I find myself hooked on tv programmes on Travel Channel about the Arctic: Building Alaska, and Life Below Zero are my absolute faves.

It's not the extreme cold that appeals (I get Raynaud's in my fingers at the first nip of frost); nor the extremes in light or dark, depending on the time of year there (I like my summer black-out blinds); and certainly not the constant fear of being attacked by predators (I want to see my grandkids reach adulthood).

No, it's the resourcefulness of people surviving off-grid that I admire. They live entirely by their own endeavours not by anyone else's rules, or instruction. Daily, they make-do and mend, and have to think outside the box to solve problems. No YouTube & internet to guide these tough off-griders!

Glenn Villeneuve owns no mechanised equipment. No skidoo, or chainsaw. No dogs to pull sleds. Just a gun, a knife, an axe, a saw and snowshoes. He said the best thing that ever happened was when his watch broke. Then he lived by his own time - living by the light of the sun, or moon; and regulated by the necessities of each season. Becoming a sustenance hunter to eat; digging through metres of ice to collect a supply of water; chopping trees for fuel and then dragging them back to his hut in his sled.

To me, days when you are more physically tired (through effort) are better for you than days when you are mentally tired (through stress and over-thinking).

Then comes the big BUT.....

I couldn't survive without an airdrop of chocolate, and I love those supermarket plastic packets of mixed fresh fruit - melon medley esp, and I would need letters/communication from family! And Insect Repellant - clouds of insatiably hungry mosquitoes hatch in the Arctic summer. Gawd!! And I'd need at least a couple of huskies for company. But then I'd need to be able to feed them. And they're extremely noisy when they're bored.

And could I actually butcher a warm karibou? I prefer my meat chilled and pre-packed into handy portions. Would it be cheating to have a packet of sneakily-hidden choccie biccies? And what if I was ill? Who could I moan at? 

Naw! I'm off to Aldis to buy a couple of packets of kindling. I'm really just a townie who likes to dream!