The Kalahari Kanoe Klub (not to be confused with the other KKK) ended up roughing it this weekend after a National Trust booking error put someone else in the only formal accommodation on Salt Island.It took about 30 seconds to decide that we'd camp rough rather than paddle back and another 2 minutes to pull out all the cool survival toys everyone carries on a trip like this 'just in case'.
My professional engineering registration enabled me to easily beat off lesser qualified members of the team and grab the prestigious title of shelter designer.
Ewan (on the right of the picture) won the right to build the fire by dint of having the coolest fire starting device (everyone else had matches or lighters - he had an aluminium stick that gave off sparks when struck by steel). I could have taken him on this with my Bushman knowledge but I didn't want to appear greedy for all the good jobs.
We had a perfect night and a great paddle back. Darren (middle in the picture) managed to capsize in the freezing water giving us a chance to practice rescue techniques on him. He was a bit selfish and insisted on getting out of the water before I could find my camera so we have nothing to show for it.
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