29/03/2017
Hi All, we have the opportunity to run an amazing once in a lifetime new course so before we finalise dates we are guaging interest on a first come first served basis, likely to be in Autumn!
Are you looking for a unique family holiday where you can bond, be active, build memories and have fun?
Then this is for you!
A Mediterranean Bushcraft and Activity Adventure
A collaboration between Sunrise Bushcraft and Rewilding Bushcraft
Do you fancy trying something new, away from familiar British woods with their animals and plants? Do you want to build memories with your family as you learn new skills in a unique environment? If so this is the answer for you. We are offering a stunning week exploring survival and bushcraft in the sub-tropical forests that cover the magnificent mountains of Tarifa that overlook Africa.
This Mediterranean bushcraft course lasts for five days. It will give us an opportunity to delve deeply into the world of survival, to experiment with unfamiliar plants and woods. What will we use for bow drill, what is edible and what is toxic? Are those tracks wild boar or mouflon?
Not only will we be engaging with the exotic, but we’ll be doing so in warm sunshine in one of the least spoilt and most beautiful wild locations in Europe.
We will be based at a beautiful lodge on a large private estate. Here we will create a long term survival shelter which will be the focus of our activities during your stay with us. From this base camp we will journey out to discover our aboriginal selves through experience and adventure.
Key to this course will be using to learn our wild senses in an unfamiliar place, of learning how to move through the landscape with ease and stealth as we discover the clues that nature leaves for us.
We will learn how to track, fashion tools from rocks, unearth wild foods and medicinal plants as well as taking a deep dive into all the bushcraft and survival classics.
This course will include:
• Fire making masterclass using primitive and modern survival techniques
o Uses of fire in bushcraft
o Fire lays and woods
• The use and selection of bushcraft and survival knives, axes and other useful tools
o This will involve more advanced carving projects as well as the creation of your own fire bow set
• The fashioning of tools and weapons from flint and wood, including the making of natural bindings and glues
• Learning how to rediscover our innate tracking skills, activating all of our thirty plus senses, discovering animal signs, how to follow trails, where to anticipate finding wildlife and how to follow a human trail. The tracking will take place on Europe’s largest sand dune and the surrounding wild pine forest.
• Following on from this we will look at all aspects of navigation in the wilderness from map and compass use, discovering the cardinal points using natural features and building our own backwoods compass.
• Wild foods and medicinal plants. Nature is bursting with abundance and for most of us a feast and a medicine chest is hidden in plain sight. On this section of the course we will discover what to eat, how to prepare it, what will poison us, what will heal us and what plants we can gather to create useful basecamp items.
• Water along with shelter and fire is one of the three cornerstones of surviving in nature. This is an often overlooked aspect of bushcraft, but here in southern Spain where temperatures can reach more than 50˚C, the ability to find and purify water takes on a whole new significance.
• Shelter building; as mentioned above, the skills and ability to make a shelter suited to both the environment and the duration of time you will spend in it is a vital skill. In this unit we will look at both natural and manmade shelters; what materials to use, where to locate them and how to build them.
• Expedition packing and the selection of essential items. In this section we will look at what you really need to take with you on a journey, from one day hikes to longer expeditions. Learning what to take with you and equally importantly what not to take is an important part of expedition and wilderness planning and preparation. This is the sort of information that not only makes what you do more enjoyable, but could end up saving lives.
In addition one of the highlights will be taking a boat to go whale watching off the North African coast, here will be looking for killer whales, dolphins, pilot whales and if we are very lucky the magnificent s***m whale!
Accommodation and Food
We are based at the beautiful Los Banos de la Luz. This is a former spa, nestled in the mountains within the National Park of Los Alcornacles. Surrounded by wild peaks, tropical forests and waterfalls our home base is perfectly located to reintroduce you back in the wild and as a base for adventure and relaxation.
Los Banos itself is ten hectares in size and has nature trails cut through the wild olive groves, these wind past giant boulders and our beautiful natural spring fed lake. Dotted throughout the property are yurts and camping spots set in glades.
The accommodation is centred on the rustic charm of our huge restored Andalucian farmhouse. Here you can stay in beautiful and comfortable rooms, eat on the jasmine covered patio and relax in hammocks that have stunning views to Africa.
Here you will find a haven of peace, calm and tranquillity far away from the busy and noisy coastal strip; however the long wild beaches of Tarifa are just 15 minutes away.
In addition we have some luxury yurts and special camping areas with their own outdoor bathrooms and for those who like their camping a little wilder there is the eagles nest up on the mountain.
Food
Good food is integral to any course and if you take the catered options we promise you delicious home cooked meals using only the finest local organic ingredients. Food is brought in daily from the village market and the meat comes from the free range animals in the park, the eggs from the local hens, bread from the wood fired bakery, handmade cheeses from local farms and vegetables from smallholdings.
Of course where possible we will cook on the campfires and use our own bread oven to bake and make pizza.
Cost:
Five day £799 per person (excluding flights and transfers. We can arrange transfers for you should you need)
Airports include; Malaga, Gibraltar and Seville
This includes accommodation and all food as well as the course.
All courses are fully insured and staff have remote response first aid training.
