If you find yourself stuck in the bush awaiting rescue, and you need food, you can either forage for edible vegetation, or catch a feed. Here are five ways to catch food in the wild.
1. Crayfish
Use a bushy Manuka branch to scoop around the side of the river or creek bed to catch Kura (fresh water crayfish). They will get stuck amongst the branches. These can be dropped into boiling water to give you a good source of protein.
2. Eels
There are multiple ways to catch an eel. One effective way is to find a rotten carcass to attract one to the waters edge. Using a sharpened strong stick, the eel can be speared, or if you are skilled enough you can spear one with you knife or even scoop it out onto the bank with your hands. At night they can be easily spotted with a spotlight.
Another method of catching eels is by using flax to create a line. This is achieved by folding the flax in half, and then scraping the green pulp away to expose the fibres. Next, either place some meat inside the fold, or rub the exposed fibres on a rotten carcass to attract an eel to bite. Once an eel has bitten the exposed fibres, their inward facing teeth get stuck in the stringy fibre and they can be dragged out. The eel can then be gutted and hung to cook over a fire. Using Manuka branches on the fire will give the eel a slightly smoky taste.
3. Small game
Small game like possums and rabbits can be caught using a string of methods. Check here for how to make a rabbit snare. Possums can often be found hiding at the base of trees sheltering in fallen or thick fern. By using a stick to bash around possible possum hiding places you maybe able to scare one out of it hiding place. If you are fast enough you will be able to strike the possum on the head with a branch. One powerful hit with the back of a hatchet or branch should be enough to kill a possum. Although the thought of eating one isn’t extremely mouth watering, they can provide a decent meal in an emergency situation. Possums carry TB so they always need to be cooked well (don’t go being all gourmet and cooking that medium rare).
4. Huhu Grubs
Again not the tastiest look morsels but in an emergency situation they are easy to get and there are plenty of them around. Just find rotten tree stumps or branches, give them a boot and soon enough you will find the Huhu Beetle larvae. These little critters live for two – three years and few of them can provide a substantial enough meal a full grown one will be around 60mm long. Either eat them raw or fry them – these were a delicacy in traditional Maori diets and have a high fat content.
5. Fish
If you have a hook and line, fish can be caught using any kind on meat. If you are near a river in an area of New Zealand that trout are present, these can be caught with a small hook using insects, worms and grubs as bait.
