No matches? Some ingenious ways to light a fire!

NO matches and your lighter fuel has run out?

How to start a fire with easily accessible items!

I have watched many episodes of “Naked and Afraid” and other survival shows and seen wild men of the woods and survivalists battle to start a fire with two sticks.  Sometimes it takes them days – and they are the experts! So we won’t even consider this as a means of starting a fire, as most of us will never be in a dire situation that without fire we might die.  I thought it might be a good idea to look at what you might have on hand if you want to light a braai fire but haven’t any matches!

Something simple I remember from my childhood is to start a fire with a magnifying glass.

Always remember, no matter how you improvise to get a flame going, you will have to have paper, small twigs, firelighters, dried grass etc., as kindling.

Then hold your magnifying glass to catch the sun’s rays and concentrate the sun beam onto the kindling.  You can use spectacles, the top of a torch, or even a water bottle with water in it.

Hopefully somewhere you might have a metal pot scraper. Very handy things to have! Once we went camping but packed in such a rush, we forgot everything but the meat.  When we got to our first camp site, there was a braai stand but no grill top to it.  We found a pot scraper in the undergrowth (brand new, don’t know how it got there) and stretched it across the fire on sticks to cook our steaks on! You can also start a fire with some steel wool. Just rub the steel wool over the positive end of an AA battery.

Rub a battery into steel wool

Need a spark?  You have a lighter but it has run out of gas?  Take the “hood” off and use the lighter to create a spark to get your tinder going. It may not have gas to give you a flame, but it will act like a flint and steel to create a spark.

And finally, one of the coolest ways to start a fire is to use a battery and some tinfoil – or the wrapper of some chewing gum if it has a foil side.  Cut a thin strip of tin foil and fold in half. Cut a curve in the centre to make it narrow, open it up and then hold each end to the ends of an AA battery – and watch the flame develop in the centre. You will have to be quick!  Here is a video to show you how:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbwQ3zuOJw0

Staying at one of Royal Jozini’s beautiful bush lodge homes should never be a problem when it comes to lighting a boma fire or braai. Kujabula Lodge does all the cooking for you so you don’t even have to THINK about it – or you can book a self catering bush home – all of which have gas hobs and stoves that you can always pinch a flame from!