And why does everyone keep yelling cooee?
Ever wondered what spur means in a trail name? Or what on earth a bluff, knoll or saddle is?
Ever heard someone yell "COOOO-EEE!" across the Australian bush and wondered where that sound came from?
Maybe you're visiting Australia and someone tells you to watch out for mozzies. Or you're buying your first tent and wondering what the difference is between 3-season, 4-season and freestanding.
And seriously, what's everyone talking about when they say vert?
The outdoors has its own language. Unfortunately, nobody hands you a dictionary before your first hike. That's where Rex comes in.
Welcome to the Hikezilla Outdoor Dictionary — your beginner-friendly guide to the words, phrases and occasional nonsense you'll encounter on the trails, in the mountains and around the campfire.
No gatekeeping. No unnecessarily complicated explanations. Just the outdoors, explained. Because getting outdoors should be an adventure. Understanding the lingo shouldn't be.
Every strange word you've heard on the trail, explained.
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Learn your spurs from your gullies without getting lost in either. One landscape, three ways to read it.
Want to learn how to navigate, read contour lines, understand topographic maps, or finally figure out what everyone means when they start talking about spurs, saddles and gullies?
Or perhaps you've been hiking for years but have always relied on a marked trail or your GPS?
Well, there's a whole community of people out there who absolutely love this stuff.
Across Australia, orienteering and rogaining clubs organise events that bring maps, navigation and adventure together. And the best part? Many welcome complete beginners.
You don't need to be an expert navigator, an elite runner, or someone who owns six different compasses. You just need a little curiosity and a willingness to give it a go.
We've put together some wonderful organisations that can help you take what you've learned here and put it into practice.
Go forth and explore!
Learn to read the map. Find your way. Discover somewhere new.
Orienteering involves navigating between checkpoints using a specially prepared map.
Events range from beginner-friendly courses in parks and urban areas to challenging navigation through forests and bushland.
You can often walk, jog or run at your own pace.
Great for:
Plan your route. Find checkpoints. Explore together.
Rogaining is a navigation sport where participants choose their own route to visit checkpoints within a time limit.
Events can range from short urban adventures to longer bushland challenges.
Many events are team-based, making them a great way to practise navigation with friends.
Great for:
Not every event is beginner-friendly. Check the organiser's course descriptions, terrain information and entry requirements before attending.
From beginner orienteering courses to weekend rogaines, there's probably a community closer than you think.
Loading organisations…
A starting directory of national and state/territory organisations, not every local club. Hikezilla doesn't run these events — check each organisation for what's on.
Rex says…
"You don't have to run. You don't have to be fast. And you definitely don't need to know everything before showing up."
Start with an easy course, bring a friend, and ask plenty of questions.
Who knows? Today you're learning what a spur is. Tomorrow you're arguing with your hiking mates about which spur you're supposed to be on.
Go forth and explore! 🦖
Australia has plenty of wonderful outdoor communities, and we'd love to help people discover more of them.
Where mozzies aren't your friends, a dunny isn't a person, and someone yelling cooee probably isn't singing.
Lost in translation? Rex has you covered.
Ever wondered why so many mountains in France begin with Mont, peaks in Malaysia start with Gunung, or mountains in China end with Shan?
Turns out, mountains speak different languages too.
Whether you're hiking in the Alps, exploring Taiwan's high peaks or trekking through the Himalayas, knowing a few local words can help you understand the landscape before you've even set foot on the trail.
Aiguille du Midi
France
Often explained by the sun standing over it at noon as seen from Chamonix.
Gunung Rinjani
Indonesia
Gunung Kinabalu
Malaysia
Jabal Shams (جبل شمس)
Oman
Mont Blanc
France / Italy
Yushan (玉山)
Taiwan
Zugspitze
Germany / Austria
Uncertain origin: The origin of 'Zug' is not certain, so it is not translated here.
The next time you're standing at the foot of a mountain somewhere in the world, take a moment to look at its name. You might already know a little more about it than you think.
After all, whether it's a Mont, Gunung, Shan, Berg or Maunga... we're all just finding different ways to say we love mountains.
The outdoors has a pretty big vocabulary, and we're still learning too.
Come across a strange trail term, a local expression or a mountain word from your travels? Help us grow the dictionary.
Sign in to suggest a term. Every suggestion is checked by our team before it appears.
Sign in to suggest a termDefinitions are general information, not training. For canyoning, rope work, avalanche terrain or river crossings, learn from qualified instructors.
