johnsunter.com >> outdoor >> bushcraft >> advanced 1
Advanced course at Survival School. Wickiup, Otter board, Distillery and Ostrich Burgers.
Frank, Steve and I had a day of adventure at survival school.
During our previous visit, we had been taught shelter building and fire lighting.
This time we wanted to do some more unusual and advanced things.
Here, we learned advanced fishing, and made an otter board, which we sailed into the lake.
An otter board is one of those things where everyone knows how to make one, but you never actually meet anyone who has.
The other thing which we wanted to do, was to build a water distiller.
Most people know that if you boil water, it will purify it.
If you had really dirty water or urine, the trick would be to boil it, and catch the steam (effectively, instead of removing the dirt from the water, you remove the water from the dirt !).
We found an absolutely filthy water hole and put it in the distiller, and low and behold, completely clean water came out of the other end.
On most survival courses, you learn how to build a lean-to shelter or an A frame shelter.
I really wanted to build a wickiup.
They are native to North America and parts of Africa.
It involves taking flexible wands of wood, creating hoops like the ones used in dome tents, and then covering the frame.
Because of its design, the inside of the shelter is very roomy.
This isn't a very good picture of the finished shelter, but it was extremely comfortable when completed.
We had made bread on previous courses, but I wanted to perfect it this time.
We picked some Blackberry's and made some bread, which wasn't burned at all (unlike my previous attempts) and tasted delicious.
Frank cuts open the bread with my Ben Orford knife.
We spent an hour or two improving our foraging skills (each time I go foraging I learn more plants, and the knowledge seems to sink).
The day concluded with training in knife sharpening.
To add even more adventure, we had ostrich burgers cooked on an open fire to supplement our packed lunches.
What an amazing day, and what excellent value.
Once again thanks to Jonny and all his team.
...
johnsunter.com >> outdoor >> bushcraft >> advanced 1
