Adventurer Dave Wise and his dog Juno who stayed on Darnet Island in the Medway estuary. Picture: Karl Farrer

by Dan Bloom

A dog is a man’s best friend, but not for Medway adventurer Dave Wise.

He will finish a landmark 45 days and nights as a castaway on a small island in the Medway estuary tomorrow alone – after being abandoned by his trusted border collie.

The pet, who fears water, swam across 1.3 miles of open water during a heavy thunderstorm in a trek worthy of Lassie.

Dave, 44, had taken her to tiny Darnet Island as part of an experiment where he lived in a tent within sight of Gillingham and Chatham.

Ships pass Darnet Island as Dave Wise spends 45 days there

But three-year-old Juno was not up to the task, and vanished before turning up sodden and mud-splattered at Riverside Country Park in Rainham.

Dave, who has won lottery grants to improve access to the estuary, said: “On the day it happened it was a clear sky, but a crack of thunder came in the distance and she ran and sat in some brambles. The sky turned black, the gales came and I was trying to hold the camp together.

“I circled the island two or three times but I couldn’t find her.

“I thought she had drowned because she hates water, but I got a phone call to say she had turned up. I was so relieved.”

Juno is now safe and being looked after.

Sea bass caught in the estuary at Darnet Island

Dave joked: “If she had been swimming to save her master she would have been all over the papers. As it is, she deserves everything she gets!”

We previously told how the artist canoed to Darnet, which is 400 yards wide, to reconnect with nature and his own thoughts and promote the estuary.

Friends have visited to help him pick plants like purslane and samphire grass, and catch sea bass.

He had the help of a few modern tools, including a gas camping stove, solar-powered phone charger and camping gear.

Property found on Darnet island while beachcombing

He has also made beach-combed necklaces and a small documentary about the island, which features an imposing stone fort.

“Most people in the Towns don’t know there’s this island out here,” he said.
“You can watch the sunset and go to sleep in total peace.

“If people came here more, fewer would suffer stress and mental anxiety.”

Occasional canoe tours can be booked via davewise.biz.