What Ray Mears Taught Me About Overlanding: Preparation Isn’t Optional

At this year’s Bushcraft Show, legendary survival expert Ray Mears opened his talk with a deceptively simple message: “Be prepared.” And by the end of his tale, no one in the audience was in any doubt that he meant it quite literally.

Ray had found himself in Spain during the recent electrical blackout. Planes were grounded, the airport shut down, and all nearby hotels were full. It was late – past 10 p.m. — and in Spain, that’s when many hotels lock up for the night. No flights, no power, no internet, no phone signal. He had one tenuous link to his team via WhatsApp, who arranged a hotel ten miles away. But when he got there, it too was closed.

So, what do you do in a blackout, ten miles from the airport, with no transport, no power, and nowhere to stay in the middle of the night?

Ray started walking.

But soon he was blocked by obstacles — either walk on an unlit motorway or swim across a river. The choice was obvious: neither. So, he spent the night in a dilapidated bus shelter instead. But here’s the thing — he was fine. Not because he got lucky, but because he was prepared. Despite being in southern Spain, he had with him food, water, warm clothes, and the mental resilience to cope.

“It wasn’t the most comfortable night I’ve ever had,” he said, “but it was better than it could have been.”

When the Weather Turns, or the World Does

Ray’s point was clear: it’s easy to survive a bad situation if you’ve thought ahead. A night in a bus shelter is not the end of the world, but if he’d been caught out in more extreme terrain, in bad weather, then an accident or emergency had happened, his situation could have been far worse.

Preparation isn’t just about gear—it’s about mindset. It’s about owning your decisions and learning from your mistakes. Ray freely admitted that his first mistake was leaving the airport, the only place a plane might still arrive. The second? Delegating his fate to others. Someone else arranged his taxi and hotel — and it let him down.

That story rang true for us. We’ve been in similar situations in our travels. This winter, when Mark broke his leg skiing, a stranger in Italy offered to organise a taxi to take us to our emergency accommodation near the hospital. We were grateful to delegate the responsibility — after all, we were in a foreign country with a limited command of the language. However, when the taxi didn’t turn up, we were left waiting for hours in freezing temperatures. Our good Samaritan was nowhere to be found and the number he gave us was unobtainable. It taught us a valuable lesson: you can’t outsource responsibility when you’re far from home.

Ray’s Essential Kit – And Why You Should Carry It Too

At minimum, Ray always carries:

1. A First Aid Kit
2. Warm clothing – regardless of the forecast
3. Weather protection (waterproofs, shelter)
4. Food and water
5. A Compass
6. A means to make fire (steel or firestarter)

It’s a simple list — but it’s exactly what you need when plans go sideways, or the weather suddenly turns.

As overlanders, we also carry a comprehensive array of recovery kit for our vehicle, including spares, kinetic recovery ropes, soft shackles, sand ladders, jacks and tools.

Preparedness Is Generosity, Too

Ray also talked about the human side of preparedness. When you’re calm and equipped, you can help others. That night in Spain, he said a colleague just half an hour away could have helped him — but refused. Ray believes fear narrows our focus and causes people to become more self-centred. But bushcraft, he said, teaches the opposite:

“Bushcraft teaches you to be the rock that others cling to in a rapid.”

In a world increasingly defined by uncertainty — climate crises and political chaos — he urged us to stand strong, prepared, and connected to the natural world.

“We’ve got the Earth and it’s all we’ve got… Bushcraft teaches us that if we cut too many sticks, there will be no sticks in future.”

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re crossing continents in a 4×4 or exploring wild places on foot, Ray’s story is a powerful reminder: you can’t predict what’s coming, but you can be ready for it.

Pack well. Plan for the unexpected. And when the moment comes — when the taxi doesn’t turn up, the storm rolls in, or the road ahead floods — you’ll be glad you did.

Because the real challenge of overlanding isn’t the terrain — it’s staying steady when nature and circumstance rewrite your route.

Other Posts That May Be of Interest

Are You Ready if Disaster Strikes? 12 Tips on Handling an Emergency Abroad

If you want further advice and information on the reality of living a nomadic life, check out my Top Tips page which has Tips on RV Travel Tips and Going Full Time and How We Did It, as well as my Wuff Guide to Travelling with Dogs.

Come And See Us In 2025!

At Vanlife Festival, 30th May to 1st June, Shrewsbury

At the National 4×4 & Camper Festival, 14-15th June, Stratford –

Where I will be delivering two talks!

• At 2pm on Saturday, join me for Building The Beast: An Overland Camper. We made the mistakes so you don’t have to! Have you ever dreamed of turning an old army truck into the ultimate off-grid adventure rig? In this talk, I’ll share the highs, lows, and hard-earned lessons from converting The Beast, a 30-year-old 6×4-wheel-drive Volvo N10 we bought blind off the internet. From design decisions to DIY disasters, I’ll walk you through what worked, what we’d do differently, and — if there’s time — a few of the epic adventures we’ve had with her on the road.
• At 4pm on Sunday, I’ll be hosting an informal chat entitled Never Mind the Baltics — Let’s Talk Full-Time Travel (& Dogs!) Bring a Beer & Ask Me Anything… It will be a pint-sized session on DIY big builds, dodgy border crossings, writing on the road, and overlanding with four paws in tow. I will about our travels from the Balkans to the Baltics, then host an open panel, answering your questions on all things overlanding – and, as a former professional beer taster – beer!