One Aussie’s Stakeout in the Outback

What do 16 “Survivors” and one Aussie journalist have in common? They all took on the Australian outback and won (well, some of them did).

I remember watching the host of “Survivor,” Jeff Probst (the man David Letterman describes as having too many consonants in his name), standing on the side of the Herbert River Falls telling viewers that they were looking at the “secret” location for the second “Survivor” (which premieres Sunday night after the Super Bowl on CBS).

All that did for me was throw down a challenge--could I survive in the outback just like they did on that island for 39 days?

I was lucky; I knew where the Herbert River Falls was, as I was there nine years ago. Sure I could.

With that, I was on the phone chasing people all over Cairns looking for any bit of information, then off I went to the local camping shop to get what I would need:tent, jungle greens (fatigues), a Global Positioning System, maps, compass, swag (it’s like a sleeping bag), and cooking equipment. I got the works.

Then it was down to my camera shop to pick up a new camera with some big lenses and lots of film. I was ready to go out and hunt down the 16 survivors. Unfortunately, it was only the 15th of September. Filming wouldn’t start till the 23rd of October, from all the reports I had.

I packed and unpacked over and over again; I was ready.

The day arrived for me to head to the falls. As my wife and daughter were driving me to the airport, I got the question, “Are you sure you can do this?”

“Yes, dear, I can, don’t worry if I get in trouble, I will go to the ‘Survivor’ camp, they can help.” Then my wife’s next question: “Do you have a first-aid kit?” Whoops. “I’ll get one in Townsville,” I said with a reassuring squeeze of her hand. The thought of snakes and crocodiles seemed to worry her.

Townsville had other advantages. I could get to the “Survivor” site from the south without being seen, rather than coming from Cairns in the north where the survivors would be living it up in luxury at the Matson Resort until they embarked for the outback on the 23rd.

With the middle of October getting closer, I packed one more time. I would be outback by the 21st of October, ready for the game to begin. I met a guy named Mal--though the locals called him Wallaby Bob--at a pub in town.

When he heard I was looking for a ride to the cattle station (an Australian sheep or cattle ranch) Wairuna on the 21st, he offered to drop me off, as it was only a couple of hours out of his way. So with the deal done--$150 and a case of beer--I had my ride.

Mal, who was on his way out to a town called Forsayth to work on a cattle station about the size of Hawaii, picked me up at 4:30 a.m. We loaded my motorbike--I’d picked it up for $750--and all my camping gear in the back of his Ford Ute and headed west. By 4:42 a.m. good old Mal cracked open his first beer and turned up his radio.

By the time we drove through Wairuna--around 10 a.m.--Mal had drunk a dozen beers and I was worried. I pulled out my GPS and we headed up toward my drop-off point, 15 kilometers (a bit more than 9 miles) south of the Herbert River. He offered to come back through the area in a couple of weeks to see if I was OK, so we arranged that.

I had everything I needed--four weeks’ worth of food, petrol, and a fishing line. As we unloaded the Ute, it then dawned on me: How was I going to get all of this into the middle of the bush? I got my bearings, loaded up my bike and headed north over what was first open plains and then thick forest. For the rest of the day I was back and forth, picking up my supplies and riding them inland.

I’d forgotten how draining the heat was. That night I sat down with a beer Mal had left me and planned the next couple of days.

After a night of fighting with my tent, to avoid the heat of the day I set out at 5 a.m. for the falls. With a little bit of reconnaissance I could make this as easy as possible, with my backpack full, a light snack and water.

Every 100 meters (about 109 yards) I placed colored flags on trees so it would be easier finding my way back in the evening. Then I heard the sound of the waterfalls. I figured I was about 1 kilometer (about 0.62 mile) away, so I decided to leave my motorbike and just follow the sounds of the falls.

The forest was very thick, so using my machete I cut my way through dense scrub. I could see the location of the tribal council about half a mile away, with around 20 people working on the site.

It wouldn’t be used for a couple of days, so I walked along the edge of the valley and got to around 250 meters of it when a big black helicopter flew overhead. I headed away from the falls for a couple of hours, as I didn’t want to be discovered before filming even began.

I had a good night’s sleep after putting my tent up the right way but was awoken by that helicopter. I ran after it and headed toward the road to Goshen Station, the cattle station where “Survivor: The Australian Outback” was being filmed. I was stopped at the gate by a security guard, who in not-too-polite terms told me where to go--and it wasn’t to meet the gang of 16.

As I headed back for the falls a giant transport plane flew over the top of me. This was it--the survivors were now about to experience “Survivor,” Aussie style. I went back to the falls that afternoon and there were still a few people working there, people were in the river swimming in scuba gear, which had to be a first for this part of the world.

I wanted to get to the survivors; however, at this stage I didn’t like my chances. At the moment I was in a national park as a taxpayer. I had every right to be where I was. However, if I crossed onto Goshen Station I would have been trespassing, so I thought the better of it and stayed put for the moment.

That afternoon there was a typical North Queensland storm--fork lighting was streaking across the sky and the Herbert Falls. The thunder was deafening and trees were exploding in showers of sparks and flame. All through it, the cast and crew of “Survivor” would have to take what cover they could from the storm. Hopefully, someone had warned them to stay low and to keep away from tall timber. It would have been their first real test of surviving a nail-biting thunder-and-lightning downpour, with nothing between them and the wild sky other than their shelters of leaves and bark.

So what challenges has producer Mark Burnett devised for these 16 people? They will have to throw boomerangs, eat cows’ brains, race each other in canoes, go through strength tests, ride horses and fall off them, go through mazes, catch snakes and a myriad of other strange things.

I had some bad luck with my motorbike--as I was on my way to the falls one day, a herd of about 10 wild horses sent me racing into a tree. I later found out after a visit to hospital in Brisbane that I had fractured my arm.

This was one tough place and I loved it. Still I was worried and I took the next couple of days off and contemplated giving myself up and asking Burnett and his castof thousands for some help. Instead I headed up to Mt. Garnet for a couple of days’ rest and to call home--one of the luxuries that the Survivors didn’t have.

You would never guess who would be sitting at the bar but good old Mal. He let out a huge laugh as soon as he saw me and had a beer in my hand before I could say no. He never made it to Forsayth, as the road was flooded, so he stopped in Mt. Garnet and hadn’t gotten around to leaving.

Some of the local Aborigines had been teaching the cast how to throw boomerangs and told the crew stories about how Goshen Station had bad spirits. They advised me that I was better off not going back either. That night I called a friend of mine in Townsville, who told me that security at the “Survivor” camp was getting serious. A couple local men had been hired to ride around the perimeter of the homestead and he said Burnett was also employing some ex-New Zealand soldiers to patrol the site too.

Now I was really worried. Mal told me that it was a load of rubbish and offered to come back with me for a couple of days. The next thing I knew Mal and his mate Simmo had me heading back to my camp.

Still feeling sore and sorry for myself, and with Mal and Simmo well over the limit (alcohol) for driving, we arrived at my camp, which was still in one piece, but only barely. Everything had been blown all over the place by another big storm. And the helicopter was back again. As soon as it came near us we ducked for cover until it had flown by.

With my arm throbbing, I decided it would be pointless to stay out there for too much longer. Mal was going to be heading back to Townsville and much as I wanted to stay, I returned home after lasting a total of three weeks, one day and seven hours in the outback.

I will tell you that when the tribes merge there are more guys than girls and they are a very good-looking, healthy, fit group.

As for Richard Hatch, who won the first round of “Survivor,” he was in Australia as a celebrity contestant on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Oh, and he won a grand total of $0.00.

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David Fletcher-Moulton is a freelance journalist based in Brisbane.

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The Inside Scoop

* Author of an expose on last year’s “Survivor” dishes the dirt on the new and old shows. F18