Alone Australia dubbed good publicity for Fiordland
Ten Australian contestants armed with 10 hand-picked items test their survival skills in the remote Fiordland region to win $250,000.
That’s the premise of a reality television programme, filmed in the middle of winter, that began airing in New Zealand on TVNZ+ two weeks ago. The show, Alone Australia, was created by SBS Australia and is in its second season.
Contestants were dropped into remote parts of Fiordland separately and, unlike those in the first season, were allowed to bowhunt wild pig, possum, tahr and red deer. They were not allowed to eat eels – also different from the first season – for cultural reasons.
ITV Studios Australia executive producer Riima Daher said the location was chosen for its healthy fishing and bowhunting prospects after many months spent scouting for lakes and rivers that were large or long enough.
“Everything about filming here was new and special,” she said, describing the forest as “postcard beautiful”.
The “intoxicating aesthetic” even risked lulling the contestants into a false sense of security in the outdoors, where the team experienced “thieving weka, destructive kea and swarms of nasty sandflies”, she said.
“Everything here is supersized – bigger, wider, deeper, higher – so it’s a more intimidating protagonist the participants are contending with. She’s beautiful and she’s badass!”
The beauty of the region came with challenges for the crew too.
“Moisture and condensation wreaked havoc with our camera lenses, and sandflies destroyed fingers, faces and eyeballs – the only parts of our bodies left exposed – as well as people’s sanity on some days,” Daher said.
“But otherwise it was a genuinely fantastic filming experience and a very easy place to adapt to working in.”
Dahmer said about half of the ground team were New Zealanders who turned out to be skilled in multiple areas on top of those for which they were hired.
“Our Ngāi Tahu consultants were so impressively generous and resourceful from pre-production through to the end of post-production.
“That made filming here a much richer experience on the ground for both cast and crew and that translates beautifully onto the screen.”
Dahmer said the production team enjoyed tasting the south’s cheese rolls and mousetraps.
Fiordland Community Board chairperson Diane Holmes said the television show was really positive publicity for the region.
Speaking from Perth, Western Australia, Holmes said: “People over here are talking about [the show] a lot, and I’m getting heaps of questions about Manapouri and what it is like once they hear I’m from Fiordland.”
Southland District councillor Sarah Greaney said the Fiordland community was always open to film crews coming to the area.
“The ability to highlight Fiordland and everything that it has to offer – we see that as an opportunity,” she said.
“And when you get a variety of different shows happening, [it] gives different audiences different perspectives on things.”
The show was offering “quite significant” prizemoney, she said, and was good publicity for Fiordland, which relied heavily on tourism. “Economically, that’s really good for our region. We want to encourage diversity of businesses and opportunity for generating income in our area.”