The new season of Alone Australia kicked off on SBS tonight with plenty of teases about what’s to come this year when 10 brave survivalists are dropped into the brutal Arctic Circle in an attempt to win $250,000.
If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll be relieved by the change of scenery. Unlike the intense international versions, past seasons in Tasmania and New Zealand seriously lacked drama; the most extreme conditions contestants faced were rising river waters and the mundane struggle to catch their own food.
Deep in the northernmost reaches of Sápmi, Finland, this time, our mix of contestants face subzero temperatures, extreme calorie deficits, imposing predators, and the psychological toll of total Arctic darkness. The threat of frostbite or a bear attack is very real, but surprisingly, they’re not what the contestants struggled with the most.
Speaking to news.com.au ahead of the series premiere, a handful of contestants admitted that the hardly-spoken-about truth of having to actually film this show for SBS and lugging around 70kg worth of camera and tech equipment was their biggest struggle.
“The groundbreaking signature of Alone remains: there is no camera crew. Each survivalist is a lone filmmaker documenting their own descent into the Arctic winter. Every frozen tear, every frost-nipped digit, and every hallucination born of the darkness is captured,” the show teases.
MORE: Alone captures Australians at their very limit
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t easy. In the first two episodes of the highly-anticipated fourth season, two female contestants struggle to lift their heavy gear, with others also mentioning that it was a hard slog.
For 39-year-old ex-navy chef, Trent, the filming side of being on the show was something he underestimated the most.
“I didn’t realise some of the lengths that previous contestants have gone to to get good footage for SBS. I mean, at the end of the day, if you didn’t film it, it didn’t happen,” he shared with news.com.au.
“It takes a lot of time and you burn a lot of calories just to try and film it properly. It’s extraordinary how much filming and how much effort it takes to try and get those good shots. “It can be the most unexpected time when something amazing happens and you’ve got to have a camera with you and you want a camera with it. There’s days where you go, ‘geez, I just don’t want to do this’ because you just want to survive and that’s one more thing you have to do. It’s just a part of the whole process, really. It’s what you signed up for.”
Single mum and ultra-marathon runner, Sia, 44, also admitted filming her time in the Arctic was a struggle.
“The equipment was heavy and a lot to think about… to operate them with cold hands in extreme conditions and terrain was so challenging,” she admitted to us.
“The battery life didn’t last because of the extreme cold, so I kept them close to my body. The legs on the tripod drove me mad sometimes. Trying to stand it on uneven ground pushed me over the edge by the end. I remember calling out ‘I’ve had enough of you!’
“I definitely look at every scene on TV differently now because I know how much work goes into it to get every single shot.”
Jasper, the youngest contestant on the show at 24 and with no experience in filming like most of the other contestants, agreed it was a “big job” to film their every move.
“It’s not only physically taxing, carrying it and walking the same place twice to get the right angle and filming, but also, it’s such a big job to focus on,” he shared.
“Just focusing on surviving is a big job, but also making the documentary and making sure you’re doing a good job filming and getting enough content. It’s a lot for your mind as well as your body.”
This season will see the following contestants fight it out in the wild:
Alyce, 36, Aboriginal community Engagement Officer, WA
Arash, 32, Wrecking Yard Manager, QLD
Clint, 57, Sheep & Cattle Farmer, NZ
Dougy, 43, Electrician, WA
Dylan, 35, DFV High Risk Coordinator / Search & Rescue Tracker, QLD
Jasper, 24, Permaculture Practitioner & Educator, WA
Lillian, 25, International Outdoor Guide, NT
Misty, 29, Adventure Tour Guide, VIC
Sia, 44, Design Project Consultant / Ultramarathon Runner, VIC
Trent, 39, Ex navy Chef, TAS
Oh, and did we mention it looks like someone goes missing, forcing a search party to enter the chat? More on that another time!
Alone Australia airs from Wednesday 15 July at 7.30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand.
