Wilderness Camping

Learning to camp out in the wild is not something a young kiwi wants to try, but he's going to need to need to pay attention.
Written especially for this podcast by Alice. 

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Speaker 1: Yea. Hello. My name's Josephine and this is the Animal

Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in our stories.

There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,

with a third story for Premium members every Friday. To

learn more about Animal Tales, please visit our new website

at Animaltales dot uk. Ferdinand, Maximilian and Augustus are from

New Zealand and they would like a story featuring a Kiwi,

a Too, a Tara and a Moa. You can learn

more about these creatures in the animal Facts after the story. Okay,

are you ready? That's good, then I'll begin. Wilderness Ferdy

was a Kiwi and he was currently staring out the

car window as the trees and hills whizzed by. His

phone had lost signal an hour ago, and he hadn't

seen a building for a long time. He was truly

in the middle of nowhere, almost at camp. Ferdy's mum

said from the front seat, are you excited? Unfortunately, the

young Kiwi was not far from it. In fact, he

was on his way to the Wilderness Survival Camp, a

place where he would learn to build shelters, forage for food,

and make camp fires. The thought of being stuck in

the woods with no TV, no games, and none of

his friends didn't sound like a fun way to spend

the week. Can't we just go home, he asked. Nonsense

replied his You'll love it once you get started, and besides,

we're here already too late to turn around. Now they

were entering the gates of the camp site and were

soon pulled up alongside several other cars. Out of the window,

Ferdy could see a number of young animals already running

around and getting to know each other, while behind them,

several small cabins lined a long stone path that led

to a large wooden building. Moments later, Ferdy was being

handed his bag. Have fun, sweetie, Ferdy's mum said, I'll

see you in a week. Ferdy watched her drive away

with a sigh. He'd never been to camp before. How

was he supposed to know what to do? A hand

clamped down on Ferdy's shoulder, jolting him from his thoughts.

Good morning, said a very cheerful looking possum. I'm Tessa,

the camp leader. You must be, Ferdy. Verdy nodded as

the possum checked her clipboard. You're in Cabin three. Tessa said,

go drop off your bag and meet your room mates.

We'll gather you altogether soon so we can get started

with the activities. Verdy nodded that he understood and headed

towards the cabin with a big three painted on the door. Inside,

he found a small, one roomed lodge with three beds

pressed against the walls. There were two other animals already inside.

Sat on the floor was a touatara, a lizard like reptile,

while a large bird called a mower was sprawled on

one of the beds. Hi the two atara, said excitedly,

I knew we'd fill all the beds. You're a Kiwi.

How cool? What's your name? Where are you from? And

what are you looking forward to the most. Ferdy was

taken aback by the wave of enthusiasm. Give him some space, Maxie,

the moa said, or he'll run away into the woods

and it'll be just us. The twu atara squished his

lips together and sat down, looking as if he was

trying really hard to not ask another question. I'm Orgie.

This is Maxie, said the moa. Welcome to Cabin three. Thanks,

said Ferdy, dropping his bag on the unoccupied bed. I'm Ferdy,

to be honest, I don't think I should be here.

Camp isn't for me. What burst out, Maxy. But this

camp's great. We get to do so much fun stuff.

There's rafting, hi king, star gazing, building fires, climbing trees,

roasting marshmallows. Yeah yeah, Maxy. Orgie chuckled. I'm sure he

gets it. Look, don't worry, Ferdy. It's normal to feel

a bit nervous. I've never been away from home for

an entire week before, so I sure Anne and Maxy

might sound excited, but so far he's frozen up whenever

he's had to do something I did not, said Maxy indignantly.

At least not much, Ferdy smiled to himself. He wasn't

looking forward to getting muddy or battling with bugs, but

at least his room mates seemed nice. There's the bell,

announced Orgie, come on, it's time for the first activity.

A little less reluctant now, Ferdy followed Maxy and Orgie outside,

where they met up with all the other campers. There

were a lot of them, which surprised the KII no end. Tessa,

the possum camp leader, started by taking them all down

to the river side. There, she introduced them to the

wild plants, explaining which ones they could eat and which

ones they should stay well away from. Orgie managed to

find some edible berries, which they all tried, although Ferdy

got bury juice down his front feathers. Next, they got

to build a shelter. They had some great fun collecting

up sticks, which they used to build a small den.

It was going well until Maxie added a sizeable log,

causing the entire structure to collapse. Then, much later, as

the sun was setting, Tessa taught everyone how to make

a campfire. Ferdy, Orgie, and Maxie then got to cook

their own hot dogs, which they ate before roasting marshmallows.

Those were delicious, even if some were a little burnt.

That night, as the young Kiwi listened to the sounds

of his cabin mates sleeping, he realized he'd had a

lot of fun, although he still felt uneasy about the wilderness.

With mixed thoughts, Ferdy drifted off to sleep. The following day,

at breakfast, camp leader Tessa announced that they were going

for a nature hike. They were all handed a list

of plants and insects that they had to look for,

and were told the whichever cabin found the most by

the hike's end would receive a prize. Oh we have

to win this, Maxie said excitedly. With Tessa leading, the

campers streamed into the woods. Some are marking down plants

and bugs as they went. Somehow, though, Ferdy, Maxi, and

Orgie found themselves right at the back. They walked deep

into the woods, leaving the camp far behind them. As

the trees grew thickly overhead, the path they were following

was barely a track at all, although Tessa appeared to

know the way. The animals of Cabin three were determined

to tick off everything on their list, checking every leaf, stone,

and flower for creepy crawleys. We'd better catch up before

we fall further behind, urged Ferdy, noticing the backs of

the next campers retreating from them. That was the last

thing they wanted, so they hurried on, only for Orgie

to stop. Suddenly, Maxie and Ferdy walked right into him.

Did you hear that? Asked the moa. From somewhere in

the trees, came a faint chirping noise. That's a ground wetter,

I'm sure of it, the moa cried, tapping the insect's

name on his list. Quickly find it before it jumps away.

Knowing this would be a good one to tick off

their list, Orgie, Maxie, and Ferdy began rummaging in the undergrowth, immediately,

not realizing that their search was taking them further and

further away from the trail. Here, announced Orgie in triumph,

bounding into a gully. The other two followed, finding the

moa hunched over his find. I doubt anyone else will

find a wetter Orgie said, ticking it off the list.

We're going to win for sure. For a moment, the

three of them were all smiled, until Ferdy asked, which

way did we come from? I think it was that way,

Maxy said, pointing no, I'm quite sure it was this way,

said Orgie. I recognize that tree, declared Ferdy, I think.

The three animals looked at one another, realizing what a

mistake they had made. Can anyone hear us? Ferdy yelled, Tessa,

we need help, Maxi cried. Nobody replied, what do we do?

Orgie asked, we're lost. I want my mum, Maxy sniffed.

Ferdy looked at his two friends and saw faces full

of panic and worry. Hey, it's okay, he said calmly.

We're at a wilderness survivor camp. Remember, but we don't

know where we are, wailed MAXI that's all right, insisted Ferdy.

We just need to stay put until the adults come

to save us, but we don't know how long that

will be. Orgie wimped. Then we'd best get to work

building our camp, Ferdy said. We can start by building

a shelter. But that didn't go so well last time,

did it, said the Tuatara. It collapsed. Remember what if

I get it wrong again? We won't make the same

mistake again, said Ferdy. Come on, we can do this.

Through Ferdy's encouragement, they collected long, thick branches and sticks,

propping them up against a moss covered boulder to create

their shelter. They used smaller leaf filled branches as a covering.

By the time they were done, they had a good,

solid looking shelter, large enough for the three of them. Wow,

we did it, Orgie said in surprise, before being interrupted

by his own grumbling stomach. By now, it was a

long time since breakfast. Let's look around for something to eat.

Suggested Ferdy, but stay in sight of the camp. The

mower and the tuatara nodded. The gully they were in

had a stream running through it. They spread out along

the bank and began searching, remembering what was good and

what was bad. After an hour they had quite a collection.

The sun's getting low, pointed out Maxi, noting how it

was showing beneath the tree tops. Then we need to

think about a fire, said Ferdy. This meant more gathering.

Once done, Ferdy prepared the ground to make a safe

space for the fire. As they had been shown. He

then built a small pile of sticks with finer material

at its center. They had been taught how to get

a fire started by rubbing two sticks together, so Ferdy

carefully selected what he needed and tried to make a spark.

Come on, Come on, he muttered to himself, willing his

tiny pile of sticks to ignite. But no matter how

hard he tried, the fire simply wouldn't light. Let me try,

suggested Maxi. He began rubbing the sticks, but the Tuatara

had no more luck than the Kiwi. My turn, offered Orgie.

He started off confidently, but was soon frustrated. It sure

is harder than it looked, he said, are you sure

we're doing it right? I'll give it another go, said Ferdy,

although he wasn't hopeful, but better to try than risk

a night in complete darkness. He rubbed the sticks together vigorously,

and much to his amazement, he created a spark. A

minute later, they had a small fire going. Oh what

a relief, Maxie cried. They had food, shelter, and a fire,

and what's more, they had each other. Despite the obvious

danger they were in, they found themselves laughing and joking

as they swapped stories by firelight. By the time the

fire had dulled to a red glow, the three animals

were lying on their backs around the fading warmth. Hey look,

said Maxie, pointing up through a gap in the tree's canopy. Stars.

The night sky was full of them, more than they'd

ever seen before. I know we're lost, said Orgie, But

this was actually quite fun. Yea, Maxy agreed, Doing all

this for real is even better than camp. Ferdie smiled,

realizing he completely agreed. He felt he belonged out here

with nature. Yea, he said, this is nice. They made

sure the fire was extinguished properly, then crawled into the

shelter to sleep. They were awoken by the sound of

Tessa the possum's voice. Well look at you all, she said,

sounding pleased. It's almost as if you three were paying attention.

She really was in rest, especially when they told her

all about the food they'd found and the campfire they'd made.

I'm sorry he got lost, Ferdy said. At last, not

your fault, said Tessa. There should have been an adult

at the back. You're not in trouble. I thought you'd

kick us out, admitted Maxy. What three amazing campers like you?

Asked Tessa. Cabin three is the best cabin here. Now

let's get you back. We'll be in time for the rafting.

Just yesterday, the thought of splashing about in cold water

would have filled Thurdy with dread. But that was yesterday. Today,

he said, I can't wait. Animal fat. Despite being a bird,

a kiwi's feathers are loose and fluffy, almost like fur.

They have no tail feathers, and yet they do have

catlike whiskers. Although two ataras look like lizards, they are

a different kind of reptile. They've been on earth since

the time of the dinosaurs and can live up to

one hundred years of age. Mowers are now extinct, and,

like keiri's, were flightless, although they were considerably larger. The

tallest reached around three point six meters that's twelve feet,

whereas a kiri would be lucky to reach fifty centimeters

that's twenty inches. Thank you for your great suggestions, Ferdie,

Maxi and Orgie. We hope you enjoyed the story, and

thank you to all of you across the world for

listening to it. Join us next time for another great

animal tail. Good Bye,