How to make fire with the bow drill

I learned the bow drill technique on my first survival course with Extra Survival in 2001 in Drenthe, The Netherlands. It’s not easy and took me almost a week of practicing every day before I was successful. Of all the friction fire lighting techniques however, the bow drill is probably one of the easier ones. It’s … Continue Reading

Advanced survival course in England

23 – 30 September, 2003, six men and two women took the advanced survival course “Over-leven” in the woods in West-Yorkshire in England. Extra Survival instructors René Nauta and Mike – happy bunny – Armstrong gave them an intense week of river crossings, building shelter, setting traps and looking for burdocks. The last 3 days of the course, the … Continue Reading

Follow-up survival course in the Dutch woods

September 21, 2002, I spent a week in the Dutch woods near Grolloo (in the province Drenthe) for my second survival course at René Nauta’s survival school Extra Survival. With the help of British survival instructor Mike – ‘dogsbullocks’ – Armstrong, René gave an advanced course bushcraft, which was a follow-up to his basic survival course I … Continue Reading

Basic survival course in the Dutch woods

August 25, 2001, I took my first 1-week survival course with Extra Survival in the woods of Doldersum in Drenthe (The Netherlands). Here eight people got an introduction in making fire, building shelters, finding water and recognizing edible plants by survival expert René Nauta. Other survival and bushcraft courses I went on. … Continue Reading

Hiking tour in the Ötztaler Alps, Austria

TREK REPORT 29 July – 8 August 1994, I did my first hut-to-hut mountain hiking tour in the Austrian Alps with my friends Jeroen, Mariët, Thijs, Marjolein, Petra, Maarten and Matthijs. (I returned home after one week while the others hiked one more week). Estimate total distance: 80 km. Mountain huts Bielerfelder Hütte (2.112 m) … Continue Reading