Original subtitles

Check this out. I got bush soup.

It'd be nice to have a shower, go out on a date with my wife, to hug my kids.

The difference between winning this or not is whether you can bring in food.

And I've got some pretty elaborate ways of doing that.

I'm losing energy because I'm uncomfortable and I need to fix that.

It's been many years since I got out of the army.

Maybe I'm not as mentally resilient as...

I thought I'd grown to be.

Fuck, what am I doing out here?

I'm officially tapping out.

We're halfway to the South Pole. We're going to be totally alone.

It's Tasmania. It's cold. It's rain. It's snow.

We're all going to leave changed forever.

Holy fuck. Yeah!

What is this place?

Run. A game picked from hell. Mother nature's kicking my arse.

This experience is just

as much a mind game as it is a survival game.

$250,000 prize would change my life.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It comes at a cost.

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

I'm not really into golf but here goes.

Hit it too far.

Oh this is by far the nicest day.

It's just blue all around.

So after a whole bunch of work, my kayak is complete.

All right, so here's the kayak.

I'm really quite happy with how it looks on the outside.

Good tension.

I'm going to roll her over.

So you can see all of the lacing I did last night.

It took forever, but it was worth it.

Look at that.

To burn the holes in the side of the tarpaulin, I had to get a fire going.

You can go straight in the middle because you're behaving.

And then I had to heat up the billy handle and then use that like a hot

poker to put the holes through.

And that worked really well.

Oh, easy peasy.

And then I used inner paracord to lace the edges.

Oh, perfect.

That worked even better than I thought it would.

Man, there's a bloody lot of work in that.

Yeah, but it's gonna make a big difference.

I mean, for the first time since being here, I can explore my area,

trial my line, and all these opportunities just get opened up with

having a kayak.

I can't wait to get in the water.

Okay, I'm just going through final preparations.

It's pretty important that this kayak operates as planned because there's a

lot riding on it.

It's going to be heavy as crap, isn't it?

It's a good sign it floats.

My strategy is to prioritise food above all else.

And I really haven't eaten anything since I got here.

So the kayak to me is a very, very important survival tool.

All right.

I do have to be careful because the bottom of the kayak is just tarpaulin.

So the slightest rub on a rock will slice it and cause a leak and be very,

very difficult to fix.

Getting my butt in is the tricky thing.

Why is that scraping?

All right, now I'm floating.

Bloody fishing rod's in a bloody way.

That's better.

My center of gravity lower towards the bottom of the boat.

Stuck.

Some dead wood right under my nose.

I want to break free.

Yes.

Good morning.

It was so fucking beautiful waking up to a day of full sunshine.

Guess what?

My shelter was warm last night.

It was so warm I got to take off my pants, which is amazing.

Because my horrible itchy thighs aren't terribly horrible and itchy.

Sleeping naked in the possum fur is ridiculously fabulous.

How glamorous is that?

Not your normal idea of suffering away on alone.

Remember how I couldn't do up my pants?

Today...

Guess what?

I can do up my pants.

Kind of.

All right, it's not the most comfortable doing up at the decks, but

they stay up.

So the good thing about that is my pants do up.

The not so good thing about that means I have lost a metric fuckton of weight.

I reckon I'm coming up on 10 kilos.

For me to fit into these, it means I'm almost losing a kilo a day.

That's a lot.

That's a lot I don't actually want to lose. Like, I came in thinking I've got

30 kilos to lose, and I knew that I would burn a whole bunch of calories

making this shelter, but I can't sustain that.

I feel so, so, so glad I came in with the strategy that I did,

which was to just blast the shelter right away.

I'd be so sad right now if I had all of that work ahead of me.

Shelter's the number one thing, number one priority in survival.

But now it's time to go out and actually find some food.

I'm going to eat something today.

That's what I'm doing today. Today I'm going to eat something.

That wasn't expected.

Try that.

Right, so I'm interested to know what happened there.

Obviously.

It's critical that I get this kayak fixed.

The biggest threat for me here is starvation.

I need some bloody food.

Morning, everyone.

Guess what day it is.

Double fucking digits.

And you know what? Have a look at this.

Blue sky.

We got a blue sky day today.

So today, we're going to go hunting for yabbies.

Let's go.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Look at this.

Isn't this just incredible?

We've gone like two metres and look how pretty it is.

What a rainforest paradise.

Look at that.

It is a dream.

It's a dream.

Oh, bloody check this out.

Have a go at that.

There's a bloody waterfall here.

It's not big, but it's bloody awesome.

And it's perfect water for yabbies.

This is it. We're going to park up here for a bit, try and get some yabbies and

that in there.

See if I just put that right in the middle there, nice and slow, and let

that sink down.

Hopefully there's a yabbie under that rock ledge there or somewhere.

And he's going to get a scent of that tasty seafood and come running out.

Then I'm going to pounce.

I love this place so much.

So much.

My time in the army left me with PTSD and anxiety.

And it's taken me many, many years to sort of, you know, work out the

triggers. So intense.

I'm not big on busy, noisy places.

I get anxious when I see ambulance or fireys, you know, sirens.

Come on.

And when I'm out in the bush, there's no stresses, there's no triggers, there's

no anxieties.

For me, being in nature is the best thing for my mental health.

It's not looking good here, guys.

Maybe that bait isn't enticement enough. He's a bit scared. So what I'll do...

is just try and feel around with me hands.

Nah.

All right.

Let's get out of here.

Don't even care about the food.

Well, I do, but I'm not even disappointed.

Just angry.

Nah.

Surely if we keep having this positive vibe and good attitude, working hard,

good things will happen. It will. I know it will.

So we got that chopper flying over and I thought it was like super exciting and

now I'm just getting mad PTSD triggers, I don't know why.

I don't know if it's like someone's hurt or like, fuck.

PTSD is a fucking shit.

It's a crazy panic attack.

Huge waves of emotion.

Jesus. Well, that's what a fucking PTSD panic attack looks like.

If you ever want to see one.

Yeah, so, I don't know, it took me a long time to

realise I had PTSD and

it's not a good feeling.

It's just something that I believe will never go away.

I haven't had one of these attacks for a while, maybe

six months.

Obviously, things are a bit more severe out here with the emotions and what's

going on.

It's weird.

It's fucking weird. It's hard to work out.

Like, you've just got no control over your emotions at all.

It's like the most saddest, horrific thing that's ever happened.

But nothing has happened.

That's how your body reacts.

So yeah.

There it is.

Post-traumatic fucking stress disorder.

New beauty.

Wow, that was crazy.

Helicopter coming to get me.

So at night I've been hearing some pretty crazy noises around my tent and

I'm super interested to know what it is so I've come out the back here behind my

shelter and I'm gonna look for say like little diggings or any like scat that

can

Sort of indicate if it's a possum or a wallaby.

Not hunting them. I would never hunt a possum.

I'm just really curious, to be honest.

I've got up a few times in the night to try and see them, but they're elusive

little critters here.

So this is a great little animal track you can see.

There's no leaf litter here and it's sort of like a little highway.

coming up and through.

So I'm going to follow this along and see if I can find anything.

It's surprising to me how beautiful this place is to me now.

When I first got here, I was just like, what have I done?

What am I doing here?

I still can't get over the forest here in Lutowita.

It's just so different to mainland Australia and it really excites me as an

ecologist that there's so many different landscapes and habitat types and there's

always more to learn.

So I found some poo and sometimes that's the best way to know what's around

is to look at the poo and I'm pretty sure this is a Bennett's wallaby.

Then over here, we've got like a little possum poo.

I can't really tell if it's a ring tail or a brush tail possum, but you probably

don't care.

Only the ecologist can get excited about poo, hey?

When I hike, I go into nature and I...

I look around and I experience and I absorb the beauty and I love learning

about it and understanding it.

So for me, this is a longer game than just the

survival experience. For me, this is a lifelong experience and I'm actually

really relieved that I found my own.

my own path and I've walked my own path while I've been out here and I don't

want to be hunting possums and killing them, you know.

That's not how I interact with nature and I want to be true to myself.

Even if that does mean that I can't stay out here as long as I'd initially

planned, I'm okay with that.

I'm really okay with that.

Yeah. I'm really proud of myself for doing that.

Really proud.

All right, friends.

The day has come.

If I don't start eating.

I am going to get pretty sick and I know they tap people for losing weight too

quickly. So I need to go out and find some food.

The simplest option is sausage bases.

I want to get a whole bunch and chop them up and put them in a pot and cook

them.

Now, it says you can eat them raw as well.

Honestly, try eating a toothbrush.

That's what it's like.

So maybe if I boil the shit out of them for a whole day, they'll turn to mush

and I can eat them.

No.

Nothing is going to soften that shit.

That is just not edible.

Well, I guess if nothing else, I'll be able to drink the water and there'll be

some nutrients in that.

I think.

I've never said I was an expert survivalist.

And I'm not. And I know I'm not.

You know, I don't have all the crack skills.

But I was thinking about it, and the thing that I do have is I am completely

comfortable in wild nature.

Totally and utterly comfy.

Like I have an innate sense that it's all going to be okay and I'm going to

figure it all out.

I don't question it because I feel at home.

A little bit more.

So I absolutely think I have what it takes to win.

There we go.

Suddenly that unappetizing looking broth is delicious.

It's kind of revolting.

You ever see the cat when it's eaten something and it just doesn't like it?

It goes... Yeah.

That was okay.

No, it wasn't. It was horrible.

But it's all I've got, so it has to be okay.

My belly does not like that sausage soup.

This close to hurling.

I have nothing to throw up.

Just some water.

Doesn't taste any better coming out than it did going in.

Alone Australia is brought to you by Kia.

Experience the ultimate human endurance as 10 contestants battle to survive

alone in the Tasmanian wilderness, with the winner taking home a prize worth

$250,000.

It's impossible.

I think it's a whole family.

Can you guys see it?

There we go. Can you see it's lush on the tree?

There he is.

One little puzzle.

So cute.

A little family of possums.

That makes me happy.

I'm really happy that I finally worked out who my neighbours were.

It's just nice now when I hear them, I'll be able to think of them.

You're like, oh yeah, that's my little possum family up in the tree having a

nibble.

I love that there's three of them. Just like Elsie, me and Juno, like my little

family. I am missing them and I would love to be with them.

But this is what I'm doing right now and I just have to keep pushing just for a

little bit longer.

A little bit longer.

There's some little possum noises, trees just past the campfire.

I probably should go and have a check because I'm actually feeling hungry.

The critters always disappear so quickly as soon as you flick your headlamp on.

Oh, back to bed.

He's just above the top.

I'm not going to get out of bed again because last time we did that, he snuck

off.

Good morning, everybody.

Last night was interesting.

It hardly rained at all last night.

So the critters are really active.

There's like a little glider or a little possum.

moving around the camp through the night. I've had a little bit of success

finding some plants to eat but it's been a while since I've had some meat and I

won't be able to stay out here much longer unless I start catching critters

and eating them.

So the plan is start trapping possum.

I think I'm going to build a kind of box trap with a flap door.

The sun's out. I think there's total blue skies from what I can see.

So let's go for it.

Possum trapping today.

I feel my experiences as a vet will make a big difference to my survival in the

wild. I know a lot about animals, their environments, their temperaments, their

personalities, their usual routines.

If any critters want to come down to the cove where it's a possum for a drink.

Or to graze on some of that mossy stuff down there.

They're going to come past here, which is super open.

And then it's going to go straight down this path.

So we might just put the possum trap about there, I reckon.

I've trapped feral cats in the conservation area of my place a few

times.

I've trapped cattle before.

I've trapped pigs.

So I'm confident I can do vastly better.

than the average person.

I'm really looking forward to using my extra knowledge and trapping skills to

make a difference and really get ahead in the game.

Time for a bit of a break before I make a mistake holding the axe the wrong way

up or something.

But it's coming together and I'm pretty sure it's going to work which is great.

I think on the whole, I feel like I'm doing really well out here.

I guess the only thing I dislike, not having my family around.

It'd be nice to have a date that he's finished on, to know that after 40 days

or 60 days, your family are going to be back with you.

It's hard not knowing.

I mean, I'm happy to stay out here, you know, but the longer I'm away, the

harder it is on them.

Dear God, watch over my family in my absence.

Keep them safe and happy.

Amen.

So I just figured out why this thing sunk.

The water is leaking in just here.

Let's see that.

So these folds, I just need to pull these folds up to the same height as the

water level so I can fix that.

That's a lot better.

Easier job than I expected.

I'm just about to attempt kayak expedition number two, hopefully with no

sinking this time.

Wish me luck.

It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful out here.

As soon as you just hit the water, it's just quiet, peaceful.

There's no water coming in, it's dry on the bottom.

Like, that is a massive achievement.

It's bloody great.

Bloody great.

Yeah, this is the Biggest highlight of my journey so far out here.

Just saw a little ripple on the water there.

So I'm going to do a little bit of fishing.

Okay.

Super deep whiz-bang diving lure check.

Probably quite deep underneath me here.

You know what'll happen, I'll hook a fish, I get so excited, I'll pull my

fishing rod up and I'll fall in.

This paddle already weighs a tonne.

Yeah, due to the weight of the paddle, he's using more energy than I was

expecting. Plus I'm doing a constant sit-up the whole time.

So my seating position's not great.

My stomach muscles are burning.

Absolutely burning right now.

Come on, fish.

It's not that hard. Just swim up to it. Open your mouth.

Bite down.

comes to pop up.

All right.

Now, I'm just gonna look at my surroundings closely for recce

purposes.

So it's two things I really need. One is to scope out some new animal habitat,

specifically possums. And second, different vegetation that I can choose

from because this place is very low on edible plants.

Oh this looks like an island there.

Is that an island?

Pine trees on it.

I think I'm going to jump out.

Look for resources.

Sheesh, slippery.

Cute little island.

But I think the extra grass here is because no animals come out here and

graze it.

So that's a bit disappointing.

It's bloody barren as around here.

There's absolutely no sign of food at all.

Time to scurry away with my tail between my legs.

Alone Australia is brought to you by Kia.

Experience the ultimate human endurance as 10 contestants battle to survive

alone in the Tasmanian wilderness, with the winner taking home a prize worth

$250,000.

Good morning, everyone.

Today is day 11 and there's a blue sky and the sun is out and it's going to be

marvellous.

How's that for waking up the neighbours bright and early?

You know, obviously yesterday I had that panic attack and I could

have just gone, no, that's it, I'm out of here.

But I have learnt that it does go and it gets better.

So we're still here. We're still cracking on.

Oh, you know what? It's moving.

The line's moving.

Okay.

Relax. Don't stuff this up.

I can see it.

Why?

Who are they?

There's the bait.

It's a fish.

It's a bloody... Oh, what a jump.

Oh, he's really keen, this one.

Come on, come on, come on.

Oh, no, my rod's too long.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.

No, no, no, no.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Oh, stop, stop, don't lose it.

Yeah!

Yeah!

Wow, what a start to the day. Day 11.

Woo-hoo!

We're having trout for breakfast.

I'm going to soup this whole thing.

It's crazy like one minute it's just super insanely tough and challenging and

pushes you to your limits.

Looking real good.

And then the next minute it's just absolute paradise.

Look at that.

Bones. I'm happy today.

I really am.

So good.

But thinking about home a lot.

Yeah, I guess just missing the old life a little bit.

It's funny how the mind can change so quickly.

Start thinking about home a little bit and then you're like, yeah.

But then another moment you're like, yeah, I'm going to win this. I'm going

to stay for like 100 days.

It's hard to control the mind.

The highs are incredible, but I'm not very good at managing those massive

lows.

It's time for a final troll on the way home.

Well, that trip wasn't a roaring success, really.

I've been working my butt off a whole range of different ways and really

haven't brought in a decent mouthful of food through the gap here.

When I'm in the kayak, yes, I get to fish, but I'm burning calories when I'm

fishing and it's not producing any fish.

Come on.

So I'm actually wondering whether to change strategy and

just switch to who can starve the longest and not burn calories,

just be extremely stingy with what calories I burn.

Let's get this out of the way, shall we?

When I found out this was going to be in Tasmania, my biggest fear was it was

going to be like this, a starvation competition.

And that's why I did everything I could to put weight on.

And there's a good chance that that will be the biggest thing I could have done

to win this.

It's not about giving up. It's about, you've got to be smart here. Like,

you've got to look at what's available.

At the moment, there's jack shit available.

So the smarter move on a scale of frenzied

activity.

get as much food as you can to sit there and do absolutely nothing at the moment

for me i'd probably have an extra kilo or two if i'd sat there and done nothing

now obviously that wouldn't have worked because i needed to find out that

there's nothing out there that i can eat so but because i'm i'm rapidly coming to

that conclusion then i'm going to go down to this end of the scale which is

minimize energy expenditure

End of day 11 today.

And I've learned a lot, really, a lot about myself

so far.

A lot about what my mind needs,

as much as I love peace and quiet and being alone.

I just don't have enough distractions to keep my thoughts at bay,

stop my mind from wandering off.

Give myself a rule that if you're going to tap, you tap

in the morning.

So I'm just going to see what the morning holds, see what happens

throughout the night.

I just want to leave this place on a good note with a big smile and not go

down into a deep, dark hole.

Morning!

There's no way I can eat that.

Yeah, baby.

And ew!

Oh, now I've got to eat it.

If it gets infected, could be the end.

Get that knife out.

Shit! Fuck!

If you or someone you know needs support, contact Lifeline 13 11 14 Text

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