[music playing]
NARRATOR: 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 stonker.
Last night, it was deer all around me.
That's freaking delicious.
I know how tough it's going to be.
Oh my god, I miss the moon.
You got to feel safe.
Otherwise, you just die out here.
Don't feel as bad as it looks.
It feels worse.
This [bleep] just got real.
Jesus.
I'm scared enough to have my emergency tap head in my hand.
The last person standing, they take home $250,000.
Somebody help me!
You're going to have heard about flat dessert
spoon for a day.
Feeling miserable.
I'm really wondering if it's worth it.
I made fishing rod, subzero degrees, my third try.
You can see him.
Oh, it's just out of reach.
My superpower is probably my neurodivergency.
Allows me to think outside the box.
I never thought feet would be the hardest part in doing
needle sort of sensation through the tips of my toes
on the edge of frostbite.
I don't see the longevity of my journey.
Me and my big trout.
I guess I've decided to stay.
[music playing]
Yeah, I think you just like that.
Sorry.
I'm busy heating up my fish.
Got to keep an eye on it, you know.
[music playing]
I think those first 20 days or so without food, oh man.
I was just, like, I'm out.
I'm out of here.
So I'm going to take everything about this fish
and put it inside of me.
Hang on, everybody.
Oh, I can smell that fish!
[moaning in ecstasy]
[music playing]
There's these little like, gills, these gill flakes
and a little eyeball.
That was a little funky, but it's, like--
and it was almost like a berry, like heart.
A little pop, that's what I didn't like, the texture.
But it's in.
I don't even know what that is, but I'm eating that.
Getting up into his head, his little cheeks.
Thank you, my friend.
I actually just want to prolong the experience that I'm having.
[music playing]
Just in case we get, like, a helicopter or something
in the air, I might put a sand in the message--
a message in the sand for them to see,
you know, just in case because maybe they'll send supplies.
Who knows?
That'll do it.
OK, we got a message in the sand.
Hopefully, it'll work.
Yeah, and hopefully it'll get some fish.
[music playing]
I know I'm starving.
I know I am in need of food.
I'm also really, really exhausted.
So what do we do to catch fish?
I think my neurodiversity is a definite advantage
in a situation like this because I can adapt
to the situation, any situation that I'm
slotted into really easily.
It's probably why I keep referring to it as a camping
trip.
As kids, whenever we'd go camping or something,
my brother and I, if we were by a river or something,
would often, like, build little boats out of just some timber
or some bark and stuff and would sort of send it down the river
and then we'd stand on the edge and try and sink it
by throwing rocks at it.
Now I'm thinking just on that thought,
if I built a little boat and I hung some bait off of that,
I gave it a gentle tug, I'd probably
be able to pull it sort of into the center of this bay
where the water's deepest and maybe I'd
have a bit more luck there.
[music playing]
There's fish out there, and we're going to catch them.
We got to make this boat.
OK, so we've got a cool little bit of timber.
We'll put a hole straight through it.
That'll be for our mast, and then we'll
be able to run our line through the hole and then
down the bottom and dangle our bait.
Yeah, yeah.
Building things keeps my mind occupied.
When my mind's occupied, I'm not bored.
Means I'm not focusing on things like being out here alone
or missing people.
Yeah.
OK, through there and we'll fold them around
over the top like that.
The new fish catcher.
Got the line.
Got our boat.
Let's launch them.
[vocalizing]
(SINGING) Is there a fish?
Is there a fish?
Have we caught ourselves a big fish?
We're about to see.
Do I have myself a big fish.
(SPEAKING) We'll get it out there,
and we realize it doesn't actually float,
something silly like that.
Put the bait on a hook so I can throw this out
and catch a fish.
[speaking german]
Well, I think it's actually upside down.
[music playing]
In the words of a famous music program, rage, rage, rage,
rage, rage, rage, rage, rage.
OK sit and have a ponder and come up
with a new solution I guess.
We'll get a fish.
[music playing]
RICK: Looks like we might have had a little bit more snow
on the mountain tops.
There's been a lot of changes since coming out
into this environment from an urban one at home,
and I just need a reset.
Little bit of cold water therapy.
[music playing]
Well, I think that will reboot my system.
Never looked at myself in any sort of mirror
since it got out here.
I certainly know I'm losing weight.
Put the belt on this morning and pulled it up, found the hole,
put it in, looked down, and I'm on to fourth notch.
[music playing]
The fish are more difficult to catch than I expected,
so I've changed up the scenario-- the hooks,
the baits, the weather--
as much as I could and still only one trout.
Got to do something a bit creative.
So if I could make something that looks like a mouse,
try to make up a lure that looks like a mouse,
but that could be an option.
Nice little white piece of wood.
It might float on the water instead of swimming
the bottom of the water.
I think if I was a trout, which we're not,
but if it was a trout, I'd smash a mouse if it was appearing
to be swimming in the water.
[music playing]
This one is probably a little closer to a rat than a mouse.
Go down to the water and just see where it naturally
floats where it sits that way or that way or whatever.
I think it's going to set that way
to be honest with a slightly flatter surface on the top.
Been working on this little mouse's arm.
It doesn't look much like a mouse,
but I'm guessing if you're under the water looking up
at it as it goes.
I'm going to put the hook underneath facing that way
because I think a trout's going to take it that way to catch
it.
I'll stick a piece of paracord tie onto him.
How long is a mouse tail?
Never thought I'd have to ask myself that question.
I'm not going to worry about carving your ears or anything
like that onto it.
If the trouts outsmart that it goes,
ahhh, that hasn't got ears, I don't think it's a mouse,
then he probably deserves to stay in the water
if he's that smart.
Well, it's time to see how this girl floats.
See how he sits in the water to start with.
[music playing]
Feel pretty good about it.
See if this works any better than worms on a hook.
Spent enough time carving them out.
At least I can do is come and have a snack on one.
[music playing]
New line off the reel which has his memory towards it.
Just want it to double back and coil back into itself.
Get it untangled and then it gets itself tangled again.
That type of thing frustrates me.
He's playing with my head.
Just when I think I've got it out,
it tightens up somewhere else.
I'm get frustrated where it's my own incompetence or my own lack
of forethought.
At times, it's like just holding your [bleep] together and not
losing it or not wanting to just cut the line
and start again because you've only got limited resources.
It's not like I can cut the line and keep doing that.
Well, I should have been pissed off mood.
Doesn't happen very often but I don't like it when it does.
Is-- don't have to think too far of thinking places that
you'd prefer to be or people you prefer to be with--
be with or, you know--
did I say we're with?
[music playing]
We need to get a fire going, get a warm brew into me.
I need time for me to calm down, just give myself
10 or 15 minutes.
Just having to work through that tangled fishing line,
yeah, it plays with the headspace.
It was a real test of my patience.
It got to me surprisingly.
Just had me sort of feeling an element of inadequate and that
splinters off into thinking, well, you
haven't caught a fish in two weeks.
Maybe it's just because you don't know how to fish.
Set me on a bit of a-- bit of a negative
and started questioning ability to hang this out.
Yeah, it's an interesting place to test
your emotions and your resolve.
Oof.
ANd listening that apart from wasting a valuable resource.
Hold it together, Rick.
Hold it together.
[music playing]
ANDREAS: So I feel a lot better this morning
than I did last night.
I don't like failing, so I think the fact
that I failed catching a trout even though they were around
and they were hunting and I saw them,
that sort of put me down a bit.
It's like I sort of expect better than--
for myself.
I expected to catch a trout and the letdown of the expectation
I guess.
I think yesterday was one of those small things.
Didn't have as much food as I wanted.
I see a trout right now.
Sorry.
I was-- let me go and get it.
There, I got my rod just next to me.
It's just on the other side of the rock.
Where's the fly?
That was freaking my fault. That was freaking my fault. Lord.
This is what I'm talking about.
I made a cast, and a cast is too short.
The fly a landed just over the log, like half a meter maybe,
and the trout was another 2 meters away or something.
That was a [bleep] performance on my behalf.
[music playing]
You can still see.
So there's a bit of a patch.
A pale patch is on his way, too.
[music playing]
There is a set line with a piece of fish on it.
We're going to see if we can find a bait and if it works.
If he's continuing that course, he'll get to the pale patch
where my bait is.
He got about 6, 7 meters to go.
He's so close now.
Man, he should smell it.
Something spooked him, and he's gone.
It wasn't me.
I think that says it.
A piece of trout does not work for trout because he's
literally swam past it.
[bleep].
[music playing]
It's been a turbulent day, missing the trout and stuff
today, like several of them.
Sort of got me a bit gutted.
There is trout here.
I can't catch it.
I'm pulling my hair out how to get them.
Yeah, I don't know what to do.
[music playing]
Headland.
The ledge.
That's where it's happening every day.
It's super early, but after the first fish,
I caught I'm pretty keen to go fishing.
I'm going to do another hike back to the ledge where
I caught the first trout.
The rocks are free this morning, because, you know,
if you go in here, it'd be hard to get out.
That's my concern, very hard to get out.
Got this one little ledge.
OK, I might just set one up here.
That's water, and there's this slippery curvy rock
that you don't dare go on.
But I got a bite here.
And I just beat the sun.
Sunrise on the ledge, I reckon it's one of my favorite times
and places out here.
And it is going to be a sunrise this morning.
The other day, they definitely needed the movement
and the enticement to make a strike but oh, look--
it's-- yep.
I might move down to that next spot.
[music playing]
Oh my god.
OK.
[moaning in agony]
Oh my god.
[moaning] OK.
Oh my god.
[tapping]
[music playing]
Look at that.
Oh, I think he's better than the other one.
I just got the most amazing trout.
Look a there, another beautiful, beautiful big trout.
Right as the sun came up.
[music playing]
[laughing]
I love this spot.
I love it.
I love this spot.
[chuckling] Oh.
[music playing]
SUZAN: My shelter's really good.
It mostly blocks the wind, lets in good light,
stops the rain from getting in which is the main thing.
But there's no trout to provide, to produce, to show.
No deer, no possum, not yet.
[music playing]
I'm heading off on a little trip up the ridge.
I'm really keen to get a possum.
I have my bow with me today.
I swear I've seen the most poo.
That's a really good sign of there being possum here.
Going as quietly as I can.
I might see some deer.
[branch cracking]
Calling all deer.
Predator in the forest.
[music playing]
My body's so tired.
It's not getting enough calories,
and it's just physically exhausting just moving
through this landscape.
The sort of underlying feeling is I haven't got any meat.
Is that going to change that feeling of a bit--
being a bit hopeless?
So this is a ridge above my camp.
It took so much effort to get up here.
But whilst I'm here, I'm going to have a look for possum.
Now is that possum poo?
I reckon it is.
[music playing]
What is that?
That is a dead possum, a very decayed dead possum,
mummified even.
That's its four front teeth.
That's its mouth.
And there's its little pawsy claws.
So because it's not stinky, I think the bacteria
have done their work.
It's rather mummified.
This bone here looks like it could potentially
be a good needle.
And I'm sort of hoping to utilize some of the skin
as bait.
Got skin around the feet there, just here, here, here.
So I'm going to bait a hook with some of this stuff.
OK.
Let's try for a cast, hey.
Just needed to get the hang of the casting.
So I've got a line in the water with little floats
bobbing around out there, a thin thread of hope.
[music playing]
And we're back with the start of our next
[non-english speech].
We're going to try and build a new fish catcher,
difference being this one will float.
All right, well, we got two potential outriggers.
They need a little bit of shaping
and hopefully be able to get it out into that deep water,
get us some fish.
It'll get us some protein.
We'll be here for the long haul.
[tapping]
Yeah, I'm finding I'm slipping more into Polish
every now and then.
Probably because Polish is my first language, not
my second language.
When I went to primary school, I spoke bugger all English.
I remember I got bullied because I was the little foreign kid.
It was a Catholic parish there, and the priests there just
also happened to be Polish and explained that this kid had
been bullying me.
And he goes, oh, how about we teach you how to box.
Yeah, coming from a priest, I know.
And the bully came up to start messing with me,
I just landed one smack bang in the middle of his face
and dropped him, and that was the last time he ever
picked on me.
[music playing]
Yeah, well, let's put them out a little bit
further so when we knock it in, it'll actually stretch out,
and hold it more in place.
It doesn't have to be pretty.
It just has to be practical.
He goes there.
Man, that'll hold.
(SINGING) We're on our way to launch another boat
and hopefully catch lots of fish and lots of fish.
(SPEAKING) Let's see if we can get him out there the way
he's supposed--
beautiful.
Catch fish.
[music playing]
Whoop.
I think we're on.
(SINGING) We got something.
It could be a fish.
Fish, fish, fish.
Oh, yeah.
(SPEAKING) Oh, you're kidding me.
You're kidding me.
No.
It's another eel.
It wasn't for you.
Look at that-- one meal, two, meal, three--
good four meals in you.
[groaning]
One of us.
Well, the eel catcher works.
Maybe it will be a fish catcher.
We'll see.
Oh, well.
What can you do?
[music playing]
Got both my lines out now just before I head back to camp.
But if I don't get some protein, I
guess I won't be here for as long
as I'd hoped to be which was to be the last person standing
and bring home $250,000 to my family, to John.
I'd really like that.
But I'm just taking it one day at a time,
and we'll just see how I go.
My mental strength has been tested in the past,
and I've definitely gone through bigger challenges than this.
When I was 42, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I had double mastectomies, and it still
came back, two recurrences of the same breast cancer.
The oncologist told me I would die from this
and that I had to have chemotherapy.
Palliative care chemotherapy was what I was offered so they
basically said, oh, you're going to die from this quite shortly,
but we can just give you a bit of chemo
to keep you going for a bit longer.
I went, oh, yeah, no.
Thanks.
I was really facing my own mortality for the first time.
One of the big things that helps people survive cancer
is to have a sense of purpose.
Right then and there, I didn't have a strong sense of purpose.
I didn't even know if I wanted to be alive.
There was so much social pressure and family pressure
on me to have the radiation and the chemo.
I really had no guarantee that any treatment that I chose
was going to work out.
And John just quietly said, well,
I would prefer to have you around for a lot longer.
But if you need to just let go, you do that.
He didn't put any pressure on me.
Just let me do what I needed to do.
Such a gift that he gave me in that moment,
the freedom to just choose to live or to choose to die.
And so then from that moment on really, he became my reason
for living because I wanted to be with John.
Those years of dealing with breast cancer was so, so
difficult. Knowing what it is to feel like you might die
is a really lonely position to be in, more lonely than here.
[music playing]
South Island trout .
I'm telling you, I don't know what's going on out here.
Seriously.
Everything seems to be aligning for those fish at the moment.
Oh my god.
OK.
Another beautiful fish.
I'm the luckiest person alive.
Did you see that?
Look at him.
I feel like this could be a whole day's food here,
and I've already got another trout.
I might have to dry trout.
I'll get my filleting prowess on.
So here goes plant-based chef filleting fish.
Don't laugh.
If it looks a mess, it's just going in the pot.
So the theory is that I want to do little strips like that.
I am going to have to take this indoors by the fire
because they are annihilating me,
and I'll end up with sores all over me.
[huffing]
I've tried to get all the pieces with skin on them
so, yeah, lots thinner.
I always thought that I would smoke over the top of-- dry
over the top of my rocks, so I'm going to give that a go.
We'll see.
First restack the wood a little so I don't know if it--
Yeah.
I'm pretty happy with that warmth.
I'm going to try and dry my trout.
I've got to confess.
I'm a bit nervous.
It's got to be done though.
It's a long time since I've smoked anything.
I used to smoke all our meat when I was on the sheep
and cattle property.
Just keep an eye on them, nice and slow and steady.
There's nothing dripping off them whatsoever.
If it's dripping, it's cooking too fast.
It is such a valuable resource, the homesteading ladder.
You can't deny it.
When we're on the farm, it'd be pickling or making jams.
That there, that little bit of food I'm planning ahead for,
that's not just bringing in food.
That is, like, taking it--
Wow.
I think it just sank in how lucky I've been with the trout.
And when you can start saving food for future,
that's amazing.
They've dried really well.
I've got them strung just on some fishing line out of reach
of critters.
That's my bit right there so come and try.
Really grateful for today.
I don't know if it gets any better.
[music playing]
The trout is taunting me today.
Freaking infuriating.
I hate giving up.
I hate losing.
I hate quitting.
I just don't--
All right, I'm going to see if this--
some trout cruising at--
at the very dusk.
I think fly is still the best option for shallow fishing.
So these fish would be catchable with bait,
but I'm now casting a pure fluorocarbon leader
with a tiny little nymph.
We'll see if it works.
[music playing]
They're a bit tricky at night because if you-- if you
put your torch on them, they're blind.
And then they'll either leave, or they can't see.
So you sort of got to sneak around on them and then just,
like, catch a glimpse, switch everything off, and then fish
in the black.
[music playing]
[moaning in agony]
Trouts.
[moaning]
I got him.
[moaning in ecstasy] I got a freaking trout.
[gasping]
Finally.
Paid off.
[music playing]
I can eat tonight.
I thought I'd have carbohydrates only,
but I'll have some of this.
Got a good sized trout.
It's just the fact that I know I have fish,
I have food for, like, two or three days now, it was so much.
Like, going to bed not knowing when your next meal is going
to be, it's not a really nice thought.
It is such a peace of mind knowing that.
And I worked my ass off today.
Like, seriously.
Like, I've missed too many, and I felt really bad about it.
So it was good to get this done.
Anyway, I'm going to go and gut him and bring him in,
and we're going to have a treat.
We're going to have some fish organs all fresh.
[music playing]
Weather's definitely looking like taking
a turn for the worst.
Just everything about it feels like it's going to change.
It's time for the finale.
[thunder rumbling]
It might a been--
might a been fog in southern end of my tarp.
Just in case comes a bit of a wind tunnel.
My strategy about shelter, it should
be a coast of minimal impact.
I don't want to go and cut down any green vegetation
unless I really need to.
[music playing]
Probably wanting a struggle if I'm running a survival program
I'm going to teach people how to build a bush shelter
and I'll try and repurpose the wood each time
and get them to understand that we don't have to go
and harvest fresh.
It'll just been the nick of time, eh.
Just double check my lines on the shelter,
making sure they're all bolted in properly, all the pegs.
Not much more I can do there.
And one way to test the tarp out in a big storm,
get a big storm.
Yep.
[thunder rumbling]
The weather doesn't look good.
Weather actually it looks worse.
We are in for a bad one.
The biggest challenge is going to be to be able to shelter
myself from the elements.
If I'm lucky, I built that wall because it's
an icy cold wind going in.
Oh, this will take a while.
So put effort into more permanent shelter.
This one is so much heavier because we've
come from a bigger timber.
I thought I had energy so why don't just bash it out and get
it done.
Raindrops that comes on top will run down or over.
Done.
[music playing]
The weather looks pretty sinister.
There's a whole pile of snow to come in.
I just went out to get a few things.
I've got a massive tree next to my camp
that I think is going to go.
I heard some creaking this morning,
and I swear that has more of a lean than it used to.
So we'll see what the storm brings.
I've got a few things to do just to improve if this gets
continuously getting worse.
From the base.
Trying to get as protected as I can with this,
you know, obviously this bad weather coming.
I'm expecting it's going to be heavy rain, heavy winds.
So I'm OK for the next 24 hours in there if need to be.
Fingers crossed I can ride this out and see
the end of the month.
[music playing]
We'll go mad dash and get some more--
couple more man thorns.
[music playing]
That's nature's way of saying, take cover.
You can be stuck-- can be stuck in your shelter for a few days.
Just creating and dip line a little lower inside this tarp.
The temperature has dropped quite dramatically.
I-- I could feel myself getting sort of cold, and, of course,
I just climbed into my--
climbed into a sleeping bag to keep myself a bit warmer.
But my hands are getting quite cold, potentially
be on the verge of hypothermia.
Don't need that either.
Clouds, the sky, everything looking [bleep].
It's closing in.
[music playing]
Here we go.
Whatever the storm got to do, bring it.
[thunder rumbling]
It's batshit crazy weather out there.
Yep, it's decidedly wet out there.
Decidedly wet.
I have the choice to go home if I want to and eat food.
Oh my god, that was one full frontal.
I'm popping some pretty full on gusts, and it is coming down.
There you go.
Look at that.
It's raining ice.
[wind howling]
RICK: It's constantly rained today.
It's got progressively worse.
I just want this storm over.
[music playing]
There is not anything else I can do right now.
[thunder]
Except just be prepared to go if I need.
[bleep] me.
This is kind of weather that send people home, 100%.
ANDREAS: With the water coming in at the bottom of my bag
underneath, it's damp-ish.
Really got to stay on top of keep it dry.
Come.
Come with me to the waltz where the good things happen.
Oh, yeah, I'll just get up, go to the fridge,
and get myself something to eat.
No I can't.
I have no food.
I don't know what to do.
Obviously, I'm getting skinnier.
I've seen a couple of mice around.
This is my future protein supply.
That worked.
[audio logo]