Frequently Asked Questions

The club welcomes new members. Membership is open to anyone who is 18 years old or more. To become a member you must:

1. Visit the clubroom for a brief introduction by a member on duty. There is a club meeting every Wednesday, 7:00-9:00pm at 1/362 William St, Melbourne (Location Map) At the same time you will be able to discuss going on walks and camping trips that you may be interested in;
2. Complete up to three walks from the club's activities program;
3. On the last walk take along a membership application form and ask two members to nominate you; and
4. Forward the application form plus the membership fee to the Membership Secretary. You can either bring it to a club meeting, or post it to Melbourne Bushwalkers, GPO Box 1751, Melbourne 3001.

Please read the club's introductory document before coming to your first meeting. The link above will enable you to download the introductory document.

If you would just like to talk to someone about the Club you are invited to call into the clubrooms on any Wednesday night or send us an e-mail.

Membership Fees are set annually in February at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is also the start of the club's financial year. Fees are due on the 1st March after the AGM. Current Membership Fees are:

In addition, for Members and visitors (Temporary Members) travelling on the Sunday Bus to the Sunday Walk location, there is a charge of $25 ( $20 concession ) per trip. A $5 late-payment fee may also be applied if applicable.

The number of qualifying activities that must be completed prior to submission of a membership application form is stated in the separate "How do I join Melbourne Bushwalkers?" FAQ item above.

1. Visit the clubroom for a brief introduction by a member on duty. There is a club meeting every Wednesday, 7:00-9:00pm at 1/362 William St, Melbourne (Location Map);
2. talk to the leader of the walk that you are interested in before booking on it.

Please read the club's introductory document before coming to your first meeting. The link above will enable you to download the introductory document.

Members can book Sunday bus walks four weeks in advance. However, non-members must talk to a walk leader before booking and leaders will only be available two weeks in advance.

Being well prepared for a walk contributes to the pleasure and safety of everyone. Unless you are already an experienced bushwalker you should not attempt medium-hard and hard walks at first. Equipment for day walks is fairly basic and you will probably have satisfactory items already. There is no need to outlay much money until you see whether you like bushwalking, get ideas of what gear to buy by talking to others and seeing what is available. See Tips for New Bushwalkers for more details on day walks and Introduction to Overnight Bushwalking for longer trips.

Phone the walk leader as soon as possible, to enable the leader to contact the next person on the waiting list, and to let the leader know not to expect you on the day. In the case of a Sunday bus trip, notifying the leader as soon as possible will increase the likelihood that the Walks Secretary can issue you with a credit note for a future bus trip, if your cancellation is due to illness or certain other unavoidable circumstances. The leaders' phone numbers are on the printed walks program, which visitors may obtain at the clubrooms, and which all members receive by mail, or softcopy by email. If it is already later than the Wednesday meeting night, and you need to cancel from a walk on the coming weekend and do not have a copy of the program, the next best option is to send an email to our contact address given below, and we will endeavour to supply you with a contact number for the relevant leader.

All day activities are automatically cancelled if there is a Total Fire Ban in the activity area or if the temperature in the area is forecast to be 38 degrees or more. Activities may also need to be cancelled if there are active fires in the area even if there is no Total Fire Ban on the day. The leader has the discretion to also cancel an activity if they consider that although the forecast temperature is less than 38 degrees it is still too hot for the activity. The Fire Season extends from November to April each year.

If there is a need to cancel the leader will attempt to contact all registererd visitors and a notice of cancellation will generally be posted as soon as possible on the club website, however, if you have any doubts please contact the leader.

Please refer to the Fire Season, Total Fire Ban and Extreme Heat Policies which are available in a downloadable document.

If you are interested in becoming a member and wishing to attend a Sunday walk, you must come into the clubroom on a Wednesday clubnight in order to meet the leader before you can book and pay for the walk. This must be done for the first three walks, but can be done with two visits to the clubroom since walks may be booked two Sundays ahead and a leader will be present. Once you have completed three walks you must submit a membership application prior to undertaking any further trips. Once you are a member, if Wednesday nights are still difficult, there are other options for booking Sunday bus trips (refer FAQ item below).

If you are interested in becoming a member and wishing to attend any other scheduled club activity (i.e. other than Sunday walks), you must come in to the clubroom initially to meet with the leader of your first trip and to make your booking. At the same time, a copy of the printed walks program may be collected, with contact numbers of the walk leaders. If it is not possible to attend the clubroom on either of the two Wednesdays when bookings are being taken for the next trip you are interested in, you may phone the leader to give your own contact details and to make your booking, subject to acceptance by the leader and subject to places being available. Again, this is only applicable to activities other than the Sunday walks, as telephone bookings cannot be accepted for Sunday trips.

If Wednesday nights are out for you completely, you may want to view the list of clubs which are members of Bushwalking Victoria to see if there is another club near you but with a different meeting night.

The club room is open as usual every Wednesday night throughout the year, including public holidays (eg ANZAC Day) with the exception of a break over the Christmas - New Year period.

The Wednesday night(s) affected over the Christmas - New Year period depend on the dates of the public holidays. A notice will be prominently displayed in the club newsletter and on the Home Page of the club web site advising members and non-members of the Wednesday night(s) affected.

Full club members have the options outlined below (cost $25 (concession $20)):

1. Pay in the clubrooms personally by the Wednesday night prior to the day of a walk – walks can be booked 4 weeks ahead.
2. Send a cheque or money order made out to “Melbourne Bushwalkers Inc” to the Sunday Walk Secretary, PO Box 1751, Melbourne 3001, so that it reaches the clubrooms by the Wednesday night prior to the walk and email busbookings@mbw.org.au that a cheque has been posted, the amount, and date/name of walk.
3. Purchase pre-payment vouchers from the committee member taking the bus bookings in the clubrooms. Bookings can then be made by sending an email to busbookings@mbw.org.au advising the voucher number and date/name of the walk. Vouchers may also be posted as per cheques (see option 2).
4. Use a credit from a cancelled walk and send an email to busbookings@mbw.org.au advising the date/name of the walk.
5. Transfer funds directly to the club’s bank account (ANZ 013-006 005846013). Reference the transaction with the date of the walk and your name (eg 17/05 John Smith) and email busbookings@mbw.org.au advising the amount, date/name of the walk and reference details with a copy of the transfer confirmation.
6. Go to an ANZ branch and deposit directly into the club’s bank account (Melbourne Bushwalkers Inc - ANZ 013006 005846013). Give the date and first 6 digits of your phone number as deposit reference eg 1705952547 (ANZ branches only accept 10 digits as a reference). Please request an electronic deposit slip to check that the transfer reference has been included (this often does not happen and it is difficult to match deposits to walks and walkers). Email busbookings@mbw.org.au to advise the amount, date/name of walk and deposit reference.
7. Turn up and pay at the bus on the day of a walk but you are not assured of a seat or that the bus will run. (Note that a late booking fee of $5 applies)

Telephone bookings are not accepted for the Sunday bus.

NOTE: For options 3 to 6 it is essential that you advise busbookings@mbw.org.au. Bookings using these methods will be accepted till Thursday 4pm prior to the walk.

1. Members can book with the committee member taking Sunday bookings in the clubrooms up to four weeks prior to the walk.
2. 2. Emailed bookings to busbookings@mbw.org.au will be accepted till Thursday 4pm prior to the walk. If booking by email please indicate your preference to be a passenger or a driver.
3. 3. After Thursday 4pm prior to the walk bookings may be made by contacting the leader directly.

Activity leaders are the backbone of the club and volunteer a significant amount of their time to ensuring the club's activity program runs smoothly. The club respects their privacy when not directly undertaking club activities and for this reason does not make their contact details available on the public web site.

Members can find activity leader contact details in the quarterly Activities Program forwarded to all members, in the copy of the monthly newsletter, "The News", distributed to members containg a Preview of the activity, or in the Membership List distributed once per year. (Copies of "The News" downloadable from the web site have had contact details removed.) In the event of a change of leader notified on the web site members can refer to the Membership List or prior activities by the same leader to access contact details.

Non-members are expected to meet with the leader prior to taking part in any activity and the leader will, when appropriate, make contact details available.

A bank transfer from your account into the Melbourne Bushwalkers Club Account is straight forward, however, you must ensure that you include the necessary details outlined below so that your payment is properly accredited.

The account details for Melbourne Bushwalkers Inc. are:

Melbourne Bushwalkers
BSB 013-006
Account No 0058-46013

When making a transfer to the club bank account it is essential that you include the purpose of the transfer (eg Date of Trip or “SUBS”) and Your Name in the description/details section of the transfer. This information will appear on the club’s bank statement and will enable the Treasurer to identify who the funds are from and the reason for the payment.

In the case where payment has been made for a club trip, you will need to advise the leader of the payment. For a Sunday Bus Walk, payment will need to be advised as per option 5 “How can Members book for the Sunday bus?” in FAQs.

If a membership subscription has been paid by the transfer please advise payment to membership@mbw.org.au. A “Membership Renewal Form” will need to be sent to the Membership Secretary, PO Box 1751, Melbourne 3001 or placed in the Membership Secretary’s pigeon hole in the clubrooms. Please note on the form that payment was made via transfer, the amount and the date of the transfer.

Click here for the map page.

Club Secretary:

PO Box 1751
Melbourne 3001

Email: Click Here