Surviving in the bush

by Dennis Foster
Hunter 10

Knives
A few years ago, a man was out cruising in his small boat in the wild coastal country, west of Darwin. He became stranded and survived for a considerable period living off the land. As I recall, he had his dog with him and was armed with a large-calibre rifle and knife. He stated recently that if he had to make a choice, he would have opted for the knife rather than the rifle.

A knife is one of the most basic and useful tools devised, the multitude of tasks a knife can be used for are beyond listing. Very few, if any of us, will be placed in a situation where we need to use a knife to survive in the wilderness.

However, you, like me, may find yourself lost in the bush and need to improvise.

I have always promoted the notion of the four- to five-inch, razor sharp, drop-pointed skinner as the ideal tool for the bunter. However, if a knife needs to be used for digging, chopping and the like, the light skinner is almost useless.

The answer is to carry two knives when you are going into potentially risky country. Keep your light, folding knife in your pack.

What is the ideal survival knife? There is a multitude of long-bladed knives.

Characteristics such as sturdy construction and noticeable weight in the blade are essential. I use a Bowie-style knife and even better still, the Russell Belt knife survival model (RBK4). These Canadian-built knives are designed for use by bushmen.

Basic requirements
For survival, the two most basic requirements are water and shelter. You can survive without food for some time (although your energy levels will plum-met), but without water, under certain conditions, you could die within hours.

This is the same for shelter. When night temperatures drop to about zero, you have no way of generating warmth.

Hypothermia sets in and death follows quickly, even more so if you are wet.

When I was in New Zealand a few years ago, I went on a successful sika hunt. My guide was a farmer and suggested I stay with him for a few days and look over the local fallow herd. He dropped me off by tractor one cold morning and I headed for the hills loading down to the river. I hunted all morning and saw literally hundreds of deer, but sadly all the bucks had thin and/or split palms.

The wind was freezing and at about 11am, frozen rain started to fall. In no time at all my multi-layer clothing was soaked through and l showed the first signs of hypothermia. I went under an overhanging tree for shelter. In my pack I had a Swiss Army knife and a cut-down book of matches. I used some of the graph paper from the kit and by starting with small dry leaves and twigs I soon had a decent fire going. I dried and warmed myself and when the rain stopped, I eventually found my way back to the homestead track.

That was a situation where at least minor preparation paid off. For hunters who walk into rough country a fair distance from camp or other human contact, and even hunters like me who hunt over properties known well, we still need to take precautions.

Taking precautions
Let us say theoretically, you fall awkwardly and break a leg. In my own goat patch I am often more than ten kilometres from my vehicle and 40 kilometres from the home-stead. Even with a companion you can still be in a lot of trouble, particularly in rough terrain. It may seem an unlikely scenario, but if you hunt actively for more than 30 to 40 years in rough terrain, there is a good chance you will strike an emergency situation one day.

The answer is simple. Always carry a basic survival kit. Carry water with you.

By conserving energy and saying in the shade you can probably span two canteens of water out during a 24-hour period. In the case of shelter, carry a spare blanket. You can wrap it around the body or string it up as a shelter, depending on conditions.

Throw a couple of disposable lighters and a sheet of newspaper in the pack to make a fire.

Take spare socks and a cotton skivvy. You can live with wet trousers but wet socks are unbearable.

Keeping your upper body dry and warm will help prevent hypothermia. Carry a large and sturdy plastic bag and use it to collect transpired water from a leafy branch.

Water, as I have noted, is the major factor if you need to survive in arid Australia. An army survey map will show you where dams, bores and even springs are located, but it is worth confirming with the cocky which watering points are still operable.

Hilly country is more likely to yield water and the daily flight of galahs, parrots and pigeons in the evening will give you some idea of the direction from where they are sourcing water. Well-defined converging sheep, cattle or game trails will also lead to watering holes.

Carry an orienteering-style compass and learn how to read a map. Additionally, learn how to navigate using the sun, moon and stars. For the serious and well-heeled hunter, a GPS is very effective, but even so, knowing the basics of navigation is still an advantage.

An absolute must is a basic medical kit (bandage, band-aids, insect repellent and antiseptic powder) and a supply of strong cord. If you want to consider food, the best high-energy sustenance is chocolate - preferably not the product from the supermarket, but from the serious camping stores, which should have chocolate with a high melting point.

If you are alone and can't move, light a heavily smoking fire to attract attention. Use a signal mirror to alert searching aircraft. Better still, in this high-tech world, carry a mobile phone. You can SMS someone and let them know your situation and location.

On my first-ever goat hunt, north of the Murray River in South Australia, the cocky warned us that a goat hunter had died of thirst some years earlier. The hunter had headed out in the summer heat, got lost and wandered around until he died. When they found him he was naked, with a blackened, swollen tongue protruding from his lips. He would have died an awful death. With a basic survival kit and some knowledge of navigation, he probably would have survived.