MALE SPEAKER: The South Island of New Zealand,
it's an epic place.
It's wet, it's cold, it's snowy.
If you don't respect the environment here,
it will slap you hard.
I just need to bring some food in.
Look at that stinker.
CHACE: Last night, there was deer all around me.
That's freaking delicious.
FEMALE SPEAKER: I know how tough it's going to be.
Oh, my god, I miss thenm.
FEMALE SPEAKER: You got to feel safe, otherwise,
you just die out here.
It doesn't feel as bad as it looks.
It feels worse.
MALE SPEAKER: This [bleep] just got real.
MALE SPEAKER: Jesus.
I'm scared enough to have my emergency tap out in my hand.
MALE SPEAKER: The last person standing
may take home $250,000.
[phone rings]
MALE SPEAKER: Somebody help me!
Man, it just goes bang, hits me right here in the chest.
Really, really sore.
You can't help but think there could be something drastic.
Food's going to be a priority in the first couple of days,
because I don't think I'm going long.
(WHISPERING) My motivation has gone up.
I can hear something in front of me.
Being away from my family, that's not normal for mob.
[buzz]
I'm officially tapping out.
What have you got for me?
Oh, ho, I've got a fish on here.
Beautiful colors, right?
I'm going to survive and stay out here for as long
as it takes.
Well, last night was pretty intense.
There was deer all around me.
At one stage, there was a stag just about there.
I could see him in the shadows of the night.
What it looks like they're doing is coming down here and night
riding this-- this front bank here.
So I'm going to try to head up the hill
and catch them on their way down this afternoon.
It's hard, yakka, but I'm just gonna give it a shot.
They were right here.
We'll just see things come in our favor or nor, eh?
I like fishing and all, but I am a hunter,
and I love hunting deer.
I do it all the bloody time.
That's why I've literally ever been outdoors since before I
can remember, and I just feel like a part of it.
I didn't watch Bob the builder or something,
I wanted to watch Troy Dan.
And then Bear Grylls came along.
And Steve Irwin was my man, you know.
And then growing up in a place like the Whitsundays,
it was freedom.
There's forests, and mountains, and rivers,
and just all the good stuff.
We were just bush kids.
Oh, [bleep]
I'm not sure if you could see this,
but I'm reaching the top of all the smallest bloody
hills at the moment.
I don't know how many meters above sea level I am,
or whatever, but I'm [bleep] high up.
Yeah, just showing you a bunch of trees, aren't I?
That's funny.
You can see this way, there's some trees.
You see out there, there's some more trees.
And then over there, you wouldn't believe it,
more trees.
Oh, God, at least I don't think I'm funny.
I don't know about anyone else.
I'm buggered.
Let's keep going, though.
Been hard going up this mountain today.
I probably burned way too many calories doing it, but so what.
This is a guy coming up here hunting.
I plan on staying here till I bloody get something.
I know I'm an excellent hunter.
I've proven myself time and time and again, but this
is the ultimate test.
And this is the Olympics, really, you know.
So just another way to test myself.
Back over my shoulder there is just cliff face, too steep now.
And everything's wet underfoot so you just five steps up,
10 paces backwards when you fall over.
I'm just taking L's up here-- left, right, and center.
Not real good for a bowhunter.
Yeah, if I was to sit up there with the bow,
I'd just be shooting [bleep] in the wind and just guessing, really.
I gave it a red hot crack.
It's called huntin for a reason, because you don't always
get what you're after.
It's funny how something like that just gets to you.
Every time I'm having a bit of a rough time,
my thoughts just go straight back to home.
I miss Mom.
I miss Dad.
I miss my grandparents.
I miss my horses.
I miss me dogs.
And I miss Annie like [bleep] more than ever.
That's a lot.
Gotta stay here for a little while longer.
It's not so long in the grand scheme of things, is it?
What's the rest of your life for a couple of months?
Just keep rolling them in.
Here for the long run.
It's 17 meters, just to the right of the camera.
Yes, got it.
Happy with that.
Are you ready?
Stand by.
[gun shots]
My name is Jack.
I'm a waterproofer and tiler from Hillside and Victoria.
One of the things that I like about my job
is problem-solving.
Day after day, I don't do the same thing.
Thanks, everyone, for coming.
Enjoy, enjoy.
That's it.
I was born in Santiago in Chile, and for me, family
is very important.
John was asking me before if I thought you were going to win.
I said that you definitely have the will for it.
Yes.
And the stubbornness.
You gotta have stubbornness.
Yes.
I want to do this as an ultimate challenge.
I've been hunting and fishing over 40 years.
The way I'd describe hunting to a non-hunter,
it would be being out in the elements,
playing chess with nature.
It takes more than just being a good hunter
to survive in the bush.
It takes thinking out of the box.
Take care.
OK.
Innovation is my secret weapon.
I've got no intention of sitting there, doing nothing,
and waiting for things to come to me.
See you, Jack.
I'll go and hunt.
Well, I did picture myself in a postcard, and this is it.
It's an amazing spot.
The only thing that would make it better is some game.
You know, a little pig or a young deer
on the fire with a bit of salt. But before that, I've
got to do an activity that's the least amount of energy to get
food, which is fishing.
That's what I'm trying to work out, how to get the fish out
of this lake.
Water's probably at a more constant temperature.
I've got to get the lures further out.
I start carving out a little lure.
What would be nice if it could sink.
I might tie up a little stone to the front of it
so it's got a little bit of weight.
If it doesn't have much weight, it will just
float on the top like a stick.
So this is the lure I made.
I'm going to shoot it off with the bow.
I had all these grand plans.
You got to have a plan, right?
We'll see if it does anything.
That's ready.
Hook on.
Keep pointing it upwards.
OK.
All right.
Let's give it a go.
[bow fires]
I think it worked.
There's the arrow.
And retrieve the lure Wit the hook intact and everything.
So I got the bow working.
The lure is OK.
The rock was too heavy.
I've got to adjust that.
This is all about experimenting and having fun
and hopefully not starving.
I don't want to starve.
I want to catch a fish.
The $250,000 prize, to me, is the icing on the cake.
But I want to win the prize as confirmation of my abilities
to be able to survive in the wilderness.
It's not going to be just a few days or a couple of weeks.
I'd love to do 100 days.
(SINGING) Namu, namu, go away.
Let me have a restful day.
Please find somewhere else to play.
Namu, namu, go away.
[whistling]
Oh.
I reckon I just got bitten by one on my ankle.
My song didn't work.
Oh, well.
Maybe they'll just take a while to learn my language.
Maybe they won't listen anyway.
I'm going to go for a little explore.
There's this urgency in me to get some decent food in me
before my body really starts to slow down
and I don't have the energy to do those things.
And yet I know I can't rush the process.
I still haven't explored my land very far yet.
I'm Suzan.
I'm 54 years old, and I'm from Western Victoria.
I'm a nature guide and grower of organic food.
This color is pretty amazing.
In my home life, I'm not connected to the mains
electricity or water.
We live off the grid.
Bit of sun this morning.
Yeah, it's a nice change.
We might have enough power to do a load of washing.
Yeah.
I live with my best friend John, who also happens
to be my husband, and my two dogs, our two dogs,
Charlie and Toby.
He's a bit of a wild man, which is wonderful, because it just
suits my personality perfectly.
You'll have mornings like this out there.
Yeah.
Yeah, without the dogs or me or breakfast.
[laughs]
I think the way I have lived for the last 30 years
does give me an advantage going into an experience
like "Alone."
I have a really broad skill set.
I'm a generalist.
I covered hunting and gathering.
And the problem solving and the practicality
of living a nature-based life translates
to the "Alone" experience.
See you in three months, eh?
Maybe four.
Yeah.
I want to win it with all of myself, with all of my being.
With climate change, the biggest threat
to the land where John and I live is drought and fire.
And so if I was to win the $250,000,
I would invest in a sustainable water catchment system
to ensure the well-being of ourselves
and the other animals around us.
Four, five, six.
I've come to berry land.
Miro.
Fantastic.
Lots and lots of miro berries, which is very exciting.
I love the flavor of them.
They're sweet, make me feel like I've really eaten something.
So I'll be here for a while, I think,
and then I'll head back down to camp.
[scatting]
I've had a relationship with plants for the last 40 years.
I started studying herbal medicine when I was 14,
and it's just been a passion for me ever since.
What can I eat, what can I use for medicine?
It's critical to know the plant resources available,
because they're the basis of your diet.
The meats are an added bonus.
But if you can stay at that base sustainable level with plants,
you're in a pretty healthy position
to then access the animal resources that are there.
The one's a funny looking one.
I think to be a human alone in the landscape, providing
for your own food needs and shelter, is the ultimate test.
And I would definitely have pride
in being able to demonstrate that survival.
That's breakfast for tomorrow I've had enough for today.
They're very strong in their flavor,
and I just get this faint sort of "oof" feeling from them if I
eat too many.
So yeah, I'll have some of them tomorrow.
I've got to find a spot to dig some worms.
Attempt to find some worms.
But if I find some bait, I'm going to get some fishing lines
in.
I intentionally not wanted to eat for the first week.
I wanted my body to know that you're without food,
and you are to start eating up the fat, ketosis.
When you're talking about, the idea
of catching a fish and the idea of getting something to eat
makes you think a bit more about food,
and you start feeling a bit more hungry.
Oh, are you [bleep] me?
It's tiny as hell.
It's a worm.
It's about a centimeter long.
Geez, it'd have to be hungry fish, wouldn't it?
Come on.
Where there's little worms, there has to be big worms.
Ooh, ooh.
We're back.
Seems to be, to me, the size.
Oh, no.
Look at my boot.
My boot is coming apart.
It felt a little earlier like it just felt slightly
different to walk on.
I didn't give it much attention.
I just had these boots professionally
resoled about six months ago.
I've got to really make sure I come up
with a solution for that.
That takes priority.
My budget didn't really allow for elaborate gear.
I've got a pair of gumboots as a backup,
but they're a reasonably firm fit.
I'm going to be doing a stack of walking over the next week
or so.
And of course, the ripple effect of this--
sand gets inside, and it gets in under where my feet are.
That's going to cause friction.
Both can lead to blisters.
Blisters can get infected.
And dealing with infections out here is an issue.
Man, they're disintegrating.
These things are sent to test us.
Sandfly soup.
There's 8 or 10 of them in there this morning.
So I'm not complaining.
Literally, they're the only protein I've had,
so they're going down the hatch.
They've been boiled, so it can't be that bad.
I am doing this because--
I don't know-- maybe I'm a bit crazy.
I just think I can do it.
My name is Jason.
I'm 37 years old, and I am a proud Yanyuwa Waanyi Garawa
man.
My country is up in the gulf country
in the Northern Territory.
So Borroloola is right here.
I'm a jungai of that area.
"Jungai" is the term given to young men in the Yanyuwa
region.
It means a protector of the land.
I would say I've got a very unique hunting skill set.
We're having yabi for dinner.
What a catch.
What I learned in the territory
was the traditional style of hunting, using hand spears
and harpoons and how to track different animals
in certain settings.
I would say that strengthens my survival skills, for someone
like me that has hunted a variety of different ways.
I wonder how you'll go with that aspect of it, of just
being by yourself 24/7.
That's one of those things you think you'll be fine,
but I'm sure when you're out there in the thick of it,
it'll be different.
Yeah.
I'm under no illusion that it'll be easy,
but I would do whatever I could to win.
Love you.
Mwah.
Bye, dogs.
Good luck.
I've been here five days.
Feeling OK, but not great.
I need to source some sort of protein.
I'm going on this little explore this morning
just because a few days ago I saw a deer.
Oh, look at that.
He's right there, just behind that bush there.
That's the one.
So I set about making a permanent structure.
Because without a decent shelter and a decent base, any food
that you get, particularly if you get a surplus of food,
you've got to be able to then preserve it and keep it.
I'm just following this trail.
There was a lot of traffic on this one.
This is good.
Oh.
Beer bottle.
I think it's beer.
Put that in the bag.
Might come in handy for something.
Just scraping together to try to get some kind of a shelter
built. It was a real effort.
So fingers crossed.
I've always been a big eater.
So for me to go almost a week without any food,
I honestly don't know how I'm still functioning.
Oh, it's been--
Well, I've just climbed an elevation of about 10 meters,
and I'm absolutely [bleep]
Catch my breath.
Don't pass out.
I've noticed that happened a few times, where I've gotten a bit
And I'm sweating, which isn't good.
So I'm going to go back down and see if I can find another way.
Yep.
It's a bit of a bust, but anyway.
I know that there's animals up in the snow line,
but that's a hell of a climb with no calories in the body.
I've got to start thinking outside the box a little bit.
These wet conditions is just making the glue come apart.
I'll find a solution.
Not your day to day jobs on your list
back home, but funny how your priorities change
one environment to another.
But we're going to have to do a bit of makeshift today,
paracord these up.
Here, simple decisions can make a big difference.
We go through these, setting up I can still do my laces
through there.
That's just going to fray up and create a nightmare.
Do I need to light a fire just for this purpose?
Almost a yes.
It's testing me.
Can't get it much more tapered than that.
The main thing I need to do is hold the sole
to stop moisture getting into the bottom of my boot.
So when your feet get wet, they get cold, and they become numb.
And then once they're numb, you can't feel the potential damage
that's happening.
I'm hoping by putting the paracord through the grooves,
I won't end up cutting it through when
I'm walking on the rocks.
OK.
Let me see how that goes.
You're going to have trouble.
The sun sets on day six.
I Often think about the motivation
to do this particular challenge and where it came from.
There's a lot would say I've had a pretty troubled childhood.
When I was about six, dad took off,
and mom found it very difficult, had alcohol
as her comfort to such an extent that it
was-- she was unable to quite manage us kids, try as she may.
Well, the head of welfare stepped in,
and so we all got fostered out to different homes.
There were some good times.
There were certainly some times that were difficult.
Yeah, plants and botany and nature has been my savior.
It was my go-to to be able to nurture something and care
for something.
Love my plants, love my bush.
Going through a childhood that I found very difficult,
it has created and formed who I am today.
And I like the person I am.
So the challenge ahead of me now will
be bringing all of these elements of resilience
and perseverance and patience.
It'll bring it to the forefront, and I look forward
to seeing how it unfolds.
Second day it's raining.
Raining pretty hard for the moment.
So to do something with the time,
I'm just going to shave some curl off a dry piece of timber,
dry-ish, as usual.
It's not dry as we know it.
Seems like the weather here is really, really transient,
like it just comes and goes.
There was blue sky this morning, and now it's
just fog and rain and [bleep]
I'm going to bite the bullet and go out and see
if I can cast my way up towards the river and look for fish.
It looks like it stopped raining.
It's just drizzling from the trees.
So when I first got here, I had a plan not to get wet.
I have rain gear, so I'm dry.
But the combination of moving and it's
totally still, high humidity, you are going to sweat some.
It's a bit of, I guess, a risk.
Now it's started raining again.
Because you rely on your clothing,
and you rely on being able to be warm,
any risk of getting any clothing damp
is a question you have to take quite seriously.
But we start to get a bit of a problem now.
Is this going to continue all day?
I'm going to have another day where I most likely don't get
to finish my stuff and fish?
It's going to rain for a week, you know?
And if that's the case, what do I do then?
Try not to worry about things I can't change.
For me, the failure would be if I just get fed up and give up.
Not a big fan of giving up.
Gotta get the calories in sooner or later.
Did not have a good night last night.
It was a new problem.
My calves are just aching, itching all night long.
My other leg as well.
I think I've got a couple of hundred bites on me now.
Oh.
Got them on my hands as well.
My other hand.
Nasty.
Of course it's because I'm wearing shorts.
But I just wear shorts all the time.
I get hot, and that's one way of regulating my heat.
This time I can't wear shorts if I'm getting attacked like this.
Every wilderness area has its own challenges.
I didn't come here to spend a week and then see you later.
My goal is to out-survive.
That's what I'm trying to do.
I'm not giving up.
Not giving up yet.
Oh.
Sorry, moss.
I'll go behind you.
Sorry.
OK.
So tie my shoelace off.
So I'm heading to the fishing spot
today because I need to bring some food in.
I'm getting plenty of berries, but I just didn't really
want to eat the miro berries this morning.
I just felt this sort of "eww" reaction to them.
I know I can't be fussy about food here,
but it felt more like a "body doesn't want them."
I'm going to have to get some protein to make it home
for three months.
Wow.
That's an incredible rock.
Oh, wow.
That's John.
It's a mountain like Johnny and his passion for the vertical.
Yeah, and it's as beautiful as him too.
That one's going to go on my Earth altar.
John and I have the same passion for nature as each other.
The beauty of nature fills us in the same way,
and that is probably our most unifying common ground.
I spent a lot of time adventuring
with John out there.
He is an incredible support.
It's nutting out problems together.
It's saying, yeah, you made the right choice there.
His support is confirmation that, yep, you're
on the right track.
Without him, I'm really going to have
to lean into my own sense of self
knowing about what's right.
So this is Fish Rock.
Lots of bird poo.
I wonder if the birds like it because this is a good fishing
spot for them?
Quite shallow here, deep there.
A habitat there for trout.
Up.
I just can't go up there right now.
I just feel physically a bit off.
OK.
So this is our turnaround point.
The last phone call I had with John,
he just said, go slow, go slow.
So that's what I'm doing.
OK, water, and then back to the shelter.
Tummy's got some stuff going on.
Day seven.
I had an explore, and that was--
I'm glad I did, but I was busted physically and mentally
after that exploration.
And so probably need a day just chilling out at camp.
I've got the water literally right in front of me.
I think I'm going to try that today.
It came to me last night, what I can use my beer bottle for.
As long as it's not going to sink,
it could be a float for my fishing line.
Let's go and see.
That'll float in the water, and then my line
will sit under it a little way.
So it's not bottom-bashing, and so I'm not
going to catch a dirty big eel.
Hopefully, a nice big trout.
Dirty, dirty, dirty big trout.
That's the plan.
That's one right there.
Just have a look here.
Pull it tight.
Don't lose the worm.
Let's see how that goes.
Moment of truth.
[splash]
Beautiful.
It just wants to come back to shore.
It's coming too close.
It's a funny day.
I made a plan for myself to just have a bit of an easier day,
but I feel like I'm not doing enough.
I feel like I need to be busy doing something.
It's just this tug of war with me
at the moment of like, go and do something, but then no,
conserve your energy.
But then I just feel trapped.
I feel trapped in this little spot, and it's driving me nuts.
Too much time inside your own head.
I don't know.
I don't know, man.
Time to go find some firewood.
Just keep going.
Just another day.
Just get through tonight.
Just got to be persistent and keep trying it.
Hopefully something works.
Thought I heard something.
You get pretty tuned which sounds you hear around here.
As soon as there's a different one, then you go, hmm?
Funny.
Your brain goes, I wonder if I can eat that.
[tense music]
I'll see if I can get her.
I can't shoot it.
I thought I heard something.
[tense music]
Oh, [bleep]
Now what?
Oh, [bleep]
I got him.
Where's my shovel?
Oh.
I have food.
It's a male.
May as well just keep the fire going and skin him out.
And once I've skinned him out, I'll figure out what to do,
put our meat on and stuff.
That's my first possum.
Never thought I would take my first possum with a shovel.
Start him up.
Such a sense of relief, knowing I
have food for a couple of days.
Possum tail stew.
Truly grateful.
I'm going to make sure to eat every single bit of this possum
that can be consumed.
Going to see if I can get this done.
But hunting is controversial.
Not a big fan of the whole uber masculine TV celebrity hunter
thing.
I don't think it's a good look.
It's not who I am.
That's not what I do.
That's not why I hunt.
The reason I started hunting was for ethical reasons.
If I buy my meat in the store, you just paid someone else
to do it.
You don't see it.
It still happens, and most likely in worse forms.
That's the liver.
Because they'll be in a slaughterhouse.
Or if you buy the cheap stuff, it's going to be a bad route.
I think there's something for me, anyway, honorable
to be able to provide for yourself sustainably
from traditional means.
That is my first protein cooking right there.
Should be celebrated rather than picked on.
Hmm.
The crispy skin on the outside is divine.
So freaking good.
That was an appetizer.
I should have dinner for a week.
I feel like this will make me stay in the game a little bit
longer.
Oh.
Get a little bit better motivation
and focus rather than just feeling myself getting
weaker and weaker each day.
[hiccups] It's delicious.
Let's do this tomorrow.
Go to bed.
Good night, team.
It's about 7:00 in the morning.
I'm in this internal wrestle with myself,
saying like, stick it out, stick it out.
But then also I'll just--
I don't-- I don't see how I can get food.
Everything's so-- everything's aching.
It's past the point of even being hungry.
It's more just feeling weak, just really weak and run down.
I don't trust my judgment.
I don't trust my physicality, and I don't
trust my own psychology either.
I really think I'm struggling in terms of just having
a grip on things.
That's not like me, and I don't like that feeling.
I've slept all day, apart from going to get some water.
[coughs]
I've just had diarrhea all night and have no energy.
I probably shouldn't have eaten those miro berries directly
off the forest floor and then just all those berries
in general.
I think my heart rate's going quite fast, I think.
I'm certainly feeling my age today.
At 54, almost 55, maybe it just can't
cope with all the different angles that I put it through.
I'm wondering if that might take me out.
I'm not young enough for this game, really.
Ugh!
I've started bleeding again.
You just start to worry.
You start to stress.
I got barked at.
Definitely a red deer.
I got a bit of a confession.
[inaudible]
Come on, buddy.
Come on, come on, come on, come on.
You think, oh, it'll be fun.
You think it'll be easy.
I beg to differ.
[audio logo]