Emergency Rations. Our series of tips...

Always pack something for the unexpected

If you are heading off on an overnight hike or exploring a remote area on a challenging day trip you should always take spare food for emergencies. You never know what might happen. Accidents occur at any time and rivers can rise without warning, kids feel unwell and unable to hike for a day or two. Some people get lost too, remarkable as it sounds…

A good spare rations kit for an extra night can be as simple as 150 grams of rice per person per day and some flavouring, such as soup sachets and dry chillies. Include a bit of milk powder and sugar and hey presto you’ve got rice pudding for breakfast – you’d never get that at the Hilton ay? For a day trip a half dozen snack bars works as you probably don’t have a pot or cooker with you.

Surprisingly, it’s your ability to make good decisions that seems to suffer as much as your pace when you run out of kai (food). Physically most folk have got a few days of walking in ‘em, as long as they stay warm and hydrated. One of our mates got lost in Russia at 6000 metres once and went for 10 days on a couple of Mars Bars and a few cuddles at night time with his mates! He seems no less normal now than when he left. So with a little planning, you won’t go hungry, and you can eat with true style when you spend another night in the bush (known in kiwi lingo as being ‘benighted’ – nothing to do with the Queen of course).