|
OUT THERE MAGAZINE: May, 1997
-----------------------------
OFF ROAD: Survival guide (part two of two)
------------------------------------------
SNAKE STEAKS AND GOURMET GRUBS
Story: Copyright Tony Weaver and Liz Fish
Photographs: Copyright Tony Weaver
------------------------
WHETHER you decide to stay with your vehicle at a base camp, or walk out in the hopes of rescue, food and water will be your next priority. With a minimum of bushcraft, and a good dollop of common sense, both are available in abundance in the African bush, although things start to get a little bit tricky in deep desert areas.
WATER:
A healthy adult can survive for three weeks or more without food, but for a maximum of five days in hot climates without water. So water, and conserving water, is your priority.
* Avoid the sun, and rest during the heat of the day;
* Avoid strenuous labour;
* Eat lightly, avoiding fatty foods;
* Don't talk, smoke, drink alcohol or coffee;
* Breathe through your nose, not your mouth;
* Wear loose, light clothing;
* save urine for distilling, but never, ever, drink urine.
* Grind your teeth gently, or suck a pebble to generate saliva.
Even the most rugged deserts have water. Converging game paths usually lead to water: Follow them downhill, but ignore the tracks of eland, giraffe and small antelope like duiker, steenbok and grysbok. Flies live very close to water, bees within a five kilometre radius. Ant columns climbing a tree are usually chasing water.
Pigeons, sandgrouse, finches and other seed eaters never stray far from water. Sandgrouse (in southern Africa, most commonly the Namaqua sandgrouse, kelkiewyn, and double banded sandgrouse) are very good indicators of water, and delicious eating. If a flock of sandgrouse flies overhead, take a compass bearing, as they never deviate from their course -- but be aware that kelkiewyn can fly up to 60km to water. Kelkiewyn fly to water in the three hours after sunrise, double banded sandgrouse at dusk.
Look for water in the obvious places first -- valley bottoms, river beds and gorges. If surface water is absent, look for soft, green vegetation, and dig beneath it. Rocky areas often conceal pools of water.
Boil or purify all water. If there is no green vegetation around the water, or if there are animal skeletons lying around, don't drink -- collect it and use for distilling. If you don't have purification tablets, water can be filtered, though not purified: Crushed charcoal is an excellent filter; a sand-filled cloth will filter most suspended solids; leaving muddy water standing for 12 hours sediments out most solids.
Make a basic still by digging a hole 1m across and 50cm deep. Place a pot at the bottom, and pack green branches, pots of urine and other liquid-bearing objects around it. Cover the hole with a ground sheet, or plastic rubbish bag or sheet, secured with rocks and with a stone in the centre above your collecting can. Evaporation gathers on the sheet and drips into the can.
Make a distillation plant by plugging a pipe over a kettle spout. Boil contaminated water or urine, and the vapour goes up the spout, down the pipe, and into a collecting can.
Soft-leaved trees suck a lot of ground water: Tie a plastic bag around the end of a branch, so the leaves don't touch the bottom of the bag (place a small stone in the bag). Evaporation will condense in the bag. A tent or flysheet pitched on top of a bush acts the same way -- form the bottom of the tent into pouches to catch the run-off. Dew on hard surfaces can be mopped up with a sponge or handkerchief, then squeezed out.
On beaches, dig a hole a few metres above the high tide mark, and stop when water starts to collect. The water will be brackish, but drinkable. You can also distill sea water.
Water can be found in tree trunks, in the stems of leafy plants, and, especially, in the boles of baobab trees. Cubes of baobab wood, but not the bark, contain small amounts of water -- chew them once, then spit them out. Never suck moisture from any plant with milky sap, like some euphorbias -- this is poisonous, and can blind you if eye contact is made.
Most climbing plants have water in their stems, but some are poisonous. Place a very small quantity on your tongue: If it is bitter or astringent, spit it out. If it tastes palatable, swallow a very small amount, wait a few hours and if there are no after-effects, drink a bit more, repeating until you are sure it is safe.
Radiator water can only be drunk if it does not contain anti-freeze or other additives, and must be filtered to remove oil and rust. Most vehicles also have front and rear reservoirs for the windshield squirters, and you should never add soap or window cleaner to those reservoirs.
FOOD:
If you have salvaged supplies from your vehicle, then you should be in reasonable shape: Eat foods which may spoil first, saving tinned and preserved foods for later. Ration supplies carefully.
MAMMALS:
The easiest form of protein, fat and carbohydrates if you are adept with a catapult or at making traps. Save the blood and leave it in a covered container until a clear liquid gathers on the top. Drain this, and dry what's left next to the fire: Add this cake to broths and stews to add flavour and protein.
PLANTS AND TREES:
Never eat large quantities of a plant in one go -- allow your digestive system to adjust to an alien foodstuff. Because monkeys or baboons are eating a plant does NOT mean it is safe for humans -- there are exceptions, so follow all the rules for testing.
First crush a part of the plant. Smell it: If it smells of bitter almonds or peaches, it is probably poisonous. If the smell is "safe", smear onto a sensitive section of skin, like your underarm or groin. If no irritation occurs after two to three hours, ONE person only should taste a very small portion: Test in stages -- first on the lips; then the corner of the mouth; then the tip of the tongue; under the tongue; then chew it.
If it is very bitter, stings, is irritating or burns you, spit it out. If it tastes palatable, eat a very small amount, wait six hours, eating and drinking nothing else. If no ill-effects are felt, eat a larger portion. Only after another six hours have passed can the plant be deemed safe.
Should poisoning happen, drink plenty of hot water, induce vomiting by tickling the back of the throat, and swallow crushed charcoal in water, an excellent emetic.
Most fresh seaweeds are safe to eat and very nutritious, but don't eat them if your water supplies are low. Softer varieties can be eaten like salad, but tougher varieties should be cooked. Avoid fresh water algae and weed. Never eat mushrooms unless you are positive they are safe as they provide very little nourishment and some are deadly.
Avoid fruits with smooth yellow or bright green skins with thorns on the leaves or stems. All plants with milky sap must be avoided, and especially, in savanna areas, the plant known as Bushman's arrow poison, Acokanthera Oppositifolia. This plant has small (about 1cm) egg-shaped fruit, which are dark purple when ripe. Tropical plants which are red are always suspect, as is fruit with five segments. There are several species of poisonous melons and gourds -- if the middle, pulpy section is bitter, discard it.
There are far too many edible veld foods to detail, but some of the commoner species which are easily recognizable include:
* Prickly pears: The fruit can be peeled and eaten raw, the pads peeled and cooked, the seeds roasted and ground to make flour, and stems are good water sources. Don't confuse them with other, non-edible cacti -- prickly pears have clear, not milky sap.
* Wild gourds: Found in the Kalahari, the Namib and Sahara deserts. Grow like a ground cover, forming a mat, with stems like a vine. Boil or roast the fruit, flowers can be eaten raw, seeds roasted for a tasty snack, leaves can be boiled like spinach and stems chewed for water.
* Baobabs: Fruit and seeds are edible raw or cooked, and young leaves can be boiled like spinach.
* Acacias: The most widespread of all African trees. Seeds can be roasted, roots tapped for water, and young leaves and shoots boiled.
* Date palms: Common in desert and tropical regions. Recognizable by their densely-packed fruit clusters, usually bright yellow or light brown. Fruit and young shoot tips are edible raw, young leaves can be cooked, and trunks can be cut and tapped for sap, which is rich in sugar.
* Bananas and plantains: Very widespread in tropical zones. Plantain fruit must be cooked. Buds, young shoots and stems, and the inner core of the roots can all be eaten.
* Wild figs: Widespread throughout Africa, except desert regions. Fruit is edible, but avoid any varieties which are hairy or have a hard, nutshell skin.
* Tamarind: Widespread in East Africa and most tropical regions. The pod pulp can be eaten raw as a good source of vitamin C, the bark can be chewed and seeds and leaves used for flavouring.
* Casava/manioc: A staple food in tropical Africa, the tubers MUST be cooked, as they are deadly poisonous when raw.
* Water lilies: Tubers are edible cooked or raw, the stems can be cooked.
* Millets and grains: Widespread throughout Africa, the various varieties can, with a few exceptions, be roasted and crushed to make flour. Avoid any which have black heads, or fine, hook-like hairs.
* Bamboo: Bamboo shoots are a great delicacy -- chop off or pull out the base of the plant, remove the outer covering, and the shoots are inside. Cook. Bamboo stems can be cut and hollowed out to make cups, pots and water containers.
CREEPY CRAWLIES:
SNAKES: Unless you are desperate, avoid poisonous varieties, as their capture is hazardous, although they are safe to eat. Chop off the head to remove the poison sacs, coil up and grill, then gut and scale the snake once cooked. Delicious.
OTHER REPTILES: All lizards and crocodiles can be eaten. Gut, then roast and skin them. Turtles and tortoises make excellent eating. Gut turtles, remove the head, then roast or boil them. The flesh is very rich, so eat small quantities at a time. Tortoises should be roasted whole in the shell, then cleaned once the shell splits.
FROGS AND TOADS: Toads have poisonous skins and must be avoided. They can be recognized by their warts, and they are often found far from water. Skin frogs before cooking, as some varieties contain toxins. Gut them once cooked, and remove the head.
INSECTS: Termites, ants, flying ants, bees, wasps, caterpillars, beetles, locusts and grasshoppers are all excellent sources of fat, carbohydrates and protein, especially in larvae form. Avoid any brightly coloured insects, especially caterpillars -- they are usually poisonous. All insects are more nutritious raw, but as most of us are pretty squeamish, roast them. Pull off the wings, remove hard casings, and with bees and wasps, remove the stings. Skin caterpillars. Ants must be cooked for at least six minutes to neutralize the formic acid most contain.
Bees are the source of probably the finest food of all -- honey. If you find a hive, wait until night, light a bundle of twigs and grass, and hold this over the entrance, blowing the smoke in. Seal the hole. Only enter the hive once you are sure all the bees are dead -- ten minutes or more.
WORMS AND SNAILS: Avoid brightly coloured snails -- they are usually poisonous. Starve snails and slugs for a couple of days or feed them on "safe" plants so they secrete any toxins in their bodies. Boil for ten minutes. Worms are excellent protein. Starve them for a day or two, then roast or sun dry them. If you are squeamish, grind them into powder and add to other foods.
FISH:
Build a fish trap by narrowing the flow of a stream with rocks or wood, then build a narrow chute through which the fish are forced to move. Seal the chute with sticks or netting to trap the fish. Mosquito netting, hammocks, string bags etc can all be used to make fish nets. A sharpened stake can be used as a spear, and in shallow water, fish can be stunned with rocks.
BIRDS:
Avoid carrion eaters, birds of prey, kingfishers and honey guides, all of which can carry disease. The various game birds (francolin, guinea fowl, sand grouse, quail, bustards) all make excellent eating. Game bird eggs are usually large and good protein. A catapult is your best option for hunting birds, and you can also snare birds like guinea fowl with a simple wire noose.
Last edited by Tony Weaver; 2016/12/05 at 11:21 PM.
Good tips Tony, Is "Lofty" Wiseman a mate of yours?
Estee = S T = Sean Towlson, A Schrodingers Douche Bag GOF
''In Western society, it is not the facts or the truth that are important, but the correct presentation of information, even if it is a lie.''
Clank, a 1979 Ex-SADF Series III 109 SW powered by a Toyota 2B Oil Burner
Is he the guy who wrote the SAS Survival guide? Most of this comes from research I did in the early 90s before my wife and I set out on a two year cross Africa overland trip. Some of the plant, bird and animal stuff I learnt in the bush with the Ju/Wa San in the Nyae Nyae in Namibia (I've done a fair amount of work with them). Some is from my mountain rescue days, and a lot of it is just common sense learnt from my old man and various uncles, all of whom grew up in the bush or the mountains of Lesotho.
TW
Bookmarks