Saving free range chickens

Saving free range chickens

We just picked up eight hens from the chicken rescue. We were excited as these were ‘rescued’ from a free range chicken farm, so we figured they would be in pretty good condition. The thought of letting them live out their lives with the rest of our well looked after...
Ebola, the ongoing issue

Ebola, the ongoing issue

The Ebola scare has not yet gone away, if anything it is getting more pertinent for Western society with the first case now officially declared in New York. We don’t know if it will hit our shores, and if it does how wide spread it will be. Ebola is not airborne and,...
Amazing Willow

Amazing Willow

Spring is in the air and the Willow trees are getting their first leaves. I have a love/hate relationship with willow. Willow likes moist soils and temperate climates and has a large and aggressive root system. It is due to this extensive and strong root system that...
Tinder and kindling for a fire

Tinder and kindling for a fire

Following on from my last fire blog, you should now have the basics right: the right amount of fuel ready and a good area cleared. Getting these basics right will get you a long way to having a successful fire. But there are a few more tricks that will help ensure you...
Manuka as a medicinal plant

Manuka as a medicinal plant

Wild foods not only provide free, nutritional food that bonds us closer to nature, many of them also have amazing medicinal purposes. Much of our modern medicine comes from knowledge gained from medicinal plants. Using medicinal plants instead of man-made...
Fire lighting basics

Fire lighting basics

The secret to surviving in comfort is to be prepared.  While it is important to know how to make a fire from scratch and in all conditions, being prepared is the smartest thing you can do. In my case being prepared is always having some fire starters in my survival...
Fire lighting

Fire lighting

Fire is an essential part of being able to comfortably survive in most terrains. In some situations it can be the difference between life and death. While this sounds dramatic, the value of fire should not be underestimated. Over the next few weeks we will offer many...
Starting the journey with wild foods

Starting the journey with wild foods

Finding food and eating it can be a great pleasure in life, as well beneficial for your health and wealth. There are over 300 edible wild plants in New Zealand, with close to 200 of those being native. Then there are many plants which can be foraged in the wild,...
Will ebola be the one?

Will ebola be the one?

Ebola is on a lot of people’s mind at the moment. It is a pretty scary thought with a possible 50-90% mortality rate. We don’t know if it will spread and we don’t know if it will reach New Zealand shores. Probably not. But we pretty much do know that there will be a...
Clothing in a cold weather survival situation

Clothing in a cold weather survival situation

New Zealand is advertised worldwide for its lovely climate, but the truth is it can get wet, cold and windy very quickly. Four seasons in one day is not unusual for this beautiful country. This kind of weather means you need to know about protection against exposure....