We get it. Not everyone is into Bushcraft as we are.
I know it can be a challenge to convince your significant others and loved ones to join in with your interests, especially if it means your annual holiday is spent without a shower as you paddle an epic river, or that you don’t see a mattress or WiFi for a week. There are however, ways you can introduce Bushcraft skills to your usual holiday that I’d heartily recommend.
Fortunately for me, this isn’t an issue I face, my partner loves the outdoors, but a recent trip abroad highlighted how Bushcraft has changed my perception of a week in the sun. Having spent a week on the beautiful island of Madeira, I noticed resources, we planned days out differently, and I packed different kit because of my Bushcraft experience.
We travelled hand luggage only, which meant picking the right items made a significant difference to our trip. Preparing for the weather, and the activities, and any unexpected eventualities is where I found Bushcraft started to help shape our trip. Picking a decent rucksack to carry everything is a great start. Researching the airline’s carry on dimensions, led me to a few options for rucksacks. The Frost River range offer some great options, but I settled for the SnugPak Rocket Pack. Into this went the usual items, bolstered with some Bushcraft essentials. A first aid kit, and a water filter (I used the Life Systems water filter bottle), were top of the list. I’d recommend those regardless of destination, a good water filter to enable hydration on the go, with very little space or weight used is always worth it. As is carrying a small first aid kit. It doesn’t need to be much, but having something makes a notable difference.
Other essentials for your trip would be insect repellant, sun cream, and well-thought-out clothing. Obviously, I couldn’t take my usual fixed blade bushcraft knife, I elected to purchase a small folding knife in country (sub 6cm blade to comply with airline rules for the return flight). I’m a firm believer that having access to a blade of some description can really help you out of a pickle, or at least into an orange! It should go without saying to always check your destination’s laws surrounding bladed items. Had we taken hold luggage, I’d have taken something a little more substantial such as the Joker, or Lars Falt Folding knives. A good flask is an often overlooked part to anyone’s kit, wherever you are. We all know to wrap up warm and drink lots of tea, coffee or hot chocolate when it’s cold, but hot weather is often underestimated. Kit is always a personal choice, so I shalln’t dwell on it here. It’s worth getting in touch if you have any questions about kit for a trip, whether it’s with us or not. The Woodland Ways team have been to a lot of different countries, spanning a lot of different climates and environments, at different times of year. We’re more than happy to recommend the right kit for the job you’re looking to do, whether we stock it or not.
The interesting element I found with our holiday, was where the different skills come in to the experience of it. Madeira has an amazing diversity of flora, and an unbelievable landscape. Selecting where to source water was key, temperatures were between 19 and 24C for the most part, but it felt much hotter, and with the inclines which seemed to go in every direction, water intake became a top priority. The island is renowned for the Levadas and waterfalls which are everywhere, so there’s plenty of access to moving fresh water.
The LifeSystems Water Filter Purifier Bottle I took with me to ensure sufficient water intake.
With access to bamboo, banana leaves and palm trees, there’s an abundance of options for making natural cordage, while the locals also spin Flax for making traditional woven items. Being able to identify species and their properties paved the way to practice making some wild cordage. Above and beyond that though, the same foliage could easily give you a good quality shelter if you needed it, especially if you consider some of the other species for their strengths and growth patterns. Looking for different shapes in different species, such as Y poles or Ridge poles for a lean to or kennel shelter, helped to satisfy that “what if” scenario in my mind.
Looking into the forests of Laurel, Eucalyptus and a lot more, with Bananas in the mid ground, and a Palm tree at the foreground.
Even activities familiar to us for their role in a more traditional beach holiday, such as Snorkeling, open up avenues to allow your Bushcraft based brain to wander. You’re observing fish behaviours, seeing the sizes and species available to you, and you could theorise on how you’d approach sourcing fish as a resource. I took the opportunity to leave the sea a little cleaner than we found it by recovering several items of discarded rubbish, including two plates, several pieces of plastic, copper wire and fishing line. They could all be lures, hooks, nets or fishing lines for acquiring the fish, the plates could be a clean prep surface.
Crabs! There are a lot of different species of Aquatic life around the coast of Madeira.
Checking out the market, with plenty of local produce stalls gave me a list of items to keep an eye out for in the more remote places, fruits and vegetables, herbs etc, all found on the island and consumed by the locals as a food source, laid out infront of you to see, feel and sample. It gave a good idea of what you could forage for. I personally learn more by getting hands on than by reading, so seeing these items in the flesh, meant that I spotted them all over the island, even when travelling at speed by car. We often talk about “motorway tree ID” on some of our courses, where you learn to pick out a few key defining features of certain species that make them stand out a mile throughout the year.
Incredibly fresh produce from the vendor's family farm on the island shows what's in season, and grown locally.
One of the local specialties is Espatada, typically meat cooked on a metal spit over a wood fire, in an oven that’s outside. It’s a great way to cook, and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular all over the island. To me at least, cooking over open fires goes hand in hand with Bushcraft, it takes us to ID of trees, and an understanding of their properties to use as firewood or skewers. This would make a great opportunity to test your firelighting skills, using solar or friction, or any other method that says Bushcraft to you. There’s more than enough options for tinder materials and ember extenders. There are even public picnic spots with permanent wood fire cooking buildings. It’d be easy to convince your loved ones if there’s food involved!
One evening, we walked up Pico Ruivo, the highest point on Madeira, to watch the sunset. A phenomenal experience, well above the clouds, with uninterrupted views for a massive distance. It might not seem like it, but this can be a natural navigation practice, understanding how long til the sun set, which direction the sun will set, and where you can get yourself for the best view, this will change with the location, time of year etc, so seize the opportunity! The walk back to the car after the sunset saw the stars appear, so there was the chance to see how the night sky differs, and check on those celestial navigation techniques. The constellations we’re all familiar with, the Plough and Casiopoeia, can often appear different to what we may expect, because of our location.
Obviously, if you travel further south and pass the equator, you’ll have a completely different night sky to get acquainted with! The following morning we went to a different location to watch the sun rise, using the same set of skills, but in my opinion, it’s similar to driving a familiar route the opposite way for the first time, everything is similar but not quite the same.
The view from Pico Ruivo (1907m) as the sun sets, a beautiful landscape below us.
I think it’s really only your imagination that holds you back from practicing Bushcraft on a “typical” holiday, the skills are so intrinsically linked to our past, that it’s everywhere, and there are opportunities to try new skills, to gain more experience, wherever you are. It doesn’t need to be so bold as building survival shelters, or to take the spot light of your holiday, but I do believe these smaller “micro Bushcraft” sessions will have a notable impact on your existing skills base.