Alone Quote: “We will either find a way or make one” Hannibal…..
Day 1 8.31am
Muzza the 63 year old Bushman from Victoria – He has ‘boat’ hair from the boat ride to his site. He can see snow – “no wonder it is cold” – bit puffed after lugging the 70kg of camera gear. Thinking about jobs that need to be done. Starts cutting down young straight trees for his shelter – singing – “I’m a lumber jack and I’m ok”. Wants to prove that if you are 60 plus that it makes no difference – you are not as nimble but you just gotta go a bit slower. Found a glass bottle – now he has something to drink out of. Stoked! Made tent pegs by making a point in the end of wood with an axe. Good folding saw was one of his items plus an axe. He has slower metabolism than younger people so he is hoping that he will retain fats for longer than those with a higher metabolism. Lives on the theory of keep doing stuff as you get older. When you are older you go slower and you need to keep active. He retired at 60 – 3 years ago and is non stop doing stuff – goes camping, caravanning, fishing – there is so much to do out there – he needs another lifetime to do it all. He is going to get a shelter up straight away and then he is going to go huntiung and fishing. He made a flint and steel fire. In the past he has pushed boundaries a bit – His wife is mostly worried about him breaking a leg or chopping his finger off. He has had a bit of a record – he has been bitten by foxes, possums, attacked by a Koala, knocked out by a Kangaroo, got a barb from a stingray in his hand, chased by a Grizzly bear in Alaska, bitten by a crocodile. He describes himself as a bushman – he wants to make his life an adventure, and he has a natural attraction to the bush. Hasn’t had to tune up on many skills as he is comfortable that he will know what to do – that’s the advantage of 63 years life experience. He is going to miss toilet paper. He knows he can do it. If he does get beaten he wants to meet that person and pat them on the back. The money will help his kids. He is thirsty and is boiling water to kill any germs – once it had boiled he drank that water and got a mossie larvae with it – which he was not quite so happy about.
Matt, the 31 year old Indigenous Youth Worker – 54km from Muzza. Matt loves his spot – thinks it’s the most beautiful place he has been – admiring the beauty – saw a fish in the water – there are 2 species of trout in these lakes plus eels. He is admiring the shimmering light on the trees and its beauty – Matt made a tarp shelter, did a meditation and Connection to Country – important to introduce yourself to the bush or the countrywhether you are Indigenous or non – Indigenous. It is more the thought and the energy that you are putting out there. Hard to believe he is out there. Refecting on who is he, what is he doing there, why is he doing it?. First task of the day is to find flat ground . He has a big calling to be out in the bush – his Indigeous heritgate likely has a lot to do with that – likes using his instincts. Hhe wants to be as connected to country as he can be. First night shelter is not forever –He want to keep it simple (KISS) – get his shelter up quick – realizing that there will be no dinner tonight. He didn’t put on weight before coming here – might even be 1kg lighter than normal. Made insulation on his side wall and bed using branches.
Ceilidh Deaf Participant – After drop off she is now totally alone – feeling a bit scared – She saw signs of Pademelons – survival game – your ability to sit through the discomfort. Her strong point – She can fish. A Bow saw was one of her 10 items. She saw tassie devil poo. She is doing this to make her dad proud – her wife Jess is her soul mate– Jess had a dad who was deaf. She’ll miss her – the money will help then to be able to start a family. Getting cloudy – need to work quickly before it gets dark – scared of the cold and the dark. She made a solid timber A frame and tarp. Wove in saplings neatly to keep animals out. Very noisy outside. She is not brave enough to leave her cochlear implant in and hear all the noises so she took it out. Without it she hears nothing – fun night with the devils tonight – very windy – everything pitch black – inside shelter – hard to sleep – She doesn’t like not knowing what is there.
Day 2
4.16am Matt – In bed – on his bed of bed of grasses – most afraid of starvation. Found a little mouse hole and heard a rat. He grabbed a stick and whacked it but it “vanished like a fart in a fan factory” – real shame that it got a way – but still a real good sign. Could be good food supply – wants to start making some rat traps.
6.42am Ben the 38 year old English teacher. Feeling good night one – is such a blessing to be here. Found a glass jar – very excited – great for a hand line. He and is family are Country folk – He is a very active church member – wont he alone when he is alone – been fishing his whole life. The line from the Bible “ Be Strong and Courageous” really spoke to him. He can fish and he has a strong faith in God. It will test him but good opportunity to be strong and courageous. Having hunger burps and hunger pains. One of goals was to be the heaviest he has ever been 125kg – importance of getting food is massive – and the clock is ticking, he has the mindset and he has the grit and he has the faith. Thinking it will all come – now he is fishing.
8.30am
Yonke – So still today – Admiring the beauty of her view “ Have you ever seen such a place” – she is on the edge of a 54 square km lake – no plan of how she will fed herself and survive – she intuits and perceives what to do. Walking barefoot. “When in a survival situation, it is like you are in collaboration with the more than human world to look after yourself”. Singing while tapping on a log with some sticks – “We have the mountain, we have the lake, we have the tea tree. She is a single mum of 3 kids with a 17 year old as the oldest. She grows pomegranates, other fruits and olives (I’ve had some of her Olive Oil – it is good!). She feels at home in the wild. “You need to be resilient to raise 3 kids in rural Victoria”. Feeling the soft tea tree leaves – she thought if she got lots of rain she would get flooded at her spot. So she is looking at another site – A more permanent home– seeing if she can get through. It is like a quest, A threshold crossing from Motherhood into Wild Woman. Talked to the plants and needed to feel it in her body that it was ok – felt like she was really welcome at her new spot – like the bush wanted her there. She got their permission to make camp.
10.27am Shay – Admiring the beautiful morning – Feeling relaxed that he is finally here. Fairly awkward person socially – gets stressed when he is in town and walking through crowds. Feels more confident in the bush. His main strategy is to get food, he’ll work on shelter in his spare time. He has a fast metabolism. He put on 25kg in prep for this. Chose to bring salt and wire as part of his 10 items. He made a series of salt lick stations by putting salt on wooden stakes with some wire to start attracting the animals so they come every day and then that stake will become a trigger toggle for a future trap. Aiming to be out for 300 days. Trapping is his strength as he has been doing it for most of his life – 14 years. Thought he heard something bouncing away. He understands how animals operate and nature. Found fresh poo and put the salt licks out and he set up a trail camera on a run. Thinks his hunting and trapping experience will help him.
13.3km away from Ben- Matt – got some Saw Sedge (Gahnia spp. ) – eating the bases and using the leaves to help make a trap. “Funny what you think tastes good when you are hungry”. Excited about the rats – could be lots of them. Could be easy source of food. Going to put traps at the entrance holes. Wanted to practice as many passive ways of getting food as possible in the lead up to coming out here. He wants to save energy – wants to be sitting back and relaxing. He bought wire as one of his 10 items. Wove wire and put spikes with the wire at the end so the rats wont want to come out. Put some debris around it to block other entrances.
16.2km away Karla moved camp 1km – as she original site was closed off – she likes freedom and open spaces – in her normal life she is a travelling nomad, has ultimate freedom, has good set of survival skills, loves bush tucker, knows animals, I’ve got skills but I want to test them. She has an Ok grasp of fishing and wants to challenge herself. She hasn’t eaten anything yet and is starting to feel a bit weak. Got a wallaby on the trail camera.
Day 3
9am Tom – Good day ahead – Has set up a tarp – just using ropes – A shape. But he is going to check out his new home site as his spot won’t be great in the super wet. He is going to find somewhere more permanent and start building an A frame shelter aligned so the South doesn’t catch the main part of his Tarp. He is at sheltered spot that is a bit like a windbreak. He’ll take out some branches over the top for safety. He reckons Alone is the ultimate adventure. Being out here tests it. If he can’t find food, cant ID plants – not only is his experience at stake, it is also his integrity, his professionalism, his knowledge as an ecologist. He ate some Gahnia leaf bases. He was always that kid that was catching lizards, looking for frogs or spiders – loves being in the outdoors. He hunts, has a good understanding of botany and he has a lot of resilience. His right arm didn’t grow from birth so he has always had a level of adaption to adversity. He has 2 little kids. One under 1. The money from this would help give his kids a great childhood. Time to make a hammer. He has a hook that he can put over his right arm so he can claps things. He made a cool hammer from a small log and used it to knock in his supports for his shelter – very happy with the startings of his shelter.
46km away – 6pm Shay – Feeling energized even though he hasn’t eaten much. Feeling driven to do things. The salt licks are out and he is making a net to catch a possum or a wallaby. He heard a possum- “Hold the phone” Spotted it up high in a tree- “fluffy fit looking guy – delicious looking specimen”. Possums are territorial so good chance he will stick around if he is left alone. Pretty excited to see that possum! The only thing that gets him more excited than seeing poo is seeing the animal that did the poo. Has a possum whacker ready and he is wearing his sneaky shoes (barefeet) just in case.
12pm – Raining – 150 wet days a year here.
Muzza wanted to make a water tank. He made a gutter in the tarp and collected the water in a waterproof cover. Made four stakes and put the waterproof cover over it – collected water in his bottle. His son Reece says he doesn’t drink enough water – so he will make sure he does here.
54km away Ceilidh is making a shelter, found some great rocks but is using a lot of energy. Made a great fireplace, took a bit to get fire going with ferro rod – “It takes off, then it goes away “. She kept cheering herself on “You’ve got this, you’ve got this”. “Don’t give up – stay in the game – come on” – She got it. “Thank $%%^” – she said sorry for swearing – Worried about fire getting out of control at night. She has leant a lot in life – if she makes a fool of herself who cares – one day at a time.
Day 4
Matt 6.42am – Dingo howl – legs and muscles feeling sore and cramping from lack of food. He needs food. He has hunted with spears, clubs, knives, guns. He has had a unique upbringing. He was a professional football player. He has left 2 little kids behind – Remi and Lani – and his wife Anislie. He wants to showcase Indigenous culture – and be the first Indigenous person to win Alone. He went digging for worms following where other animals had been digging for worms – following the local knowledge – found 2 big ones – so excited. Started fishing – really hungry – needs food. He is missing his family terribly without the contact. He has gone away before – but never this long without talking to them – absolutely getting to him.
8am – Eva – Best feeling with the sun on her skin, she can’t wait to take her layers off and go for a swim. “Right it is happening” Her shoes are off and she is ready to go for a bath, and the water is definitely cold – about 8 degrees – “Whooah” For her being out here is going to be a balance of getting things done for her comfort and survival and also enjoying herself. She enjoys being out in nature. She is going to lap it up. Her occupation back home is a teacher of ancestral skills and bush craft which she does with her partner Will. Teaching the foundational skills like fire by friction, making shelter, wild foods and foraging, coming back to that indigenous way of thinking and being where we are part of the land and we always have been. Will asked her how long is she going to stay out there and she said she wants to stay to the end. Will said “You are going to come back like a different person”. Eva replied – “Yeh I’ll come back even more wild, if that is even possible”. She has not always lived a healthy natural life. As a teenager she started making decisions that were quite self-destructive, got into doing a lot of party drugs, and that lead into a decade of partying, and lots of decisions that weren’t nourishing her as a human being. There was a moment when the authorities got called in, and that was the catalyst for change. The bush welcomed her with open arms and let her cry and scream and the land didn’t judge her, but held her – and that is what got her through.
Back in Tassie… She is making an A frame shelter using a tripod of forked sticks at each end and a long pole across between the two to put the tarp over. She tested it by putting all her weight on it (pretty sure I taught her to do that J). She has put a lot of thought into her shelter – She wants to have a crafting place, a fire inside, so she can keep herself warm and cosy and that will be really important to keep her out there for longer. Foundations of the shelter are up and it feels so good. Now she wants to make her bed as getting off the ground will retain her body heat. She made a tripod of forked sticks at each and, tied on a cross piece as tight as she could – (which would be pretty tight J) and made a bed from there 1 foot off the ground using thick branches that had the same reddish tinge as the mallet Tom made. She was pretty terrified to lay on it – “learn to love it” she said. She can win this because she is already at home in the bush, she has her bush craft skills. Winning it would be a testament to the life she lives already and she would hold onto that achievement for the rest of her life.
Day 5
7.54am
Ceilidh – It’s been 5 days – she is tired, exhausted, hungry – going into Keitosis – time to go fishing – she thought she could go a bit longer before she needed food – but can tell she needs food. White bellied sea eagle shows that there must be fish out here – Got hunger diarrhoea – She is naturally skinny. Starting to fish – saw a trout. He dad had taught her to fish and how to be herself. He really shaped who she is today. He dad was not her real dad, but he loved her and became her dad when she was 1 year old. He met her mum them and he took her in. Her dad survived Luekemia when she was 2 – He and her mum had a child just before he went through Chemo and her little baby brother , he is a great fisherman. They had some happy days and when she was 16 and Graeme was 14, her Dad got Leukemia again. He had a long battle but this time he didn’t make it through. He had a sea eagle tattoo. At her site she has a Sea Eagle sitting in a tree nearby – her Dad watching over her.
Muzza – asking how his hair is looking – His make shift water tank is full – stoked that he doesn’t need to keep finding wood to boil water. He is looking for bait. It is the longest time he has been without food in his life. Found a huge worm – “you beauty , that gives us hope”. Running out of daylight. There has to be some dopey fish out there – Doesn’t want to catch the smart ones, he wants to catch the dumb ones – suits his personality. 3.30pm Got a bite – ran to the line. His first fish – very happy now. He caught a rainbow trout – “isn’t it beautiful”. Can use the belly fat for bait. Cant stop looking at the lines now – Started raining – 2400mm rain per annum in Tas. Caught another beautiful Rainbow Trout – 1 ½ pound fish. He is stoked going to get fed…he thanked Tassie.
Day 6
Ten people remain
Muzza – Boggy – he got up early, got all the baits back on the lines, got a fire going and he can see his lines from it. His strategy is catch the food and eat it straight away if he is hungry – feast and famine – rainbow trout is orange inside and rich in Omega 3 which helps brain function and stabilises your mood. “Beautiful” he says as he cuts it in half to cook it in his camp oven. He is very excited for his first meal:”Woo hoo!” cooked fish for breakfast – very happy “Compliments to the chef” he said. He is the first of the 10 to get a fish. Then he caught 2 eels – “Bring on Obesity!” he said.
11.2km away – Shay – doesn’t like people. He is making a hinged trigger trap. He has a young family and is a professional possum trapper. He made some scaffolding so he could climb up to set his trap counter weight up 3m. He set up a really cool trap.
8.30am Corinne –She has Scottish heritage and now lives in Tassie. She has foraged for mushrooms and Tassie pepper berry. Her mum died at 46 years. She has no survival skills, enjoys creating. Struggles killing things. Has a positive attitude.
Day 7
Matt gave us a shelter tour. Made a fishing net. Has 2 fishing lines out and a trap. He is getting hungry and has been fishing for 4 hours. It is 4degrees and has had no bites, and is feeling a roller coaster of emotions – thinking of his family and how Remi said Don’t go!”
Day 9
Ten people remain
Shay – nice day – he is feeling frustrated and starving. His trap didn’t work. So he has collected worms and cooked them up with some salt. He is planning on eating 20 worms a day.
54km away Matt is in the rain – internal battle – feeling sad – gut wrenching feeling – swearing – fishing. He can hear women singing – then he got an eel – so stoked.