Feel like your bushwalks have gotten too focused on end goals and not enough on enjoying the journey? Then you need to try land snorkelling!
With land snorkelling you don’t need fins, a mask, or even water — just a willingness to rethink what a bushwalk looks like.
The term land snorkelling might sound unusual, but its meaning is simple. Coined by US artists and American Prairie volunteers Clyde Aspevig and Carol Guzman, it refers to walking slowly through nature with no set destination — observing plants, animals and landscapes much like a snorkeler drifting through a reef.
It's about being fully present, noticing the small wonders of the natural world. Most bushwalkers have land snorkeled without realising it, but as we grow more goal-driven — focused on distance and summits — we tend to lose touch with this slower, more mindful way of experiencing nature.
Land snorkelling (there’s even a website dedicated to it!) reminds us to slow down, engage our senses, and reconnect with the environment in a deeper, more meaningful way.
“Kids are really good at land snorkelling,” Anna Schale, American Prairie’s public access manager told backpacker.com. “Any kid that sees a dandelion that has the white puff, they go straight to it, pick it up, and blow on it. I think somehow as adults, we really lose touch with looking at where our feet are moving.”
Land snorkelling is the practice of slowly exploring nature with no destination in mind, allowing us to notice details we usually overlook.
It's about observing, questioning, and connecting with every part of the natural world—each plant, rock, or animal offering a chance to explore our relationship with it. This mindful wandering sparks curiosity, builds abstract thinking, and strengthens our imagination.
It enhances creativity and mental clarity while reconnecting us with the landscape in a deep, sensory way. By seeing, touching, and smelling nature, we engage fully with our surroundings. Land snorkelling is free, fun, and a powerful way to enrich our lives, so get out there and smell the roses!