The Alone Australia contestants are a wild bunch. Meet the 10 contestants who go face to face with the Tasmanian wilderness.

 

The first season of Alone Australia is premiering in 2023, in which ten people are dropped in the Tasmanian wilderness, totally alone and with only a handful of equipment and tools, and forced to survive. 

Read more: Where is Alone Australia Filmed?

Three women and seven men make up the first Alone Australia cohort, hailing from NSW, ACT, TAS, SA, and VIC (our theory is that it’s too cold for Queenslanders, Territorians, and West Aussies). 

Read more: Alone Australia Season 2 is Casting Now! Have You Got What it Takes?

Beck

42, School Teacher, VIC

 

 

Beck is a First Nations woman and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as a Science and STEM high school teacher, and matriarch of her family, with her partner, four kids, and two grandkids. 

Beck spent a lot of time camping and fishing as she was growing up and feels more at home in the outdoors than anywhere else.

‘I’m resourceful, I’m a problem solver, I’m bloody stubborn, but I’m not a survival expert. I’ve grown up camping and fishing and been out on Country, I’ve learned from my Elders and friends who are great outdoors people… though I’ve never been away from my partner; I’m ready to test myself!’

 

Chris

39, Army Veteran, TAS

 



Living a self-sufficient lifestyle on the coast with his best mate Billy the Jack Russell, Chris finds comfort in nature and the coast, particularly as a retired war veteran of Iraq, living with PTSD. 

Also an avid fisherman and diver, Chris wants to push himself to his limits, and prove that living with an anxiety disorder doesn’t have to inhibit how you live your life. 

‘Whether it’s diving in the ocean, camping, or exploring the land, all I know is that a life lived outside in the elements is where we as humans belong. It’s the only way for healthy minds. That’s where I live.’

 

Duane

35, Wildlife & Environmental Officer, NSW

 

 

As a proud First Nations man, keen surfer, wildlife officer, and proud father of two, Duane is seeking a deeper connection to Country. He’s hoping that his experience on Alone will bring him and his family closer to his ancestral heritage.

‘I know my Ancestors were out there for thousands of years, but they had family and clans. This is a whole new way of being on Country, just me by myself, so I’m looking forward to that challenge within this experience!’

 

Gina

52, Rewilding Facilitator, NSW

 

 

Gina wears many hats – bushcraft teacher, rewilding facilitator, meditation leader, barefoot nomad, primitive huntress, and now Alone survivalist. 

Her life is a balance of solitude, living alone in her off-grid shack without running water or power, and running large group workshops and camps about rewilding for adults and children alike. 

‘I’ve spent my whole life learning how to be in the wild and be a part of nature rather than apart from nature. A challenge like this, to go out into the wild, full survival, is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid… I can’t think of anything I want to do more!’

 

Jimmy

22, Farmhand and Engineering Student, SA

 

 

Jimmy is the youngest of the cohort, but don’t brush him off too quickly. He’s been hunting since the age of five and has spent many years learning to self-provide from the land.

Although he’s studying a Civil Engineering degree, he’s much more at home out of the city, on the land working as a farmhand or volunteering as a CFS firefighter.

‘I’ve spent most of my life being outdoors and learning what I can from nature and seeing how far I can go just on my own without having to rely on others… Ever since I saw the very first episode of the first US Alone series, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do!’

 

Kate

41, Wildlife Biologist, ACT

 

 

With a five year military career and a PHD under her belt, Kate is a wildlife biologist and expedition leader who works in remote Australia discovering new plant and animal species.

Kate’s been practicing bushcraft since she was young, despite not being allowed to join the local scouts because she was a girl. Now living in the ACT with her partner Elsie and their own six-month-old baby girl, Kate’s hoping to inspire girls and women to embrace science and the outdoors.

‘I’ve learned to think how animals think and understand their behaviour. I can identify species from tracks, traces and their calls. I’m not going to be in a rush to kill our native species as I’ve worked so hard to protect them, but I’m keen to take a shovel so I can target the unseen food, right under our feet; tubers, roots and other edibles.’

 

Michael

43, Vet & Bush Regnerator, NSW

 

 

Running his 500 acre family farm with his wife and two kids, Michael has a multitude of tertiary degrees and diplomas, from vet science to business management and conservation and land management.

Michael practised as a vet for 14 years before turning his attention to his farm and new passion of bush regeneration. 

As a committed Christian man, Michael hopes his beliefs will help him find strength when he’s out in the wild, alone. 

‘My favourite thing is to do what someone else says can’t be done. Necessity is the mother of inventions and few things we choose to do are actually impossible.’

 

Mike

45, Solo Adventurist, NSW

 

 

Living on the NSW central north coast with his wife and two kids, Mike was a pilot in the Australian Defence Force before quitting his job to become focus full time on self-assigned solo expeditions to test his survival skills.

He’s completed three major solo expeditions, which he funded and filmed as well, in the Kimberley, across the Saudi Arabian desert, and most recently in a self-made dugout canoe in Far North Queensland.

‘I’ve grown up spending a lot of time out in the bush doing a lot of solo survival. It really is my passion. My experience from my last adventure is that you really do get in tune with the landscape, so to have the opportunity to stay in the one spot for a long time and just really tune into it… that will be amazing!’

 

Peter

31, Hunting Guide, NSW

 

 

Peter’s been honing his hunting and fishing skills from childhood and is now a lead guide on hunting expeditions, which take place across all kinds of terrains and climates.

As a hunting guide, Peter knows how to live and move in the outdoors. However, although confident in his survival skills, Peter’s never been hunting without his rifle or bow and other survival equipment, so his experience on Alone will be new territory for him.

I’m adaptive, I’m inventive, I’m very strong-minded – in my line of work you need to be! I have people from all around the world come hunting with me here in Australia. Everything I’ve learned from all over the years of survival skills, hunting skills, fire, water, trapping, skinning, the whole lot; this is the one, ultimate place for me to put all my skills to the test.’

 

Rob

41, Planning & Environmental Manager, VIC

 

 

As a proud First Nations and family man, Rob places high value on raising his kids with appreciation and understanding of Country through hands-on experience and exposure.

Rob is often a guest lecturer at universities, teaching about Indigenous knowledge systems from around the world. He’s worked on conservation land management in Indigenous communities in Australia for 20 years.

‘Depending on whose Country I’m on will determine how well I survive. There will be places in Australia that I’m more comfortable with than others in terms of knowing what to look for and how to thrive.’

 

 

So who’s your money on? Which one of these ten contestants will take out the inaugural title of Alone Australia winner and pocket $250,000? 

 

Photos thanks to SBS Australia