If you were stuck in the Australian bush, would you know how to survive?

Every year about 130 bushwalkers get lost or need rescuing and statistically you’re likely to be found within 72 hours.

When planning a bushwalk: T - Take adequate supplies of food, water, navigation and first aid equipment R - Register your planned route and tell friends and family when you expect to return E - Emergency beacon (PLB's) are available free of charge from NSW Police Force and NPWS K - Keep to your planned route and follow the map and walking trails

But without proper survival skills or equipment there’s a chance your bushwalk could turn deadly.

Kevin Newton runs bush survival courses called Australian Survival Instructors and Hack went along to learn his survival tips.

The team has based themselves on the outskirts of Glenworth Valley on the NSW Central Coast. We’ve been told the shelters we build will be our accommodation and to be prepared to skin a rabbit.

"Survival pretty much comes down to a very simple thing of maintaining core temperature so you don't want to get too hot or too cold. It’s not about having good gear that’s going to magically keep you alive," Kevin says.

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Whatsapp In the bush with the Australian Survival Instructors

"If you’ve got hot weather in the summer don't go out without enough water and if you’re going out in winter make sure you take enough clothes."

He says using common sense is the key to survival.

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Whatsapp Sarah Whyte on the Australian Survival Instructors course

"We ask people, ‘Where are you? Is it sunny, is it hot, is it raining, is it cold, is there water nearby’?" Kevin said.

At survival HQ there’s some handy instructions about how to survive the next 72 hours.

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Whatsapp Bush survival basics

Getting the essentials

One of the first things we learn on the survival course is how important fire is - to boil water, cook food and stay warm.

It’s a key priority if you’re stuck in the bush, instructor Mick Stokes says. If you don't have a lighter on you, you can try creating fire from two sticks and tinder (not the dating app) - a bundle of dry leaves, bark or basically anything that will light.

Sounds easy but it’s pretty hard. We have two pieces of wood- one that is a pencil-shaped stick and the second is a flatter piece of wood with a small hole dent in it.

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Whatsapp Making fire on the course

Holding a round stick in two hands you place it in a small hole of the flatter stick and start rubbing your hands quickly to produce fine dust.

"See it's just starting to smoke now," Mick says. "So you are creating a lot of heat with all that friction. All the friction you are making is getting hotter and hotter until one of those specks of dust turn red."

As we’re doing that a tiny red ember flashes. Mick quickly grabs it and pushes into the tinder bundle. We begin to blow on it. Minutes later the tinder catches on fire.

This fire training comes in handy as we move on to more intense activities.

Skinning a rabbit

As we are walking back to camp later that day after archery practice, four rabbits that were once in their cages hopping around, are now strung up by their legs ready for us to skin. They were killed by one of the instructors as we were off shooting.

"I’m currently holding a stick with a bunch of rabbits off it," says Tom Foley who's 16 and on the course with his dad.

I ask Tom how he’s feeling about holding the dead rabbits given he used to own pet rabbits (personally I’m feeling a bit queasy).

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Whatsapp Mapping with Zac Nast and Kevin Newton

“Good,” he says. “They were fed well, they were killed humanely, what more could you ask. So first we’re going to clean them, then skin them and process the meat and eat it hopefully.

"It’s a fact of life really, things die and it's the circle of life," he said.

Back at camp we are given a demonstration how to skin the rabbit - the vital information is not to pierce the bowel of the animal and contaminate the meat.

The skinning is strange to watch. The guys pull down its fur with force, as if it’s a jumper over its body.

"It’s a lot harder from pulling off a jumper - it’s like a pulling off a jumper that has duct tape on it," another young participant says.

Shelters

Keeping dry and warm should be a high priority if you’re stuck in the bush. We’re shown a variety of shelters - and keeping off the ground will keep you warmer if you can find ferns or mats to sleep on.

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Whatsapp Luxury accomodation in the bush

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Whatsapp Making shelter

Signalling for help

Did you know that the international letter for help is V? If a rescue plane is flying overhead and sees a V in an area, it will know to stop.

Other signalling includes lighting three fires in a row, shining a flashing red light or using a mirror to direct sunlight to a plane flying overhead.

"Any form of ground symbol should have the minimum of three metres, try and make it as wide as you can," Kevin says.

"Remember all cars have mirrors on them," Kevin says.