Alone: Australia - The reality show’s only NZ contestant Shay Williamson on his gruelling Tasmanian odyssey

Kiwi dad Shay Williamson is the only Kiwi on this season on Alone: Australia. Photo / Narelle Portanier

Ahead of Alone: Australia’s third season premiering in New Zealand on March 27, Kiwi contestant Shay Williamson tells Mitchell Hageman what prompted him to swap Te Urewera for Tassie, and why it was certainly “a risk worth taking”.

The blisteringly cold, windy, wet conditions of an isolated ridge in Tasmania’s West Coast Ranges greeted Shay Williamson as he embarked on his Alone: Australia survival odyssey.

“It’s very genuine,” Williamson says of the gruelling reality TV series he’s just been a part of.

The Eastern Bay of Plenty trapper is the only Kiwi to star on the hit self-documentary show this season.

And I don’t think many people would disagree with his sentiment after watching the latest series of Alone: Australia, a show that drops contestants alone into an isolated area of the wilderness with nothing but a self-operated camera, 10 basic items, and their wits.

Contestants are well and truly “alone” out there. There’s no contact with other contestants or show staff (besides a mandatory medical check), and a failed health assessment or “tapping out” by radioing for extraction means you miss out on the cash.

In the opening trailer of season three alone, we see the keen Kiwi outdoorsman devastated after he lost his painstakingly built shelter to a flood, as well as another woman eating what looks to be a bloody chunk of animal flesh.

Conditions in this new Tasmanian setting are unforgiving, and just the concept of being without human contact can wreak havoc on the mind.

But Williamson always knew he was up for the challenge, saying he was a fan of the hit show from the start.

“I saw the US version about five or six years ago, and I actually applied for that as soon as I watched it but didn’t get in,” he said. “Alone: Australia came along, and I managed to be one of the lucky people to get picked to go on it."

The Alone: Australia S3 cast, from left, Ceilidh, Muzza, Tom, Matt, Corinne, Yonke, Ben, Karla, Shay and Eva. Photo / Narelle Portanier

With an AU$250,000 ($273,340) cash prize on the line for the winner, financial security was a big motivator for Williamson, who had to weigh up the options of possibly spending months without his young kids.

“Before I had kids and a family, I probably would’ve done it for free, but having young kids is a huge commitment to spend an unknown amount of time without them,” he said. “The money was like the thing we could justify that it was worth the risk and worth spending that time away. It was a risk worth taking, we decided as a family.”

Growing up exploring the vast bushland around the Eastern Bay of Plenty and the mountain ranges down south, Williamson said there was no shortage of places to learn about survival skills.

“It’s never hard to go out and get a feed of venison or something.”

But the untamed Tasmanian wilderness was “a lot different” from back home, bringing its own new climate and challenges.

“Being from New Zealand, I just assumed Australia would be warmer, so that was the first surprise that it was actually colder there.

“I’d never been in the bush outside of New Zealand, so it was exciting, but everything was different.”

Having previously produced videos on YouTube about his adventure exploits, Williamson described documenting oneself in the bush as a “double-edged sword”.

“I guess it can kind of help you because you’re vocalising everything that’s happening and get it off your chest, but at the same time it’s a lot of work,” he noted.

“It makes hunting and fishing much trickier, you’d usually be trying to sneak along and you’re having to set up a camera as well.”

Williamson said he appreciated how the hit show gave people a realistic insight into what it meant to live off the land, and before a time when getting food was as easy as a trip to the supermarket.

Keen trapper Shay Williamson has spent his life navigating the New Zealand wilderness. Photo / Narelle Portanier

“I think it’s cool that it sort of connects people back to our roots in that way. I guess it makes you realise like we’ve all sort of come from that, like our ancestors were hunter gatherers, and that’s what we’ve been for most of our evolution.

“It’s not until we actually figured out how to solve the food problem with farming and stuff like that that we’ve been able to develop all the technology.”

Contestants were only allowed to bring 10 items with them on the journey, something that even the hardiest of survivalists can struggle with.

“Ideally, you’d want everything under the sun, but that’s part of the challenge,” Williamson said.

When asked what the single thing would be needed to help you take on months alone in the wilderness, Williamson’s answer was surprising.

“I would say a pot, because you could get a fire going with friction if you had to. You need it to cook and boil water and things like that.”

While other contestants on the show were on their own adventures in Tasmania at the same time, they never got to see each other.

“I’m looking forward to watching it as much as everyone else just to see how it unfolded for the other contestants,” Williamson said.

For those who might want to go on their own outdoor adventure, Williamson said it was as simple as looking in our own backyard.

“We’re spoiled for choice in New Zealand,” he said. “[You can go to] the closest National Park or big piece of bush. You’re always going to have somewhere you can go that’s probably within an hour or two’s drive.”

Alone: Australia Season 3 premieres on TVNZ+, March 27 at 8am.

Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.