claim that the same people have done that multiple times because they think they'll just get rescued, even after some people in the group have died when they got lost on a hike.

                      • You claim that you've tried telling them about PLBs, but they hurled abuse at you in return.

                      • Your point is that information like PLB hire should be advertised in Mandarin and Cantonese.

                      I agree that information should be available in different languages as it would help responsible hikers, but you are painting with broad strokes there. Your point that PLB hire should be advertised in one specific language shows that you seem to think the people who use that specific language have the mentality that they don't have to be prepared because mountain rescue/police will just come rescue them.

                      The problem is the people in your WeChat group, not people who use Mandarin and Cantonese - who are the Chinese. If they hurled abuse at you for telling them about PLBs, signage or a website isn't going to change their minds.

                      • Mario g on 12/06/2023 - 14:01

                        @eug: Your point that PLB hire should be advertised in one specific language shows that you seem to think the people who use that specific language have the mentality that they don't have to be prepared because mountain rescue/police will just come rescue them.

                        See this above wrong!! I never said the people who use that specific language because that would mean the whole race - you fail to understand that this is my experience that’s it and yes I can share this as it’s my experience… if you don’t agree that’s fine but you still fail to realize that this is my experiences that I’m sharing.
                        Nothing more and nothing less , what you decide to do with my experience and how you decide to twist it to the majority of Chinese and statistics and tourism is all you.. if anything your responses make you seem very ignorant.

                        Please learn to read.

                        I can sit here and give you several examples which will prove otherwise with your argument but I couldn’t be bothered.

                        • eug on 12/06/2023 - 14:53

                          @Mario g:

                          See this above wrong!! I never said the people who use that specific language because that would mean the whole race

                          You specifically said Mandarin and Cantonese. Who uses Mandarin and Cantonese?

                          If I said "That information should be advertised everywhere in Lebanese", what group do you think I would be talking about?

                          You also said "they don't give 2 shits". Who is "they"? Remember you just said the information should be everywhere in Mandarin and Cantonese.

                          you fail to understand that this is my experience that’s it and yes I can share this as it’s my experience…

                          Sure. But you need to re-read everything you wrote above, including your replies where you refer to "them", and try and understand how it certainly sounds like you think Mandarin and Cantonese speakers specifically are a problem. It looks more like the people in your chat group are the problem.

                          I can sit here and give you several examples which will prove otherwise with your argument but I couldn’t be bothered.

                          I'd be interested to see any real stats you have. What is the percentage of Mandarin and Cantonese speakers who go hiking who need rescue? WeChat messages don't count as real stats btw.

                          • Mario g on 12/06/2023 - 15:56

                            @eug: Hahhaha

                            You specifically said Mandarin and Cantonese. Who uses Mandarin and Cantonese?
                            Yes I did and what else did I say come on go back and read it all now because your sounding dumber then what I thought …feels like I’m talking to a brick wall. Are you one of those guys that doesn’t read all the facts or just likes to break down things one by one trying to prove a point which makes no sense…

                            “Them” meaning chat group I was referring too don’t get smart.

                            Chat group is over 400 hundred Chinese - so you’re saying that’s a lot of retarded Chinese right there.? Lol

                            I understand excatly what I’m saying if you don’t like it I don’t really care.. if you fall under that category or repetitive behavior and are Chinese then you are a complete moron! That’s what I was saying! Point blank! I was also saying from my experience many Chinese that use we chat the ones I have dealt with are complete Idiots and it should be written in canto and Mandarin so they can be fined or actually left out there if they are the same suspects that continue to do so If you don’t like what I said I don’t really care . It’s not being racist as I wasn’t employing the whole race. I was referring to the many on WeChat I dealt with as per first post that do the same thing over and over again ..learn to read.

                            You have taken this post wayyyyy out of context and tried to pull it apart so much that if I were to rewrite it for you it would be 8 pages long.

                            Keep going so I can laugh I’m waiting for another retarded reply with show me stats or you said the whole race or take one word out of context … lol - your still clutching at straws

                            • eug on 12/06/2023 - 16:05

                              @Mario g: It's unfortunate that you have to resort to childish insults and name-calling like that. It's also amusing how you are unable to see the message that your original comment put out.

                              There's clearly no point in continuing anything as it is apparent there is no way you will accept that there are intricacies to communication and that perhaps you didn't choose the best words to describe your opinion above.

                              • Mario g on 12/06/2023 - 16:15

                                @eug: Ditto - excatly my thoughts from the beginning of your 1st reply.

                                But I’m calling a spade a spade you’re trying to call it a shovel which it isn’t. Good luck trying to be the victim with my child like insults … lol

                                I think common sense fails you. ( <—-child like insult right there)

                                • eug on 12/06/2023 - 16:26

                                  @Mario g:

                                  But I’m calling a spade a spade you’re trying to call it a shovel which it isn’t.

                                  Sure. But when you get called out, you have to take it.

                                  • Mario g on 12/06/2023 - 16:48

                                    @eug: Actually your not - you throw in random questions that have no bearing on what I said and they try to take everything I’ve said out of context - tell me how that’s a spade…lol then I put with your inadvertent insults to explain but you just went overboard with context…

                                    I don’t think you like being challenged At all

                                    Actually I don’t care why am I replying ….
                                    Actually your comment makes no sense …

                                    • eug on 12/06/2023 - 17:02

                                      @Mario g:

                                      Actually your comment makes no sense …

                                      I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you don't understand my comments. :)
                                      (we're on clearly different wavelengths)

                                      Have a good week!

                                      • Mario g on 12/06/2023 - 17:10

                                        @eug: I understand I just don’t care anymore..

  • voodoohelo on 09/06/2023 - 13:34

    Great initiative by NSW Police & National Parks.

    • xoom on 09/06/2023 - 13:36

      If only we can make every hiker/camper to take up the offer.

      • voodoohelo on 09/06/2023 - 13:47

        If only! All we can do is educate.

        This really needs to be promoted more in the media & disseminated throughout the different multicultural communities surrounding Sydney.

  • SeeTheLight on 09/06/2023 - 15:43

    Any suggestions for a PLB or other emergency device to buy in other states for occasional bushwalking?

    • eug on 09/06/2023 - 16:03
      +1

      This is nice and compact. It's $324 with eBay Plus at the moment.

      • SeeTheLight on 09/06/2023 - 17:36

        Thanks, I will take a look, good it doesn't need subscription. I have looked at Inreach Mini etc, not sure if I can justify cost especially with subscription.

        • Ronniieeee on 09/06/2023 - 22:29
          +1

          I was tossing up between getting a PLB or one of those satellite devices (looking between Spot, Zoleo and Garmin).

          I ended up forking out for the Garmin inReach Messenger.
          I bought it just a few months ago just before it got colder, so I've only "field tested" it once or twice.

          It has maybe two useful features that make it more useful than a PLB:
          - It tracks where you're going and can help you "back track" if you get lost
          - You can send messages to friends and family… though because the inReach doesn't provide you with a phone number (some of the other options do), it's not as useful for people trying to reach me. (Which might be a good thing if you're going for a hike and want to disconnect for a bit)

          It is useful, but it does cost $25 per month (you can suspend it, but you still have to pay an annual fee) for features that you could probably replicate with other devices that don't have an ongoing fee (e.g. a handheld GPS, or even just a GPS app on your phone) and I don't have many friends that I want to contact during a hike lol

          • BigBirdy on 10/06/2023 - 09:36

            @Ronniieeee:

            It tracks where you're going and can help you "back track" if you get lost

            Your phone can do this (and no, you don't need cellular signal)

          • eug on 10/06/2023 - 11:29

            @Ronniieeee:

            • You can send messages to friends and family… though because the inReach doesn't provide you with a phone number (some of the other options do), it's not as useful for people trying to reach me.

            If you send them a message first, they'll be able to send you a message by replying via the link in the message they receive. The costs will quickly add up once you've gone over your quota though!

  • Willy Beamish on 09/06/2023 - 17:48

    I tried to steal one of these but they tracked me down somehow….

  • froddoog on 10/08/2023 - 17:49
    +1

    Came here to learn about Plb, but I read the whole comments about confirmation bias.

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