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Next Course Dates!

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:41:21 +1200

We've finalised our next course dates, so make sure you register your interest with us soon!

Into the Wild

November 9-11, 2012. Click HERE for more info.

Father & Son Wildman Weekend

January 18-20, 2013. Click HERE for more info.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

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Grapevine Article

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:17:32 +1200

The following is a copy of an article printed in Grapevine Magazine, Issue 1 2012.

INTO THE WILD:

– the heart of man longs for adventure

Sweat streamed off Geoff’s* face as he clung nervously to the cliff edge, knuckles white from his tight grip on the climbing rope. The rock-face dropped away vertically beneath him … and he’d never in his life been in such a precarious position! With his safety entirely dependent on a couple of ropes and a harness, Geoff repositioned himself, ignoring the river rushing by 80 feet below, and continued his descent … (* name changed to protect the man’s pride!)

In his short-story collection, The Book of Guys, author Garrison Keillor admits that he hasn’t always been honest about himself as a man. So he sits down and makes a list of his strengths and weaknesses.

Under the heading ‘Useful Things I Can Do’, he writes:

Be nice.
Make a bed.
Dig a hole.
Write books.
Sing alto or bass.
Read a map.
Drive a car.

Under the heading ‘Useful Things I Can’t Do’ he writes:

Chop down big trees and cut them into firewood.
Handle a horse, train a dog, or tend a herd of animals.
Handle a boat without panicking others.
Load, shoot, and clean a gun. Or bow and arrow. Or use either of them, or a spear, net, snare, boomerang, or blowgun, to obtain meat.
Defend myself with my bare hands.

He goes on to say, “Maybe it’s an OK report-card for a person, but I don’t know any persons. For a guy, it’s not good…”

Wildman Trust was set up last year in the belief that there’s something in the heart of man that longs for adventure. Many men fill their lives with things that make them comfortable – things they can control – but some of the best adventures happen in nature!

However, nature isn’t inner-sprung. It isn’t prefabricated. And it can’t be controlled by the remote.

Nature is WILD!

Recently, a dozen men from across the country met at a remote Central Plateau property – all keen to participate in Wildman’s first-ever ‘Into the Wild’ course. The group, aged from early 20s to late 50s, included accountants, engineers, builders and students. Many of the guys had little experience in the outdoors and weren’t at all sure what to expect.

Following a quick cuppa at the rendezvous point, they threw their gear on the back of a waiting ute and climbed aboard the trailer for a 15 minute ride to Wildman HQ – an old woolshed perched on the side of the Makakahi Valley. There, they received a brief rundown on the weekend ahead, before sorting their gear and sleeping arrangements and gathering around a hotplate covered with sizzling steaks …

‘Into the Wild’ is a two-part programme, with Part 1 being a series of modules on subjects like Outdoor First Aid, Navigation, Bushcraft, Firearms, Game Animal Harvest & Preparation … all taught by experienced facilitators. Most of these topics require days of training to learn properly – not just a couple of hours. But the Wildman goal is simple: to give men (and their sons) a taste of the outdoors that will tempt them to extend these skills later.

Part 2 is what we call the Wildman Challenge … but more on that soon!

After their first meal – cooked up by Wildman chefs, Andy and Lee, over a fire that would’ve impressed even the manliest man – the guys moved into the woolshed for the Outdoor First-Aid module, before calling it a night.

They woke the following morning to the sounds and smells of Andy and Lee frying bacon & eggs. Then, with everybody out of bed and fed, the first of the day’s modules got underway.

Time flew by as, one-by-one, each session covered specific ‘how-tos’– such as adjusting for magnetic declination when navigating … lighting a fire without matches … building an emergency shelter … reading topographical maps … using a rifle and shotgun safely … even killing and butchering a sheep!

Comfort-zones were already being tested!

In the late afternoon, everyone packed up and headed off to the ‘Peninsula’ – a picturesque headland surrounded by the Manganuioteao River. Here, for the final activity of the day, each guy was sent into the bush to build his own ‘bivvy’ (shelter) to sleep in.

Most blokes took to it like Bear Grylls wannabes. And – despite a spectacular collapse or two – some rather palatial abodes began to spring up amongst the undergrowth.

The long day came to an almost perfect close: dinner around a campfire while spinning yarns long into the night … perfect, that is, until they remembered where they had to sleep!

Not enough hours later, in the half light of early morning, the men slowly emerged from the bush to find a substantial breakfast sizzling on the hotplates. Swapping stories of their night alone under a bivvy, the Wildman punters and crew filled their plates and stomachs in preparation for ‘Into The Wild – Part 2’.

The Wildman Challenge has been known to transform boys into men and make grown men cry … well, sort of. What they’d learnt the day before was about to be put into practice – but in a competition format, for a bit of extra pressure!

The guys were split into teams and told to navigate their way around various challenge stations, where points would be given out according to how they handled tasks like digger-driving, abseiling, butchery and clay-target shooting …

There was no loud bang from a starter’s gun. Instead, the teams were let loose in the bush to gather materials for a fire. The group that then built a fire big enough to burn through some weighted baling twine was the first to start. GPS coordinates stating the whereabouts of each challenge were then handed over – for the team to plot onto a topo map.

Once sorted, they could head off in whichever direction they chose …

It wasn’t long before one of the teams had a raging inferno which quickly burnt through the twine. Another team soon followed, while the last group was still just making smoke! Eventually, however, their flames licked the nylon cord, and the weights fell.

Each team headed off to different points of the compass, and it wasn’t long before the first bunch turned up at the abseil and raft-building station.

The challenge here was to build a raft out of tyre-tubes and manuka poles. The raft was then lowered down an 80 foot cliff into the river below, with the team quickly following. Actually, ‘quickly’ is not the best description. Some of these men had never abseiled off anything in their lives, let alone a sheer precipice with white-water below, and it took plenty of courage to step over the edge. But they all did it – facing some very real fears in the process!

The rafting was pretty funny to watch, as guys did their best to avoid getting wet in the cold, mountain-fed river. In the end, though, they all failed – some up to their ankles, and others up to their necks!

At another challenge, there were some hilarious moments as guys struggled to sort sheep into different pens in the yards. And at yet another, required to photograph a native bird, one team of bright-sparks figured a photo of some girls who live on the farm would do. (At least they were thinking outside the box!)

Each team arrived back just before lunch, with stories to tell of animals conquered and pride lost and a great time had by all.

The Wildman Challenge ended up being exactly that. Every man found himself challenged in different ways … whether through the preparation of game, stepping off a cliff, or sleeping alone in the bush. And, in our final debrief, many said how rewarding they’d found it to step outside their comfort zones, face their fears, and see if they’ve got what it takes.

As one bloke wrote afterwards: “For those of us who spend increasing amounts of time indoors and on laptops, I couldn’t recommend this experience more!”

An unforgettable weekend? Yeah, for sure … in a uniquely beautiful place where (to quote author John Eldredge) “the geography around us corresponds with the geography of our heart” …

… and where there’s no phone signal!

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Mother's Day

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:32:05 +1200

Here at Wildman, we reckon mum's are pretty cool, so here's a little piece in honour of Mother's Day...

*Somebody’s Mother

By Mary D. Brine (1816-1913)

The woman was old and ragged and gray,
And bent with the chill of a winter’s day;
The streets were white with a recent snow,
And the woman’s feet with age were slow.

At the crowded crossing she waited long,
Jostled aside by the careless throng
Of human beings who passed her by.
Unheeding the glance of her anxious eye.

Down the street with laughter and shout.
Glad in the freedom of “school let out,”
Come happy boys, like a flock of sheep,
Hailing the snow piled white and deep;
Past the woman, so old and gray.
Hastened the children on their way.

None offered a helping hand to her,
So weak and timid, afraid to stir,
Lest the carriage wheels or the horses’ feet
Should trample her down in the slippery street.

At last came out of the merry troop
The gayest boy of all the group;
He paused beside her and whispered low,
“I’ll help you across, if you wish to go.”

Her aged hand on his strong young arm
She placed, and so without hurt or harm
He guided the trembling feet along,
Proud that his own were young and strong;
Then back again to his friends he went,
His young heart happy and well content

“She’s somebody’s mother, boys, you know,
For all she’s aged, and poor and slow;
And some one, some time, may lend a hand
To help my mother—you understand?—
If ever she’s old and poor and gray,
And her own dear boy so far away.”

“Somebody’s mother” bowed low her head
In her home that night, and the prayer she said
Was: “God be kind to that noble boy,
Who is somebody’s son and pride and joy.”

*This poem is also known as 'A Noble Boy'

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The Return of Spring

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:02:09 +1200

"The Return of Spring?? But we're in late autumn - just about to hit winter! What's with the 'return of spring' post?", I can hear you saying.

Well, I realise that my seasonal timing is all out of whack - but the following piece is certainly worth a read. It's by author, John Eldredge (known for his book, Wild at Heart - amongst others), and it gives an interesting (and philosophical) picture of the seasons. It's also a post which proves that here at Wildman, we're not just about hunting and killing ... we have a deeper side too :) Anyway, I'll let him do the talking!

The Return of Spring

"Winter tarries long at six thousand feet. Here in the Rocky Mountains, spring comes late and fitfully. We had snow again last week-the second week in May. I've come to accept that spring here is really a wrestling match between winter and summer. It makes for a long time of waiting. You see, the flowers are pretty much gone in September. The first of October, the aspens start turning gold and drop their leaves in a week or two. Come November, all is gray. Initially, I don't mind. The coming of winter has its joys, and there are Thanksgiving and Christmastime to look forward to.

"But after the new year, things begin to drag on. Through February and then March, the earth remains lifeless. The whole world lies shadowed in brown and gray tones, like an old photograph. Winter's novelty is long past, and by April we are longing for some sign of life-some color, some hope. It's too long.

"And then, just this afternoon, I rounded the corner into our neighborhood, and suddenly, the world was green again. What had been rock and twig and dead mulch was a rich oriental carpet of green. I was shocked, stunned. How did it happen? As if in disbelief, I got out of my car and began to walk through the woods, touching every leaf. The birds are back as well, waking us in the morning with their glad songs. It happened suddenly. In the twinkling of an eye.

"My surprise is telling. It seems natural to long for spring; it is another thing to be completely stunned by its return. I am truly and genuinely surprised, as if my reaction were, Really? What are you doing here? And then I realized, I thought I'd never see you again. I think in some deep place inside, I had accepted the fact that winter is what is really true . . . And so I am shocked by the return of spring. And I wonder, Can the same thing happen for my soul?"

- John Eldredge (Desire)

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Bucklite Max Review

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:59:04 +1200

Ever since I was a young fella staying on my Uncle Roy's dairy farm during school holidays, I've had a fascination with knives. I used to look in awe at his big sheath knife and couldn't wait for the day when I'd have my own. I remember finding an old 'knife' in the back of a hay barn, which was actually a blade off an old harvester. It wouldn't cut anything, but it looked cool and I carried it with pride...

Over the years I've ended up accumulating a number of knifes - pocket, sheath, skinning, boning, pig stickers etc... so I guess my fascination is still there, and I'm always keen to compare blades and sharpening techniques. So when I was recently given a brand new Buck knife (thanks Bryce!), I decided I'd give it the once over and share my initial thoughts and impressions, hoping that someone might find the information helpful. This is not a field test - I'm yet to skin and bone out a deer with it, it's just my preliminary observations based on what I see, how it feels, it's construction etc. The field test will come later :)

Some of my knives

Buck Knives have been around for over 100 years and have a good reputation as a producer of quality knives. Made in the USA, they've got a huge range and have a knife for nearly every occassion - especially knives for hunting and the outdoors. And, as a matter of interest, the current chairman of Buck Knives is called Chuck. Chuck Buck. How cool is that! Their knives also come with Buck's famous 'Forever Warranty' - which shows they trust their build quality (you wouldn't be putting this on a crap knife). I won't bore you with the details, but you can check it out for yourself on their website.

Anyway, back to the knife. The model I was given is from their Bucklite range (which has more than 10 versions) and is a Bucklite Max fixed blade. This is the small version (they come in small, large, and large with a gut hook) and retails here in NZ for around $50-$60, which makes it one of their cheaper knives. Here's Buck's description of the knife:

Compact, lightweight and durable. This hunting knife was designed with full tang construction and Alcryn® MPR rubber handles for superior performance in demanding end-use environments. The additional large integrated finger grooves and grip areas provide safety of use.

The first thing which stood out for me, was just how light it was. Compared to my other sheath knives, this one is way lighter - and it's also reasonably small... hence the 'small' size! It weighs in at around 80 grams, which is around the same as my folding knife I carry with me most days - and is a fraction of my Leatherman Wave, which is a hefty 240 grams! This may not mean much to you, but whenever I have an extended hunting trip away, I'm all about lightweight - and often have taken my small Mercator folding knife and nothing else, just because my bigger sheath knives add a fair bit of weight to an already heavy pack! And as hunters, who are carrying even more than you usual tramper (rifle, binoculars, etc), good quality, lightweight gear is a must! At least, that's what I reckon...

Often, however, the compromise of lightweight is in it's strength - and I was hoping this wasn't going to be a flimsy, easily snapped, glorified letter opener. Truth is, it seems to be plenty strong enough - and with a full tang - it'll outlast any of my folders when it comes to heavy duties. Despite it's light weight, it's pretty robust and feels nicely balanced in the hand. And talking about the handle, Buck's patented 'Alcryn MPR rubber' handle is great, with plenty of grip and grooves in just the right places to give you confidence. However, as I mentioned earlier, it'll be interesting to see if it still feels the same when covered in blood gutting out a deer. Me thinks it will. (I know my Mercator becomes a slippery cutting machine once wet with blood etc - not the safest knife around!) Probably the only downside is it's smallish handle which might be a bit of an issue for those with large hands. I found it comfortable enough however. The handle also has a lanyard hole if you're into tying pretty string to it...

Now onto the important bit - the blade. Buck Knives use 420HC steel in almost all their blades (the HC stands for High Carbon). No matter how good the blade steel, there are always trade-offs. Corrosion-resistance vs. edge-retention. Edge-retention vs. sharpening ability etc, and 420HC is a good compromise of the excellent wear resistance of high carbon alloys with the corrosion resistance of chromium stainless steels. But unless you're a knife geek, this is probably gobbledy-gook... Needless to say, it's a pretty good piece of steel which is made even better by Buck's excellent tempering process.

A close shave!

The blade measures 3 1/4 inches long (or 8.3cm) - which isn't super long, but long enough to dress out an animal. If I was a pig hunter, I'd probably choose something else! It's shape is the all-purpose drop point style - which is exactly that. You could easily skin an animal with it and then bone it out as well... and then use it for camp and farm duties. The drop point is a pretty multi-purpose shape, which is why it's found on so many blades. It's also hollow ground, which Buck use on most of it's knives. It has grooves on the spine of the blade (jimping) which is great for added grip when skinning or doing more precise cuts. Out of the box, this was one of the sharpest knives I've tested. It shaved the hairs off my forearm easily (my standard sharpness test!) - so I was pretty impressed! How long it maintains this sharpness and how easy it will be to sharpen, I'm not sure yet. That will come later (and I'll let you know!)

The Bucklite Max comes with a nylon sheath with a plastic insert, and a decent clasp which secures around the knife's handle. I'm more of a leather fan to be honest, but this seems pretty functional - and as long as I don't forget to do up the clasp, it'll keep the knife nice and secure. It also seems pretty well made (the only part of the knife that's made in China!) with decent stitching all round. Time will tell I guess...

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with this knife... at least for now! For the money, I'm not sure you could get a better quality fixed blade knife - and presuming it handles the field work, I'd have no hesitation in recommending this to others. In fact, due to it's size and light weight, it'll probably be my first pick when going bush.

Mr Chuck Buck, I am impressed!

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Luke's First Roar Trip

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:28:44 +1300

Check out the photo below of Luke (3 years old) on his first roar trip in the hills near Rotorua. No stags were roaring yet but we had some great 1-on-1 time together. It awesome to see how well young kids adapt to the bush environment and love camping out. I think often children will look to their parents to see if they can achieve something or not, and if we show confidence in them they develop a natural interest in the outdoors.

We only walked for an hour from the car to this campsite on top of a hill, then after a hearty dinner of sausages and noodles, settled down to Easter eggs and hot drinks around the fire - interrupted occasionally by Luke trying to roar up a stag.

Gold.

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Map & Compass Basics

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:06:40 +1300

If you've done one of our Into the Wild courses, you would've spent some time looking at basic navigation techniques using a map and compass. This can be a confusing topic for some - especially when throwing around words like magnetic declination and map topography. The reality is, it's quite a simple process once you get your head around it - particularly now, with some much simpler teaching methods to adjust for magnetic declination. Anyway, as a reminder for those who've done the course and as a simple reference for others, we thought a blog on the topic could be helpful. You'll need to have some basic knowledge on how to read a topographic map for this to make sense - and in New Zealand, the best maps to use are the new(ish) Topo50 maps put out by Land Information NZ (LINZ).

How to...

A: Take a bearing from a map

1. Place the compass on the map with the edge of the compass along the desired line of travel.

2. Rotate the compass housing until N on the dial points North on the map. Check that the compass housing north/south lines (these are coloured red/black on Silva compasses) are parallel with the vertical grid lines on the map (called meridians). Read the bearing at the direction of travel arrow.

3. Hold the compass in your hand and turn yourself until the red end of the compass needle (North) points to the magnetic variation on the adjustable dial (somewhere around 22-23˚ for New Zealand depending on where you are*). The front of the compass with the direction of travel arrow is now pointing towards your destination.

Silva's 1-2-3 System

B: Find a bearing for a physical feature in landscape

1. Point direction of travel arrow towards physical feature (eyeballing), then turn the adjustable dial until the red end of the compass needle (North) points to the magnetic variation*.

2. Read the bearing at the direction of travel arrow. Place compass on the map with the edge on your known location (or on the known feature) and rotate the entire compass until N on the dial points North on the map (don’t adjust the housing). Check that the compass housing north/south lines are parallel with the vertical grid lines on the map.

This technique can be used to find out your location (using triangulation) if you know where the feature is on the map, or if you know your location, where the feature is on the map.

* Note: For general use a line can be marked on the dial between 20˚ (easily remembered and sufficiently accurate for most purposes) and the pivot to make it easier to keep the needle in the right position. On some of compasses you can set an adjustable indicator line to the variation. Also, if you want to be really accurate, on most topographical maps the magnetic variation for your particular area can be found on the bottom left corner of your map.

Navigation Trivia:

Magnetic North vs. True North:

A compass points towards magnetic north, but this is not the same as true north. Sound confusing? Magnetic north is the direction the needle of the compass points to. This direction is based on the magnetic fields of the earth and is not the same as true north, which is the geographic north or toward the North Pole. In New Zealand magnetic north is actually around 23˚ east of true north (varies from one end of the country to the other). This is known as magnetic declination.

Global Magnetic Regions:

Because of the Earth’s curvature and variances in the Earth’s magnetic field, a compass designed for the northern hemisphere will ‘stick’ in the southern hemisphere, as it will basically be trying to point towards the ground.

The image below shows the 5 magnetic zones the compass industry has defined. Depending where in the world you are, any standard compass you purchase generally has its needle balanced only for that region. e.g: most compasses sold in New Zealand will only be most effective in New Zealand and Australia. Our zone (Zone 5) is generally shown on the base of the compass as the code MS.

Magnetic Zones of the World

Now what?

The best thing you can do now, is grab a map and compass, and get out there and practice! Find a topo map for the area you live in (it's even better if you live around hills or prominent landmarks) and give these instructions a go. As they say ... practise makes perfect!

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Wildman goes international!

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:02:34 +1300

HKIS students - Into the Wild

We've not long been back from running our first week long Into the Wild programme with good friends and fellow adventure education providers, Little Brown Kiwi. Their target market are the large number of international schools who provide an overseas experience for students as part of their curriculum programme - and LBK run one of the best experiences in the country (and market NZ incredibly well). So in early March, 20 students from Hong Kong International School arrived in NZ to participate in a week-long programme Wildman helped develop and guide. Led by Henry (8-Shot) and myself, these 16-18 year old kids had a pretty amazing New Zealand wilderness adventure, and to their credit, did extremely well in some rather trying situations...

Preparing for day 3 on the Wanganui

Here's a snap-shot of the week:

Two day Wildman programme involving navigation, bushcraft, shooting, game harvest & butchery, bivvying, campfires and more! (We were caught in a massive weather bomb that hit the country and had to modify the programme a little - so no rafting or abseiling into the river)
Three days canoeing the Wanganui River. Awesome experience, with plenty of capsizes and fun times - the last day though was brutal! Battling a gale force head wind took an easy 4 hour paddle to a gnarly 7 hours!
A couple of days in the Tongariro NP. We were supporsed to do the Tongariro Crossing, but 80km winds forced us to change plans and head to Tama Lakes - which is almost as good!
Taupo to shop and relax in hot pools before the kids flew out of Auckland and back to Hong Kong.

All in all, we had a great week with them and look forward to our next one later in the year. It also was a good reminder of how New Zealand's weather conditions can be pretty full-on at times, and can change real quick. One of our biggest challenges was getting the kids out of their cotton t-shirts and into more appropriate gear!

Classic HKIS Quotes:

Why are there filing cabinets in the paddock?

- Xenia, on observing beehives on the farm...

I feel so guilty, but it tastes sooo good!

- Miriam, our resident vegetarian who, after cutting her own venison steak off a hindquarter and cooking it, then went on to eat it! (We've rescued one back from the dark side!)

Pukana in National Park

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Into the Wild - next event!

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:27:09 +1300

Our next Into the Wild event is confirmed! Check out the dates below and if you want more details on the programme, click HERE or send us an email. Make sure you get in quick though - there's limited space available.

COURSE NOW CLOSED. Next Into the Wild event is the 9th-11th of November. First in first served!

Let's Get This Party Started!

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300

After plenty of mucking around and procrastinating, we're finally getting our website sorted. As you've probably noticed, there's still a few hiccups to be overcome - broken links, pages that are missing and a lack of information in some areas ... but we're getting there!

I'm gonna try to sort out some of it this week - but there's a limit to what someone of my technical skills can achieve, so it'll be a few emails to our web designer to get the main stuff sorted. The rest is up to me and the team...

Anyway, this blog will be short and sweet - we've got the Wildman crew involved in an event this coming weekend, and there's a bunch of stuff that needs to be sorted before then! I'm not yet panicking, but ask me again in a couple of days ... This weekend is our Into the Wild programme that we're running for Little Brown Kiwi - an adventure education company that provides Kiwi experiences for international students. They're great friends of ours and we're planning on running a few programmes for them throughout the year.

After our Into the Wild programme, me and Henry (8-Shot) will be taking them down the Wanganui for a few days then finishing off with a quick slog over the Tongariro Crossing before the students (20 of them) head back to Hong Kong. We helped guide students from this same school on a fly-fishing programme last year, and they're great kids ... but this will certainly be a challenge for them!

Our recent programme we ran over Waitangi weekend was a huge success - and the feedback we've had has been very encouraging. Here's what a couple of people said about it:

"Thanks for a great Wildman adventure. For those of us who are spending an increasing amount of time indoors and on laptops, I couldn't recommend this experience more!" - H.B

“A very refreshing and inspiring weekend, with competent, professional facilitators, ensuring a fun filled and educational experience. Thanks Mike I had a great time.” - J.M

And finally:

“I thought the weekend was fantastic. I had been hang’n’ out to do something like that for a while. Hard to beat the location and the company. I think you have a bunch of top guys with an obvious passion for where they live and for what they do." - G.N

Keep coming back to check up on us. We're planning to write weekly entries (time permitting), including gear reviews, outdoor tips & techniques, motivational man stuff, stories and plenty more!

Meanwhile, since there's a few snapper around here at the moment, I'll leave you with our dinner ...