|
When you come on a Bushwise Women trip we always recommend that you come equipped for both hot and cold conditions
, because while the weather in New Zealand is generally mild (temperate) it can change quickly. This can be a quandry at times, it's a hot day, you just want to do a 2 hour walk and it seems such a burden to carry a day pack with a rain coat "just in case".
 With this in mind we have devised a simple survival kit that can be kept in the car and taken even for a short stroll in some local reserve, or worn as a backup when away on an expedition of several days.
It was surprising how cheap and easy this was to assemble, and of course you can supplement it with your own extras and turn it into a general purpose grab bag when walking out the door to do something active.
The basic items are a cheap bum bag from the $2 dollar shop (it's actually more like $3) - it has several pockets suitable for small easily lost items as well as a main storage compartment. Into this we added
a survival blanket (Warehouse $2.50), these are basically a thin aluminised sheet similar to the film that potato chip packets are made out of, but you've probably seen them being used in rescues on the news.
The next item is a plastic disposable poncho ($2 shop again - this time only $1.50), these come in a variety of colours and forms (coats, childrens etc.). A disposable lighter ($2 shop - 80c) completes the basic list of items , with enough left over from $10 to add a couple of meusli or chocolate bars.
There's still plenty of room an pockets to add small items, a couple of ziploc plastic bags, some money, a few plasters, small tube of sunblock, small knife or scissors, maybe even your cellphone. When on a trip , especially with children, you could equip everyone with one of these and insist that they wear them at all times, whether they are just nipping down to the river, up to the top of the hill, or just into the trees to get changed etc.
and remind them of the golden rule - "if they get lost, stay put and don't wander around, someone will come looking and will have more chance of finding them if they are still near they point where they became lost"
|
