Parent-child quality time: spending the night in the woods

Gerty and Jimmy of Unplugged Outdoor understand the concept of pre-fun like no other. In the first mailing prior to our 'parent-child weekend', we received the assignment to go find "Lisdodde". This would be an essential part of the weekend. Easier said than done, weeks of searching, nothing (within easy reach) found.

Jimmy and Gerty are the driving force behind Unplugged Outdoor. As they describe it themselves, Unplugged Outdoor creates...

As the weekend approached, the weather forecast got worse by the day. I began to get slightly worried. I arranged for a tent and an extra sleeping bag, emailed Gerty and Jimmy with my concerns and confessed that I had zero to no camping experience; whether it was really going to work out.

The temperature dropped some more, towards freezing point and I filled more and more bags and crates with thermal clothing, layers and topped it off with sheepskins and a hot water bottle. She assured me it was all going to be fine and with fresh reluctance we headed for Brabant. The forest between Breda and Tilburg awaited us.

We were not the only ones at the parent-child weekend, fellow Honeyguide Nappie and her daughter also joined us and six more parents attended with their child. A quick perusal around the group revealed that one half had been given up by their partner, the other half wanted to be less occupied with phones themselves and have quality-time with their child.

Now that I am writing this, I realise that one can automatically produce the other. The time you don't spend on your phone (those millions of online friends of yours) that attention could already go to your child. First lesson in the pocket, and an eye opener that everyone struggles with escaping the delusion of the day and your mobile.

• During a bushcraft weekend you will learn to build your own shelter; to make a good place to spend the night in the woods from all kinds of materials. Which bark do you need, which moss is best and how to make sure your shelter is somewhat stable, safe and watertight. Not easy.
• You learn to read maps and find treasure; something that might seem mega difficult (and is) was made clear by Jimmy in a few simple steps. How do coordinates work. How do you read them and more importantly, if you are lost, how do you make it clear where you are? Then you were sent into the forest with map to go treasure hunting. Of the four groups that left, only two came back with a treasure. Just to show, how easy it is.
• During a bushcraft weekend, you will of course learn how to lumber, cut and curl; how to safely handle an axe and a knife. Jaiks, exciting but we do it well.

Incidentally, the weekend is far from just being busy. It's mainly about being outdoors and having a great time. The latter is provided by Gerty, who has developed a passion for outdoor cooking. She also organises weekends entirely focused on outdoor cooking. It is a wonder what she conjures up from the fire. From pancakes, to burgers, from French toast to stews and to top it all off, even pizza. What a feast, from morning until just before bedtime she makes sure we lack for nothing.