KEY POINTS:
Castaways exposed: the production crew is sending its laundry out.
A young woman at the Claris Laundromat on Great Barrier Island is busy doing a load for the men and women on the set of the BBC's Castaway series, which is being filmed at Harataonga Bay on the island's north-eastern coast.
The first episode will be screened by the BBC today (NZ time).
"There's a lot of sandy socks," the woman says, reluctant to go into detail.
It is not known if she had to sign a confidentially agreement before signing on to keep the whites whiter, but others have.
In fact, secrecy contracts are thrust in the face of anyone who accepts the offer of a guided tour of the set, about 15km from the airport township of Claris.
Security is tight from the minute you approach the road down to Harataonga Bay.
Thirteen blindfolded Brits arrived on February 28 to begin their three-month stay. The castaways include a former heroin addict, a deaf divorcee, a public schoolboy and a female conservationist.
A Weekend Herald team visiting the site is politely advised that it might be better to find some other beach to visit, as the crew are hard at work filming and there could be "OSH-related issues" for those who venture further.
Closed-circuit TVs are also believed to be watching the entrance.
"I don't even know if it's going," says the guard lurking beside a Conservation Department vehicle.
An electrical cable running the 2km down to the site would suggest it is.
The guard is reluctant to outright forbid us entry to the reserve, and after a brief conversation into his walkie-talkie allows us to carry on.
Yet another security guard is waiting at the foot of the road.
He offers to show us around the set and let us watch the filming - if we each sign a confidentiality agreement.
We respectfully decline, and continue insisting we have come to Harataonga only for a "quick" bushwalk.
And after a gut-busting 90-minute hike, we emerge on a point overlooking the set.
There is a lot going on, though it seems to be happening at a rather languid, late-summer pace. Cameramen, producers and sound recordists are pointing equipment at equally unremarkable-looking people. Others are lounging around their huts, while more are carrying props between the production base and the actual Castaway village (about 200m away).
Local opinions of the visiting crew vary wildly.
"It's nice to see new faces on the island, but they think they own the road," says one shopkeeper, who did not want to be named.
He said as far as he was concerned they could get lost.
He seems mildly annoyed that the crew has hired "all the pretty girls on the island".
There are four pretty girls on the island, apparently.
But over at The Rock Bottle Shop, assistant Trudy Rainbird is thankful for the business in the quiet post-Christmas lull.
The crew are drinking their way through hearty measures of Stella Artois, Heineken and wine, she says.
Her daughter, Larissa, while not employed on the set, has also benefited from the Castaways production. She got a job at the nearby petrol station after the incumbent left to take up work on Castaways.
Trudy Rainbird agrees, though, that the British crew have a bit to learn about the island's gravel roads.
"If you pull over to the side, the gravel can go with you," she said.
"I think they are too scared to pull over."
Fortunately, the locals are aware of the crew's timidity and have changed their own driving styles to compensate.
* TVNZ says it will screen the new series of Castaway but has not decided on a start date.
THE 13'CASTAWAYS'
Joe Chicken
33, from London.
An occupational therapist who likes "dancing like a doughnut".
Alister Cooling (Al)
24, from Leeds.
Describes himself as an unpublished science fiction writer.
Clare Hilley
22, from Surrey.
An aspiring Conservative MP.
Erica Hurst
22, from Bolton.
A lapdancer, who aspires to be an actress, has a degree in media studies.
Alasdair Humberton
19, from Northamptonshire.
Is on a double "gap year" before starting a degree in psychology.
Lucinda King
27, from London.
Ex-convent girl with a degree in interior and architecture design.
Hassan Kobeissi
24, from Suffolk.
Has qualifications in business studies and performing arts, but works as a labourer.
Wendie Mitchell
42, from London.
A full-time mum.
Kenneth Rose
65, from Essex.
A former Royal Marine.
Jason Ross
37, from Kent.
A recovering alcoholic and drug addict.
Jonathan Shearer
41, from Scotland.
Teacher/migrant worker.
Francie Smee
56, from Oxford.
Describes herself as tall, bossy, fun and adventurous with a passion for outdoor life.
Gemma Zinyama
22, from Essex.
Classified sales executive.
