Original subtitles

I've got lots of foraged greens.

Even if I'm not eating protein,

I want to eat every day.

Have a look and see if there's anything else around here.

But I know that there's an expiration date

on being on a survival trip and only eating plant food.

Bizarre, but I won't reject it.

No freaking way.

I see a warthog way the F down there.

Oh, my God.

. I shot low.

I can't draw my bow back all the way.

This might be our last day hunting.

I admit, just from a calorie perspective,

this shelter is overkill,

but it's something I want to do.

.

.

They call this place the Land of Great Thirst.

The Great Karoo Desert in South Africa.

We are in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.

Ten participants.

Whoever can stay the longest wins.

It's pretty simple.

Oh, I found the baboons.

There's ten of them, but I only have five arrows.

This place is dry, dry, dry.

The sun's beating down on you every day.

I'm so tired, and I'm so thirsty.

Oh, man.

I really don't feel safe drinking this water.

This is a place to be, if not feared, treated

with a lot of respect.

I changed my mind!

Oh, look at the size of that thing.

There's a big herd of wildebeest right there.

- Rhino tracks. - Meat.

Back on the menu, boys.

They call Cape Buffalo "the black death" for a reason.

They'll just straight up kill you.

We don't control the game.

Here we go.

Flooding.

This is nothing compared to what's coming.

It hurts so much, man.

It's freaking ice.

So the question is, how strong of a mind

do you need to have to win this?

Whoo!

What the did I get myself into?

Long, cold nights.

The last one to tap walks out of here with 500 grand.

This is one of the hardest things

that a person can do in their life.

Oh, my gosh.

It's another great day in Africa.

Good morning.

We're going to get walking, because I'm cold.

Sad to leave the bow here, but...

I can't pull my bow back anymore.

It sucks, but that's reality.

Bringing the hat.

We're just going to do a loop.

Get warmed up. Whew, brr.

First walk without the bow.

My bow is my whole world out here in South Africa.

Fishing is not working. I'm not catching anything.

So, without my bow, I'm going into the starving game.

These walks really get me...

mentally going for the day.

Not being able to pull my bow back is devastating,

but I'm trying to stay positive.

Mentally, it just depresses me to sit at camp all day,

so I have to do these walks.

It's calm. Gonna be a nice day again.

There's a wildebeest on the hill.

I hear him snorting.

But I can't shoot any big game, and that's what I want.

Stupid warthogs.

No way.

This is depressing.

To see wildlife when you are starving

and can't hunt them,

it's discouraging.

Gosh darn.

My stomach hurts, I'm so hungry.

That's all I got to say.

But I have an idea.

I'm going to go find some bait real quick.

Let's try fishing.

Hunting is no longer an option for me.

I know that in order to stay out here, I have to fish,

I have to bring fish in.

Okay, we're getting some maggots from a dead warthog

from the pit here for bait.

I'm going to try fishing with them.

Ooh, juicy.

I'm putting them all on.

When you're out here,

it's so easy to make excuses to go home.

Not being able to pull your bow

is a huge reason to go home.

It's justifiable.

Okay, I got a line of maggots.

But I'm not going to go home.

I'm going to stay here and push.

Okay.

We'll try that.

I'm going to see how much grit I truly have

and stay out here even without the bow.

So we'll keep on fishing.

We'll keep trying till we can't.

Oh, my God.

The windy cold-- windy cold out there.

Far out.

It'll take another couple hours for that to warm up,

although it may not be warming up at all today.

It's hard to keep it up, to be honest.

Maybe I'll take that off.

Oh.

Oh, my God, my hair...

has... issues.

My face is so dry. Everything's so dry.

My lips feel a bit better after getting--

I put a lot of the moisture on it yesterday,

last night.

I could feel myself feeling the cold for the first time.

I think 'cause I'm losing a bit of weight,

it'll be harder to feel warm at nighttime.

We've only really got--

everyone's just got a blanket.

And still no meat.

So that's the thing for me that I'm sort of lacking,

you know.

I'm doing okay on all the plant food.

But it's just boring. It's driving me nuts.

I could probably survive on plant food for 50 days,

but it'd be so painful.

Oh, my God.

I'm sick of eating greens and things like that.

It feels like every day I wake up

is like a D-Day.

"I have to get more food today" type of feeling.

And I've woken up with that again today.

I'm going to walk east and just see what's on the other side

of that hill.

And hopefully there's more resources there.

I'm not losing hope. We'll see.

This is the week for it to come forward and happen.

We're heading east...

To see what's-- what's down there

and hopefully get a little bit of purchase

on maybe some fishing or hunting.

That is a river entrance, so it's like a fish funnel.

And I don't really know what's over there.

I'm very, very hopeful that there

is mussels, potentially, because mussels

are fabulous bait.

Or even other animals that just don't have

any idea that I'm around that I could just ambush.

It's not a new ecology, but it's a new space.

It's going to offer different resources.

So I'm calling it the promised land.

Getting over to the promised land,

there's a real opportunity cost to consider,

because there's genuine risk.

The physicality of it,

given that I haven't had a lot of protein

in the last four weeks, it's a stretch.

But I'm really extraordinarily hopeful

that it will pay off for me.

You see that there, that chew?

That's the porcupine...

coming through here.

Good to see.

I need to go that way.

It's too dangerous going...

that way.

I really want to see what's on the other side of that.

What's on the other side...

over here?

Oh, [bleep].

Oh, [bleep]. Ooh!

Ouch.

Got to be very-- got to be careful.

These rocks are not--

Look at that.

Whew. They're not stable.

I'm good to keep going.

I've had worse back home.

I'm really lucky to not have hit my head.

So I'm just being very, very careful

when I'm stepping to make sure that I feel

like I've got steady feet.

Navigating the terrain, it's relatively simple

near the water, where there's flats.

And then the minute it starts to go up,

walking over boulders

and rocks and trying to find trails

that animals can move through...

Hang on.

I am finding it tougher than I thought

to get out to the promised land.

I'm tired.

This is just a decision-making point.

So I've come along all the way from there.

And I can see over here the mouth of the river

and a little open sort of area

and that next valley...

in through there.

But to get around there

is still quite a trek.

And I don't know, man.

I don't know what the right thing to do is.

It's a lot of energy...

and I don't want to hurt myself

going along the rocks, you know,

just for the sake of...

getting somewhere.

I'll go no further today.

I'll try again, though.

This is nice.

I was thinking about...

Erica and our tradition of starting every day

having coffee together.

Not necessarily talking a lot,

just sitting and drinking and...

Enjoying being together.

First thing every morning...

usually before daylight.

Today I need to redo that corner.

That's going to be a delicate repair.

I can do it, though.

It's scary to attempt rebuilding this wall,

because it's in a very fragile state, missing that corner,

and more of this wall can easily collapse.

So I'm going to have to be extremely delicate

building this wall back up and merging it

with those fractured edges.

There's probably going to be some more loss

as I disassemble this.

I'm going to have to go...

back down pretty far.

I'm just going to then eat into the wall

and over to the corner.

It's going to be a little bit tricky.

This repair is going to be harder than building

in the first place.

Time to dive into fixing my mistake.

As I watched this shelter collapse,

it was interesting how many thoughts just passed

through my mind so quickly.

Like, it's over and done.

I can't recover from this.

It's going to continue to collapse.

I will have to start over completely.

Is it worth it?

But this isn't the first time I've made a mistake.

And what I've learned in life

is that you can recover from mistakes.

It's not the end of the world.

Think I just hit a critical point in that repair.

I don't think anything else is going to collapse.

I think I'm solid.

Whew.

That was scary.

With this, all the stone is already here.

The fill is here. I just have to rebuild.

Even though I'm using more calories than I expected

doing this again...

I'm still here.

Right before I came out here,

Erica and I were discussing the reality of the opportunity

to be on "Alone."

One of the main pros is that this shows

our children that we're willing

to take risks in our own life.

She's in this game with me.

She's taking care of everything at home.

And we're separated from each other.

We're both going through the struggle of that.

So we're showing our children...

it's okay to take risks.

And if they don't all work out, that's okay.

At least you had the courage to try

and not be too afraid to fail.

Okay, now the stonework's done.

That was a major setback.

I'll do a little bit more stonework,

you know, matching it to the roof line,

which isn't going to be straight and perfect,

because there are no straight logs here.

Well, there's one log that I know is going to be good,

but it's really heavy.

I can't carry it here without cutting it.

So we're going to go do that.

I'm going to go cut it with fire.

The roof structure is going to be a challenge.

I don't have a saw to cut anything to length.

The lumber that I'm going to use, it's an acacia log.

So it's very dense wood. It's more than I can pick up.

So I'm going to have to burn to cut it in its location.

Make it smaller so I can carry it to the site.

So this looks like it's going to go pretty quickly.

Once I get it to length,

I'll put the fire out,

and I'll carry it to the shelter in the morning.

My goal today was to finish the rock work, and it is done.

I'm just going to start on the roof tomorrow.

And we got a little bit started on that,

so I'm feeling pretty good.

383

This acacia burned off okay last night.

It's a nice straight piece.

So these are part of the roof.

This log is really dense.

It's a hardwood. It's like iron.

I don't know if I can carry it. I might just have to drag it.

But where's Roland when you need him, right?

As I am building this shelter,

I've had to go further and further away to get materials.

And that's been a big calorie expenditure.

All right, well, the main roof supports are up.

My plan now is to start at the back end,

cover it with straight sticks...

and use clay and grass... mixed

to fill that all in and make a roof, a clay roof.

After I have the beams up, it breaks the roof

effectively into three sections

that are shorter spans.

And I'll be spanning those sections with sticks--

a solid layer of sticks, one right next to the other.

And that layer of sticks is going to support

the weight of the grass and clay on top of that.

Any one stick doesn't have to be particularly strong,

because bundles of sticks tend to be quite strong.

And so a solid layer combined will give this roof

the strength it needs.

All right, take a break.

I am hungry.

It's terrible to feel this way, guys, hunger.

If you ever see anybody in need of food...

and you have five bucks, please help them out.

We still have our maggots on.

Nothing wanted to eat them.

Shame.

And our fishing sucks.

There's no more catfish in here.

They would have bit on that by now.

I've tried fish guts. I've tried maggots.

I've tried beetles.

I even had a worm at one point,

and I can't catch anything.

It's like the fish have just stopped biting.

Okay, well, let's go forage.

I have no energy for projects.

I can't walk for too long either.

I'm losing strength.

I'm losing muscle, weight, you name it.

I'm pushing my limit.

So what I just noticed on this acacia tree,

see those green pea pods?

I can eat those.

But this has been the only tree with green pea pods.

Everything else is already brown and already fallen--

done for the winter.

Okay, got them. I'm going to go eat them.

So it's literally, like, a pea pod.

You can see that.

And they taste like peas in the garden.

You know, so I had, like, literally four peas.

Yeah.

I wonder what four peas does for the body.

Probably nothing.

It's good if I could get a ton of these.

But they're already gone.

Winter's here.

There was seven in that one.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight in this one.

Can't even get this one open. It's so little.

Good snack, just not enough of it.

I fantasise about food all the time.

And that's really hard.

That's so hard to do, to get off your mind.

And you just can't get it off your mind.

We have at least, like, 6 1/2 hours before bed.

Still hungry, so we're going to go try our hand

upriver a little bit.

It takes a lot of energy to go up to the pond upriver.

It's a lot of work,

but I'm desperate to find something to eat.

Made it.

Jeepers.

I'll try over here.

Okay.

I can't believe how much I fantasise about food.

It blows my mind.

I could go for some pizza, stuffed crust,

garlic knots, marinara sauce.

Mother freaking lover.

Awesome.

We walked all this way, and it broke.

Yay.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

Okay, so I'm getting frustrated.

We're done. We're freaking done.

We're done.

Let's go back to freaking camp.

All right, gonna try and use clay with grass.

So I'm taking the clay from...

termite mounds.

They've already selected clay to make their mound waterproof.

They've mixed it with their saliva.

I'm going to add water to that, work it.

Add some grass thatch to that to make it...

spread better...

then I'm gonna plug all the holes.

I'm gonna work from the back to the front.

Give this a shot.

The clay on the termite mounds is a combination of the clay

that the termites have mined

out of the soil,

their saliva, and then some organic matter mixed in.

It creates this very durable,

waterproof structure.

Wetter is better.

Goes on easier, smoother, flattens out easier.

And those features are exactly what I'm looking for

in the roof of my shelter.

Okay, I think this is gonna work.

It's been so engaging having this experience.

Sometimes I'll get wound up about all the things to do.

When that happens at home,

my wife reminds me

that there's a lot of fun to be had in life

just from the very, very simple things.

And that very much reminds me of my childhood.

That one's good and wet. Let's fill this up nicely.

I grew up in a very large family.

We mostly lived in very small homes.

Shared bedrooms with multiple brothers all the time.

And as an introvert,

I naturally wanted time of quiet and alone.

And so the wilderness around our home

was like an escape for me.

My personality type needs some quiet time.

And I'm getting that out here building this shelter

and living off the land.

Well, I'm gonna call that a day on the shelter experiment.

I'm gonna go ahead and sleep in there tonight.

Make a fire in the corner.

Home sweet home.

In deciding on what the shelter would be

and how it would look,

I thought a lot about the aesthetic.

I wanted to build something beautiful,

because I was thinking about Erica.

I really miss her.

I've been so busy,

I haven't spent any time sitting since I arrived.

And I haven't really had an opportunity

to feel homesick or wish I was somewhere else.

Now that's all I'm gonna be doing.

And I don't like to sit still for very long.

I tend to fidget a lot, always moving.

But now that I'm settled into this place...

You know, my food supply is really good.

I have a permanent shelter.

So what's next?

I think I'll...

just hang out by the fire for a while and think.

And so now it's just me and my thoughts

and feelings.

I'm curious what I might learn about myself

as I reflect on things.

We'll see how it goes from here.

Hey, guys, do you want to know

how to get this nice, skinny body like me?

You want to know my secret?

I'll tell you my secret.

If you want the weight to just melt away,

book your spot for "Alone" with zero food.

You'll get a very nice tan while you lay in the sun

and starve the pounds away.

Unable to catch any fish?

Then this is the spot for you

if you want to lose some weight.

But don't worry, we have lots of rocks to munch on.

You can munch on some thorns.

How about some deadhead horns?

You'll look just like me.

Oh, you don't like thorns?

You'll get in shape even faster.

This is the spa that you need to take to lose weight.

Hurry up.

Book your spots now, because spaces are limited.

I wish I could eat these rocks.

All right, let's go for our little walk.

Today's my mom's birthday,

so let's see if there's any animals for her

on her birthday.

I don't think I can harvest food anymore.

I can't pull my bow back,

so big game is no longer a question.

Got to take breaks...

Turtle pace, even.

If I go up, like, two steps of an incline,

I definitely need a rest.

And I haven't seen a fish in ten days.

There's none, absolutely none.

Tired.

Have to remember to pick up my feet.

One foot in front of the other.

But I have to continue to do my walks

to stay mentally strong.

even though it's tough seeing all these animals

that I physically can't hunt.

Took a lot of energy to get up here today.

My legs are so weak.

I feel like they just want to give out underneath me.

I'm very lightheaded today.

It reminds me of...

A time...

I was elk hunting.

I was solo hunting in the mountains for days.

And I was chasing this 380 bull,

and I sat on him, and I sat on him, and I sat on him,

and I finally called him in, made a shot.

Missed completely underneath him,

and I was devastated that I made that mistake.

I was also exhausted from hunting days and days

by myself, and...

And I was like, I don't even know

if I can walk up this hill, this mountain.

And my mom goes, "One foot in front of the other, Kels.

"One foot in front of the other.

You'll get there. You'll get there."

And...

I just remember that today-- one foot in front of the other.

Just keep going.

One foot in front of the other...

no matter how exhausted you are.

It's my mom's birthday, so...

And on her birthday, she gets a sable.

Mom, look at the sable.

That's your birthday sable.

I saved...

a tiny bit of jerky for your birthday.

It's the size of a corn flake.

I saved it for your birthday.

That's it.

It's all I'll get today.

So I hope you're having cake...

And steak...

or a fish fry.

And you better eat two pieces for me.

I'm gonna head back.

So, anyways, happy birthday, Mom.

Thank you for supporting me, and I love you.

Hope you have a great day.

And I hope you're having ice cream and Nesquik

just for me.

My relationship with my mom is awesome.

She's super outgoing.

My mom can meet a friend anywhere.

I do feel like that's where I get my confidence from.

Like, in college or when I moved away,

I never let anything or anybody hold me back.

My whole entire life, if I wanted it,

I just went and got it.

Well, Mom, hope your birthday is better than me.

I'm starving.

You know, I feel like I came in here the underdog.

And I told them all, I was like,

I'm gonna come out of nowhere.

I really hope I...

Do come out of nowhere.

The hardest part of this game is the unknown.

How many people are left?

I bet you Katie's still here.

When I think about the last two people,

me and Katie absolutely come to mind.

Two strong women that can endure so much--

that would be awesome to see.

I've been contemplating writing a book...

on all my grand adventures--

charged by grizzly bears,

almost drowned kneeboarding...

Survived a rollover car wreck...

Things like that.

Hunting, fishing, all those crazy adventures,

you know, horse training,

the rescue, this adventure.

I'd love to put all the crazy adventures in a book.

It's going to be called "How to Wing It."

Nothing I do is planned.

It's wild.

And if it is planned, plan A goes out the window,

plan B goes out the window, and you don't have a plan C,

so you wing it,

because you can't be successful without failure.

One day at a time.

It's how I got here.

But...

we're not done yet.

Can't give up.

I had one of those dreams last night.

It was just me and Kelsey who were the last two people

in the show.

Recurring dream.

I don't normally have recurring dreams.

I'll have to unpack that one.

Do I sit by the water and try to hunt?

Or do I walk up onto that ridge and have a look down

and see if it's possible to make it

to the promised land?

The reality of where I am here

is that I think for me to get better bait and fish and hunt,

I'm gonna need to end up over that ridge

to the promised land.

I still feel like I've been rejected by all the animals.

I feel like they've all gone, oh, we're getting out of here.

We're going to go round that side of the hill

because that human lady over there,

she just keeps trying to kill us.

It's a shame.

I don't like that feeling.

And I just honestly don't know that I've got the energy

to get myself there.

So I'm just sort of contemplating

the reality of all of that.

I'm going to trust whatever feels right

rather than the head.

So, to the promised land.

I feel like I've got everything else dialled in.

I feel like I have an amazing nest at night

that I can go into, and I'm warm.

The plant food's all happening.

The water's all happening.

The critical piece is the protein.

That's the missing link.

Every day I'm waking up and thinking,

how am I going to crack this?

What am I missing?

And it feels like there's a push inside

to try to work that out.

Let's go across the top here.

I'm gonna go up and over there and down.

I might find some more animals up there sheltering.

We will see.

They're such clever animals.

Mm.

Goodness me.

Let's see if I can just see those tracks.

I can see the kudu male

with the wiggly horns now as well

and the stripes on his body.

They're gonna come right in front of me, I think.

Yeah, they're coming. I think I've got a shot here.

I'm going to take a shot.

Nothing on that one. Damn it.

Officially out of food.

How strong of a mind do you need to have to win this game?

I have this sort of seeking part of me

that always wants to know, what's really possible?

I tell myself to suck it up.

This is my adventure, and I can do it as long as I want.

This is "Alone." Haven't you seen it?

Anything can happen.