Well this was one sad episode when the amazing Eva celebrated her birthday without any fish feast to keep her going and Ceilidh has been enjoying a fish feast but has the medic team coming to check on her.
Episode 4
Alone Quote – ‘Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul’ John Muir
Day 16
9am
Eva – sings Happy Birthday and delivers an Usnea and Mud Cake to herself for her 32nd lap around the Sun. This time last year she was tracking Emu on the red sand – she has a blessed life. She has 2 Australasian Grebes swimming around near her. She is reflecting on who she was 10 years ago as a 22 year old and how she was deeply unhappy – was in extremely detrimental relationships, lots of substance abuse and she did a lot of damage to herself. She is so grateful to be on the other side of that. Nature is the ultimate healer and really helped her get through. She is hopeful that the lake will give her a fish today as a present – her body needs food. Going to her fishing spot was a bit tricky on a muddy slippery slope ‘I need to be careful’. Eva casts a line and prays for a fish. Reflects that the definition of Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result – but she is pretty sure that doesn’t apply to fishing. The birds, the sunlight have been so beautiful but it is getting to her that she hasn’t been able to catch anything yet. If she doesn’t start getting food, she will need to start rethinking her strategy.
Ceilidh 8km away– ‘Let’s go fishing’. She is feeling better – had her first bit of food in 15 days yesterday and now has 2 days worth of food – so happy. Put her near a body of water and she’ll find something. This is what she is good at – she feels like this is one very cool fishing trip. ‘Now we wait’ as she puts out her very cool woven fishing trap. What an experience! Success! She caught a Brown Trout – ‘Best thing ever!’. It had eggs – caviar. She ate them straight up. Now she is switched on to surviving as long as she can.
Shay – 10am – ‘Here we are’ – a couple of weeks and he can feel his body slowing down and is depleted in some areas. He is concerned about the weight loss. He is eating bracken root by bashing it up. He has made a super cool wallaby trap – ‘a log cabin on death’. He is surviving on bracken root and worms – he wonders if he is the only one eating worms. He found some rusty metal and made a fishing spear – ‘the fish will need a tetnus shot’. He is excited by the spear as he is not one to hold onto the end of a fishing rod. At least the spear is a bit like hunting.
49km away – Eva – has been fishing for 4-5 hours with no luck. She has tried different baits, different times of the day, has spent time fishing every day. Her body is on warning – please eat – please eat. She got no fish for her birthday – sad acceptance. She feels like a part of this place but she can’t stay out here without eating. ‘What are we going to do with no fish?’ She sang a beautiful version of Wills song (her partner) – “If you listen out you can hear the sound of the earth calling you home. She speaks through the trees, she speaks through the breeze and the earth beneath your feet”.
Day 17
8am Eva – This place is absolutely beautiful – the stillness, so peaceful, what a place to wake up to. She has exhausted all options for fishing and she is not mentally strong enough to keep going. She made a home here and she is not regretful but she is not capable of pushing past the hunger. Still she is proud of herself for coming out and doing this. She came out here to deepen her relationship with herself and she did that. She officially taps out. Now she gets to hug her mum and be back with her partner.
Ben – 60km/hr wind picks up. This wind is crazy – a northerly. His shelter is close to the water.
Yonke – is embracing the wind ‘ Bring it on’
Muzza – is not in any rush to get up as it is blowing a gale. It is his first day without food in 10 days and he makes a joke “I’ve got to get rid of this chunkiness somehow”.
Tom – the wind is roaring. He is inside his log cabin. He is amazed with the strength of the wind. He greets the morning sun and decides his new plan is to make a door and give it his best shot. He makes a paperbark clad door – ‘If I had a right hand it would be a lot easier’ J. He reflects on his childhood. As a kid he could do anything including riding a bike. He had lots of stacks but he never was disabled. He is stoked with the door he made – very heavy but good. He is intrigued that such a simple thing like making a door could make him feel so happy. He has made a bed, now a door and tomorrows mission is fishing.
Day 18
Corinne – has woken up on the wrong side of the bed – last night she kept thinking there was someone outside talking. So far she has survived on vegetation but she is wants protein. She is reflecting that everything in this world wants to exist so she struggles killing things and with taking of a life – she can’t handle the suffering. She goes off to find a wallaby track and thinks it will be a traumatic experience but “if you eat meat, you’ve got to be able to kill it”. She heard Wallabies jumping away – so she is going to try to catcha wallaby. She makes a trap for one and lays it out roughly to set it but forgets to attach the trigger to the net. Laughs at herself for this mistake.
4pm
Ceilidh – Loves it out here. She makes an amazing fireplace and caught another fish. Her 3rd in 3 days. If she gets a lot of fish, she wants to smoke it. She is a future thinker and hopes the hard work will pay off. She is loving overcoming the challenges and that is what makes it cool. She has a roll of metal wire as one of her items. She thinks she can persevere. She got married on Cradle Mountain. She is doing this for herself and her wife.
Day 19
Ben – 8am – has had no luck fishing. He was expecting the fishing to be easier. He made a terrific door and walls that he is very happy with. His shovel handle broke so he found some wood and made a new handle and it looked great. He thought it wasn’t perfect but it was good enough and as he slung it over his shoulder he joked “I’m not a warrior, I’m a worm hunter!”. Then the shovel handle fell off and Ben laughed at himself a losing his weapon for worm hunting.
Celidh 21km away – 10am – she is feeling good. Very happy and proud of how she is going. Might be able to relax today and do some TLC – clothes washing, hanky washing, self cleaning. Feels good to freshen up. She is still pinching herself that she is out here.
2pm She did a wee and all this foam came out, and she had a burning sensation. She is a bit worried, and hopes it is not a UTI and hopes it is not anything that will make her have to leave as she is not ready to go. The medical team wants to come and check it out.
Tom – knows he is losing weight in his face. He is trying to find a fishing spot that is easier to get to and more sheltered. He is feeling like it is a starvation fest at the moment. Really tough without food in the belly. Today is the longest time he has been away from his son. Realising how much family means to him and how he loves spending time with his son – especially after dinner (which is really on his mind). His tummy is saying ‘eat food now!’.
3.44pm – One of his fishing lines looks taught – it is taught. He got a trout – never felt so good. He is going to eat every bit of it.
Ceilidh – she is not ready to go and admits how hard it has been to boil water, so she hasn’t always done that. She is worried and hoping that this is not enough to take her out. She has just got her fireplace sorted and she is hoping that this UTI will go away. She feels like it could be her last day, but she really hopes not. She has made it this far and she was hoping to stay much longer.
8 people remain.
