Bowdrill Fun_Saga Wood

Friction fire (Bowdrill) using materials from around the neighborhood...

It was a cloudy, damp and windy day. So it was a little tricky to get an ember, and making sure the smoking dust didn't blow away.Nevertheless, we did get a fire going, and had a great time just being outside, playing with sticks and grass.

 

Family hiking, seaside, fire and wild foods (October 2014)

It's been awhile since I've posted here as I have been posting through Kawanbike Penang Facebook. Now I'm looking at a backlog of blog posts in my draft folder and I thought I should start posting...


Penang island is truly blessed with many natural attractions. Regardless of where you are living within Penang, nature is just a stone's throw away. 

I've been introducing my children to the natural world since their early years and I'm glad I did. I love to see them running around, exploring, getting dirty, discovering seashells, and sampling wild edibles...  

 

As usual, gathering as we hike...  Fishtail Palms are abundant along the trails. The core is edible and the fibrous bark on the tree makes extremely good tinder for fire starting.

 

Children are natural foragers... 

They enjoy wandering in nature, collecting and gathering. They are so good and 

took no time at all gathering up these wonderful shellfish from the sea as I was 

busy building a fire.

The ultimate wild finger food...  

Foraged shellfish cooked in the embers of a fire at the beach itself. Simply natural!

 Sea Almond... 

One of my favourite wild foods. The nut is very delicious, tasting almost like almond. 

Most people don't realize it's edible, but I've had this since I was a child.

Sea Almonds are often quite easily gathered in large numbers with very minimal effort. 

They are often found littering the ground beneath the tree.

DIY Superlight Wood Stove

Ooops!... I did it again. 

For whatever reason, I just can’t get enough of stoving...

 

 Click here to see more!

Wild Camping_The Lost Golden Beach Re-explored

With 1181 hectares of forest and 1381 hectares of wetlands, Penang National Park’s ecosystem is a diversity of habitats with hills, sandy and rocky beaches, streams and coastal forests. Despite being the the world's smallest national park, the Park offers vast opportunities for some truly wild experience if you're willing to go one step further... Off the beaten path!

 

Click here to photo album...

 

Wild Woodgas Stove

More British in the house!  
 As you might know, i’m a big fan of wood fire cooking. I like the idea of using small sticks, twigs and pieces of available wood as fuel. Nothing beats the sight, smell and the deep-felt sense of satisfaction when cooking a meal on a wood fire.

An awesome family time, outdoor cooking and lots of fun practicing firecraft...

This little British-designed stove is just perfect for those “no campfire” situations. Moreover, it fits all the criteria I’m looking for in my “family/small group” bushcraft specific cook kit. It also packs down small enough to fit inside my 1 litre primary cooking pot and still leaving some room for a backup Meth stove, hexi blocks, lighter, glove...etc.

Just imagine... More than 30 minutes of continuous smokeless flame is all yours with 

just one load of  natural fuel if you process and load it properly.

Karrimor SF

Another British in the house!   
This will be my purpose-built “minimalist” jungle kit for both day hike and probably 3 to 4 nights of wild camping (with the addition of modular pouches attached). Built to military specifications, I'm sure it will serve me long and well for many many years to come.

 

Bahco Laplander

My Monday Blues cured almost immediately when I see a package from USA waiting at my doorstep.
I finally got my hands on this rugged little Swedish beauty after searching high and low for one (locally) without luck.

Lightweight, compact and extremely efficient. Bahco Laplander has earned its reputation as one of the most well known folding saws on the planet. Ironically, in all my years of enjoying the outdoors, I've never actually owned/carried a saw. A saw seems redundant, and I have to admit that I'm a big fan of Parang. 

 However, on second thought, safety comes first. Engaging in wood processing activity (in the presence of children) with a saw is much safer compared to a swinging Parang. Besides, it's interesting to see how would a Laplander live up to its reputation, and how well would it fare in the hot, humid and wet tropical jungle.

Wild Camping, Bushcraft & SurviVacation

Just got back from holiday...

 

 Hours of gruesome treks through overgrown jungle on a mission to explore the most isolated, wildest and least visited part of Penang National Park. The "Golden Beach" a.k.a. Pantai Mas.

More photos here...

My Mini Fishing Kit

What makes a good fishing kit?

For me, the best fishing kit is the one i have with me whenever i need it.

A little kit for survival and those opportunist 

fishing moments... Close at hand.

 There are many times that we are either mountain biking, hiking or going on a bikepacking trip exploring the great outdoors, we happen to come across some nice spots that are perfect to fish from but regret that we did not bring any fishing gear with us. Well, those are a few instances when a little fishing kit in the pack can come in handy, and what's more, if i'm stuck in a survival situation. Having a fishing kit close at hand in those events would be invaluable. 

Taking that in consideration, this fishing kit was designed to be compact and lightweight that  i can keep in the pack and forget that it's there until i need it.

  

The kit holds over 60 feet of line wrapped around the bike inner tube that works as slip stopper. The loose end of the line and a little inner tube loop (for finger holding) are secured by a strip of double sided velcro strapped right below the cap. The kit is watertight and has plenty of room for hooks, sinkers, floats and other stuff.

The basic ingredients for making my pocket fishing kit. 

A 2 oz. plastic container, some old road and mountain bike inner tubes, double sided velcro and of course fishing line.

DIY Cat Stove, Stabilizer & Mini Windshield for Trangia Mess Tin

Apart from my usual DIY Mini Cook Kit which i normally carry when outdoors, I've put together another ultralight cook kit for trips that require more cooking by using my old Trangia mess tin with a homemade Cat Stove. Lightweight, efficient and super simple to make, the Cat Stove is one of the most popular DIY alcohol stoves among ultralight hikers/bikepackers.

Here's my own version of the "Super Cat Stove" with a twist...

A Cat Stove with stabilizer and mini windshield...

Safer, better and more dependable.

It's always fun to make my own gear for my needs

 

  The "X" stabilizer was made from 2 pieces of triangular Yoke plates that can be easily bought at any hardware store. As usual, all work was done with very minimal tools, a hack saw, a file, a knife and some other common tools around the house. As for the stove, you can use a cat food can or the Ayam Brand "Snack Pack" tuna spread can, and punch the holes with a standard office hole punch.

 The stabilizer could easily put together or come 

apart and lay flat for storage...

 To set up, simply clip the plates together by interlocking the center notches.

Place in the burner and the mini windshield, and they're all set!

 

All in one... Trangia mess tin cook kit

The mini windshield was made from a 100g RICOLA Swiss Herb Candy can.
Cut 4 deep "V" notches to allow the windshield to sit slightly below the burner's rim.
All alcohol stoves are extremely wind sensitive, the mini windshield was tested and it worked out 
pretty well in mild windy condition. However, it would be nice to have a bigger windshield 
as backup, and the ultra lightweight kitchen aluminium foil is just perfect for that.
  


 Voila! 

With only 30ml of spirit, it boils 500ml of water in 7 minutes and continue
to burn for around 2-3 minutes after I had removed the mess tin.

Let's climb trees

Did you climb trees? I bet you did. Do you remember the fun and the fear of climbing higher and higher for bird's eye view, or swinging from branch to branch to reach for fruits and eat them straight from the tree? Climbing trees is an activity that seems synonymous with our childhood. Unfortunately, the reality is very different for today's children. Most of them have never climbed a tree.

Why does this matter?

Climbing trees not only helps children develop physical and mental well-being, it also helps children to form connections to nature... After all, who is going to be bothered looking after the planet if there's no one left with any understanding of, interest in or connection to their natural environment?

 

 Let them climb trees...

Wien & Iwen (not pictured) climbing their first tree in Pantai Kerachut.

When was the last time you climbed a tree?