This guy had the ultimate vacation...

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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/man-survives-300-days-with-knives-pig/story-e6frev00-1225750372418

WITH just two knives for cutting and a baby pig for company, Xavier Rosset sat solo on an uninhabited Pacific island for 300 lonely days.

But unlike Robinson Crusoe, the young Swiss adventurer made a choice to isolate himself totally, surviving on food and shelter got by his own hand to challenge the modern way of life.

"It was hard, yes, very hard," Mr Rosset said, freshly arrived back in Europe after ending his 10-month stint in Tonga.

His island of choice was Tofua, a 64-square-kilometre volcanic isle home to nothing except "some pigs, lots of coconuts, a lake and tropical forest".

His luggage consisted of just a Swiss army knife, machete and a video camera to record his adventure for a documentary to be aired later this year.

The mission was to try to relearn the natural survival skills which urban men have long forgotten, but Mr Rosset said it was far from easy.

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"At the beginning I had to try hard to survive," the former professional snowboarder said.

"I had to find the food and water, build shelter, learn how to fish, everything."

Last September, just 10 days in, he had a realisation that he was all alone and would be for many months to come.

"That was very hard, without my family, my girlfriend, my friends. There was a lot of loneliness."

But he was kept busy just trying to survive.

Over the next two months he lost nearly all the 18kg of body fat he had stockpiled before starting his adventure.

He wasn't able to hold his weight steady until he discovered how to trap and kill wild pigs, in the process making his only "friend", a tiny piglet.

"I couldn't eat it because there wasn't enough meat so I took it with me and she stayed with me for three months," he said.

"She was exactly like a dog. She was a very good friend for me but I didn't talk to her like (Tom Hanks) talked to the volleyball in the movie Castaway."

It wasn't until eight months into the stay that Mr Rosset says he felt at peace on the island.

In a blog recording from this time, the explorer said: "I'm spending the most part of the day doing nothing, looking at the big ocean or the butterfly who has come to say hello to me."

"I even have enough food. I can say now and now only that I am feeling (at) home."

Being truly home in Switzerland has been the biggest high however, and there's no plan to go bush again anytime soon.
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Seriously, there is NO WAY I would even consider doing something like that. My hat's off to the guy. About one month is my max time away from home cooking. ;)
 
I also call BS on the only tools he had. He had to have something to keep the camera going, etc. So, there were more tools but the whole story is awesome no matter how many tools he carried.
 
R.A.T. said:
Seriously, there is NO WAY I would even consider doing something like that. My hat's off to the guy. About one month is my max time away from home cooking. ;)
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No? I'd love the chance to get away and just enjoy the view. I doubt I'd fair as well as he did without any time to prep, but if offered the chance right now I'd jump on it. :thumbup:

The camera could have been kept going with sets of batteries or a solar charger. Not hard to keep safe and dry in a pelican case.
 
I'm waiting for Animal Planet to run the pig's version..."How I survived 300 days stranded with a human". :)
 
Ok. Guys we seriously might need to start thinking about trying harder to keep these threads cleaned up and more on topic. In the last several weeks, I've watched this forum go down hill with all the thread jacking and craziness. I used to come in here and read all sorts of great information and learn useful stuff. Now I come in here and waste all day talking about kilt wearing island stranded peanutbutter pig sex.

...wait, erase that last part.
 
texastonydobbs said:
I bet there were some on the island o-wait you meant a knife.... Send him yours :D
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I dont have one yet.
well i still have taurns, ..........:cool:
im sure he wont mind.lol
when i get my knife it aint going anywhere but in my hand and through a whole lot of shit.
 
This ranks right up there with one of the coolest voluntary survival stories I've heard. I'm impressed. I would be impressed even if the guy had taken a tent, thermarest, IPOD and a woman. Just the dedication of staying out there for 300 days is pretty awesome.
 
Cool story, would've been really lonely and a real psychological experience. He would've probably went crazy if he didn't volunteer to do this.

Anyone interested to see that new Discovery Channel survival show? I'll be too busy to watch it when it starts up, but it looks kinda cool.
 
I agree, how did he record 300 days (even intermittently) of video data with out a battery charger? Oh yeah...I forgot...Giligan and the Professor probably stopped by in the coconut mobile and taught him how to build a coconut and palm tree battery charger .
 
There is no doubt that he had more gear than the report states, and while I don't have a problem with that, the reporters always try to sensationalize something that's already extraordinary to start with.
 
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