Outback survival tips

Outback survival tips

"You are standing alone in 30C dry heat beside your car, bonnet up and a 250km drive from the nearest town. You have 4 litres of water, lunch, a hat, sunscreen and a map. There is no mobile phone reception. Your mechanical skills are basic. You haven't seen another vehicle since taking that last turn 80km's back."

The above scenario is scary. The Australian bush is so vast and isolated that it is easy to become lost or stranded. The following outback survival tips are for the baby boomers or anyone who may become stranded.

Step 1. Remain in control.

That means keeping a positive attitude and use your ingenuity. So, put on your hat and sunscreen, make yourself comfortable in the shade of a tree (if there is one), and sit down with pen and paper to think about your situation, what resources do you have on hand, and how best you can use them.

Your outback survival tips suggested five main themes are: Water, signals, shelter, warmth and food.

Step 2. Stay Hydrated.

In hot climates the body will rapidly dehydrate if fluids are not replaced. The loss of just two litres of body fluid (which can happen in less than two hours in hot climates) can impair your cognitive abilities by 25%. One quarter of your senses may leave you in the space of half a day if you don't drink.

So if you have water drink it, don't sip. Drink at least a cupful at a time. Your thirst and urine will tell you when you need to increase the amount.Outback survival tips on collecting water:

- clear plastic bag tied over tree branches

- collecting dew from surfaces, plants and grassses

- following fresh animal tracks to water

- observing flight directions of seed-eating birds, that will travel to and from water each day (toward the water they will fly in neat formation, away, they will fly in a haphazard arrangement).

- draining the air-conditioning water of the vehicle (if the engine still works) by running the air-con with the windows down and collecting the overflow in a container or bag.

Step 3. Communicate.

Once you are reassured that you have the water situation under control then you need to plan on being found. Outback survival tips suggest to put the hood of the car up so any searchers can see you are having engine trouble and not just stopping to have lunch or go to the loo.

Block the road with a tripod of sticks (recognised distress signal) so that vehicles will have to stop. The experts say that once you hear a vehicle or plane you only have about two minutes to get their attention.

Make a smokey fire by burning green branches and leaves. Use parts of the car if necessary. At night though you would want flames. Fires positioned at the three points of an equilateral triangle are internationally recognised as a distress signal.

Use reflection such as:

- car mirrors

- aluminium foil

- the inside of a drink can

- a wine cask bladder

- reflective patches on jackets, skis and backpacks

- space blanket from first aid kit

- credit card

- dvd or cd's

You can hang them from the trees when not trying to reflect them manually. These can be seen up to 20km's away.

Whistles can also be useful. Universally three blasts (or light flashes, or flares) means distress.

Outback survival tips for SOS messages.

Use sticks, logs, bright clothing, tape, stones etc. Make it as large as possible. Square letters are easier to read.

Leave notes on the road, attached to large tripods of sticks, with your vehicle, at your shelter, or a water source. What to put on the notes:

- Emergency and Help

- Date of your note and other incidents

- names and ages and medical details of yourself and companions

- color of your clothing

- reason you are stranded

- action you have taken and why

- direction you have travelled in and mark with an arrow

- your intentions

- water and provisions you are carrying

- the help you want

- a sketch of your area and plan

Step 4 Stay warm and sheltered.

The urgency of creating warmth will depend on your environment. The outback gets very cold at night. In all cases, staying warm is not only physically central, but psychologically important.

Increase the benefits of a fire by constructing a heat reflective shelter with a space blanket or tarp, or by using fire-baked rocks to bury under a sleeping ground-space.

When constructing a shelter do not build it in the heat of the day. Conserve your energy, you do not want to lose too much fluid.

Step 5 Food.

Contrary to popular belief, the body can withstand many weeks without food, as opposed to the days it may not survive without water. Ration food and if possibe avoid dry and dense foods until you have sufficient water to assist with their digestion.

Be careful of collecting and eating plants and seeds as some of them may be poisonous.

Step 6. Finding your bearings.

The simplest method is to stand a stick or pointed object upright in the ground so that it casts a shadow.

Mark the tip of the sticks shadow with a stone. Wait 10-15 mins.and mark the end of the stick's shadow at it's new position. Now draw a line between the first and second markings to gain an east-west bearing. Estimate a perpendicular line through the east-west line to find your north-south bearing.

Step 7 Our outback survival tips should be kept in your glove box but also before venturing into the outback you should invest in an outback survival course and always carry a survival kit.

www.bobcoopersurvival.com has Outback survival basic courses for 3 days in Perth WA.

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