Woman in the Wilderness: A Story of Survival, Love and Self-Discovery in New Zealand

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Miriam Lancewood is a young Dutch woman living a primitive, nomadic life in the heart of New Zealand’s mountains with her New Zealand husband Peter. She lives simply in a tent or hut and survives by hunting wild animals, foraging edible plants and using minimal supplies. For seven years, they lived this way, through all seasons, often cold, hungry and isolated in the bush. She loves her life and feels free, connected to the land and happy. Wildlife ecologist Anne LaBastille is a pioneer in the growing movement of women into wilderness-oriented careers. In this groundbreaking book, she documents this phenomenon, profiling fifteen remarkable women ranging in age from twenty-one to seventy whose lives and professions center on the outdoors. Some are field scientists or hold technical jobs--a zoologist, a speleologist (cave explorer), a builder of log houses--others have forged unique, self-reliant lifestyles in wilderness homesteads. These women, LaBastille herself among them, constitute a new and important category of role models for young women. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where God had prepared a place for her so that she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. If you’re going off grid, prepping is key. Miriam and Peter spent months training for that first winter in South Marlborough, New Zealand: long, demanding treks, first-aid courses; reading survival and foraging books – working out by the spoonful exactly how much flour, pulses, tea bags they’d need. They practised seeing in the dark with night walks. Miriam isn’t a conspiracy theorist but she’s proud she has now learned survival skills, in case of Armageddon.

My life is free, random and spontaneous. This in itself creates enormous energy and clarity in body and mind - Miriam Lancewood As said before, I wasn't quite as connected to the first part of the book. It read more like a history textbook and was kind of disjointed. But the stories about the women, those are what I really enjoyed. They just seemed to be living and loving their lives and they did such good for the world. It's hard for me to believe that by the time I read this book, many are dead and the others are quite elderly now. They just feel so alive, like they are still out there working and doing what they've always been doing. And aside from just showcasing women in these jobs, it also highlighted the jobs themselves. There were a lot of things, like the women who worked for the Olympics, preserving the area around the ski slopes, that I wouldn't have even imagined could be a job. And really, the list of books on the subject or written by these women, is reason enough to read this book. My to-read list just grew by a mile I think. But I do have to say that you could tell this was written in the seventies. For almost every woman, an astrological sign was somehow mentioned. For starters, Davidson says, she was young in the late 60s and 70s, when anything seemed possible. “Everything was about freedom and risk and testing and pushing and seeing who you were and who you could be and refusing to accept the restrictions of the time and the past. It was a heady and wonderful time to be young.” She thinks the film suggests that a young woman had to be unstable rather than adventurous to undertake such a challenge. “They made Mia, that darling actress who is still a dear friend, too troubled and grumpy. There’s not enough jokes in the film. Not enough pleasure, I suppose.” Despite her bleakness, she does have a huge sense of fun. These two cases mark a departure from the types of cases the ACLU had argued from its inception in the early part of this century. It had argued the free speech and free association rights of unions in the beginning. Then during World War II and after, it argued for free speech rights for Nazis, and prosecuted Japanese internment cases as unconstitutional. During the Cold War it argued for the free speech rights of Communists. During the Civil Rights era, it argued the civil rights cases of minorities, and also paid special attention to the constitutional rights of prisoners and criminals (i.e., police brutality). The two cases above were the only cases involving religion in which it took an interest. But how will you shower? ... Oh no, you have to come out once a month! At least when you have your period, surely! (c) Ugh, I have no idea how people managed to make it when there were no facilities or modern sanitary stuffs.Miriam and Peter have ample time to reflect on existential issues such as the meaning of life and death, nature of relationships, fear, loneliness and uncertainty. And, of course, how the biodiversity of the natural world informs human existence. I quite enjoyed reading their reflections and ruminations simply because they resonated with me. Peter is deep and mystical (like David Attenborough?) and has the capacity to express himself. His take on life flows in a lyrical fashion. Each time, Miriam is blown away and rushes to capture his every word. Living simply is an important aspect of the couples’ lifestyle. Miriam describes living free of possessions as “exhilarating”. Being removed from society and technology, Miriam finds fulfillment in the few daily tasks required such as washing in rivers, building fires, hunting and cooking, filling her “heart and soul full of energy” with these simple duties.

and the woman fled into the Desert, there to be cared for, for 1,260 days, in a place which God had prepared for her. The woman fled to the desert, to a place God had prepared for her, where she will be taken care of for 1,260 days. We’ve got to pay the mortgage or the rent,’ he said over his shoulder. ‘For a house we only see at night’ When I entered Lothlórien, it suddenly seemed ludicrous to hurry. There was absolutely no logical reason to be so hasty; in fact, it was safer to go slowly. I stopped, looked at the beauty around me and realised that I did everything at great speed. It was an automatic response to my life in school and the workplace. Nature, however, had plenty of time. I discarded the invisible whip. (c)And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. The timeless beauty is just astonishing,’ I said shyly. ‘I want to try living without any barrier between the naked earth and myself. Cooking on fires, drinking pure water, sleeping on the ground . . . The wilderness might be able to teach us something, if we have time to listen.’ (c)

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place having been prepared there by God, so that they should nourish her there one thousand two hundred sixty days.I realised that my experience of nature had begun to change. I was tuned in to the rhythm of the forest, river and mountains. Beauty had become more apparent and intense. When I looked at the mountains, I saw not only their outward shapes, but also colours and moods. And slowly, over the weeks and months, I smelled the subtle breeze, the perfume of the forest and the approaching rain. I noticed changing clouds and delicate colours in the sky. (c)