Sartaj Singh
‘Alone Australia’ is the Australian edition of History Channel’s acclaimed survival series that pushes participants to their limits as they strive to endure the wilderness with minimal supplies. Contestants must rely on their resourcefulness and survival skills to outlast each other in some of the most remote and challenging environments to win $250,000. The same hauntingly beautiful environments have captivated audiences as they become the backdrop for feats of raw human endurance and primal fights for survival. Each season of the SBS Australia show features new locations, which bring with them their own unique geographical challenges of weather, wildlife, and isolation. The settings add a distinct flavor to the survival challenge, making each season a new adventure for contestants as well as us.
Alone Australia Filming Locations
The filming locations for ‘Alone Australia’ are not necessarily located within Australia but were chosen to present a formidable challenge to the contestants while showcasing the beauty and hostility of their natural ecosystems. Shooting for season 1 took place in Tasmania, Australia, and season 2 moved to Te Waipounamu, New Zealand. The New Zealand location caused slight controversy, with some fans upset about the show being taken out of Australia. However, it is interesting to note that the US version of ‘Alone’ often ventures outside the home country to find its testing grounds.
Tasmania, Australia
Season 1 of ‘Alone Australia’ was filmed in the untamed wilderness of Tasmania’s West Coast, an island state south of the mainland known for its ancient rainforests and wild coastlines. The cold coastal environment, its isolation, and challenging weather conditions caused difficulties for the contestants. The choice of Tasmania was driven by its reputation for being a harsh yet beautiful landscape. “It doesn’t get much tougher than that West Coast wilderness and we weren’t about to do things in halves for our first Australian series,” said executive producer Rimma Daher. “We wanted a winter series that challenged all of our participants and Tassie is about as harsh – and as beautiful – as winters get in Australia.”
However, one of the greatest challenges faced by the contestants in Tasmania was entirely manmade: hunting restrictions. With many of the land mammals protected by law, the survivors had to resort to fishing and eating eels. Such legal restrictions subtracted from the ancestral survival atmosphere built by the show and were amended with the following season’s location.
Te Waipounamu, New Zealand
For Season 2, ‘Alone Australia’ moved to Te Waipounamu, the South Island of New Zealand, renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and extreme weather conditions. While this location for season 2 had its own host of challenges, its hunting problem was inversed from the first season. The territory only had hunting restrictions regarding culturally sacred eels, but most of the fauna, including possum, tahr, wild pig, and red deer, was fair game. “In New Zealand everything is bigger, taller, deeper, wider,” said Daher in an interview. “So the landscape itself is upscaled, and some of the dangers are upscaled with that as well. It’s colder, the weather events can be more drastic. Earthquakes and avalanches are a real threat.”
Read More: Alone Australia Season 1: Where Are The Contestants Now?
