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No soft options here, this engaging documentary shows how to really survive the perils of the bush. It will feature the internationally renowned musician, artist, entertainer, actor and presenter, David Hudson, who takes two beautiful, modern, city-raised women from very different walks of life, to his family’s homeland at Jowalbinna on Cape York Peninsula, and asks his relatives to teach the girls about traditional Aboriginal trapping and hunting techniques, and adds a few of his own to show how easy it is to get a meal – if you’re not too choosy.

Deborah Brown is a city-born girl of indigenous background. She knows nothing of her people’s ways but is keen to learn. Her travelling companion is Monika Karwan, who has traded in her life in the fast lane for a life in search of “paradise”. Both girls are keen to learn bush survival skills the Aboriginal way. Who better to teach them than the Aboriginal women themselves? The Aboriginal philosophy is that once you know what can sustain human survival in any environment and where, when and how this sustenance is to be obtained, then the environment ceases to be hostile. This is the lesson that Deborah and Monika have to learn.

The girls learn about the various uses of plants as both a food source and for medicinal purposes. They are shown how to tap trees for water and learn that eating a bit of a charcoal will stop diarrhoea and thereby stop dehydration in the bush. Most importantly, they learn that even a little knowledge, the ability to improvise and some basic skills can be enough to provide the confidence you need to instil a positive attitude, which can then make a difference between survival and dying.

The challenge is for Deborah and Monika to survive for a week on their own, using the skills that they have learned at Jowalbinna.

What have they remembered from their time at the Aboriginal community?

Is it enough to survive?

Financed by the Australian Film Finance Corporation.