Latest news with #ShayWilliamson
1News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- 1News
First Kiwi to take out Alone — 76 days, 1100 worms, 25% less body weight
On a pouring night, days since his last meal, Shay Williamson stepped out of his tarpaulin teepee somewhere in the Tasmanian wilds, and caught a pademelon – a small, wallaby-like marsupial – with his bare hands. It would have been unbelievable if he didn't capture the entire thing on camera, as part of his winning turn on the third season of hit reality survival show Alone Australia. The Bay of Plenty possum-trapper and outdoor YouTuber, 30, toughed out the Tasmanian winter for 76 days to become the first Kiwi to win any season in the Alone franchise. In Alone, 10 contestants are dropped in remote wilderness, dozens of kilometres away from each other, with a handful of essential items. There are no film crews; instead, competitors also have 70kg of camera gear with them to self-document their experience. ADVERTISEMENT Unlike most reality shows, the only challenge is to survive as long as possible, and the only way contestants are eliminated is if they choose to 'tap out', or are deemed unfit to carry on during periodic medical checks. The last person remaining wins a cash prize of AU$250,000 (about NZ$270,000) – and a boat ride back to civilisation. Williamson went in thinking his trapping skills would be one of his strengths. But contestants have to live-trap their prey to avoid killing protected species, and none of the elaborate traps Williamson constructed in the early weeks worked (except for a notable moment when he managed to catch himself). In the end, he caught the pademelon using a method that had worked for him since he was a kid. 'They're a lot easier to sneak up on when it's raining… because their ears are pinned down and they're a lot less alert. I used to catch rabbits like that back home when I was a kid on rainy nights,' he said. Shay caught a pademelon in the final days of Alone Australia season 3. (Source: SBS News) ADVERTISEMENT 'And so that's what I did – I just went outside and it was out there and it pretty much just walked right up to me and I reached out and grabbed it.' In other seasons of Alone, catching large prey would have been a game-changer. But by the time he caught the pademelon, Williamson had already survived for 67 days, equalling the previous record set on the Australian franchise by season one winner Gina Chick. He tried to trap and fish from day one, but for the first three weeks his diet consisted of something much less appetising: worms. 'You're pretty desperate for food right from the get go – well, I was,' he said. 'I was just going to eat whatever I could find and I knew it wouldn't necessarily be what you want to be eating – but if it's food, it's food, and you kind of have to have that approach out there. 'You're not necessarily gonna find the romantic sort of survival food that everyone thinks about – worms might be the only option. So that's what I had at the time, so I ate as many as I could find.' ADVERTISEMENT The West Coast Ranges of Tasmania experienced near-record rainfall while the season was underway last winter, forcing Williamson and several other remaining contestants to relocate their shelters six weeks into filming as the lake they were bordering rose and rose. The rain and lake levels were depicted as a constant threat, but for Williamson it proved to be an advantage. 'I was fishing from the first day, but I just didn't have any luck for those first three weeks,' he said. 'Once the lake started to rise, it brought a heap of fish to my area. 'The rainy nights were actually the best fishing for me, just because the lake would be rising and there'd be more worms on the edge of the lake so there'd be fish feeding on them at night. 'The more terrible the weather, I'd be out in it.' Williamson ended up catching 23 fish, 14 eels and over 1000 worms during his 11 weeks in isolation. ADVERTISEMENT Apart from the constant challenge of feeding himself - he lost about 25 percent of his body weight – the hardest part of Alone was missing his young family back in New Zealand. Williamson and his partner Abby have two daughters, 4 and 2, 'and another one on the way'. 'I thought about just normal tasks back home like taking the kids somewhere for the day, or having fish and chips on the beach. When I was out there sitting in my little teepee that sounded like paradise.' He often addressed the camera as 'we' or 'team' – something that 'just sort of happened naturally'. Bay of Plenty possum-trapper and outdoor YouTuber Shay Williamson. (Source: SBS Australia) 'I was trying to use the family as motivation when I was out there and that was my reason for staying, I guess, when things weren't going too well,' he said. 'So I was just basically pretending like I was talking to the family when I was talking to the camera. I don't know if it was a real conscious decision.' ADVERTISEMENT On the show, Williamson also talked about the bedtime story he would tell his oldest daughter when he returned, in her favourite structure: a member of the family being in some kind of trouble, before another family member arrived to save the day. It was partner Abby who 'saved' him: sneaking up to tap him on the shoulder to let him know he was the last person remaining. Now the show has aired, his daughter has been able to watch what her dad got up to. 'She seems to think that's pretty cool. She talks a lot about living in the bush now and her little tree house in the bush and stuff like that.' As for the prize money, that will go towards paying off the mortgage, 'which is a massive weight off the shoulders'. 'I won't be splashing out on a brand-new ute or anything.' In the meantime, life has largely returned to normal: the days are a mix of family life, trapping and filming for his YouTube channel, Keeping it Wild. ADVERTISEMENT While the prize money was a big motivator, Williamson said his main reason for wanting to go on Alone was to put a lifetime of bushcraft and outdoor skills to the test. 'I've been obsessed with that since I was a kid, so I guess it was validation,' he said. 'It was an opportunity, I guess, to see if all that time in the bush mucking around, doing weird stuff, actually paid off in the end.' Alone Australia is streaming on TVNZ+
NZ Herald
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Kiwi trapper Shay Williamson wins Alone: Australia, claims $270,000 prize after 76 days
Shay Williamson (left) after surviving 76 days in the Tasmanian wilderness. He is with his partner Abby who broke the news to him that he had won. After 76 days in the brutal Tasmanian wilderness, Eastern Bay of Plenty trapper Shay Williamson is now A$250,000 ($270,000) richer, claiming the coveted title of being the first Kiwi to win Alone: Australia. Reflecting on his journey, he tells Mitchell Hageman about what kept him motivated when the going got
NZ Herald
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Shay Williamson is first Kiwi to win Alone reality TV bush survival challenge
Meet the Bay of Plenty possum-trapper who's just become the first Kiwi to win a season of hit survival show Alone. On a pouring night, days since his last meal, Shay Williamson stepped out of his tarpaulin teepee somewhere in the Tasmanian wilds and
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Alone Australia season three winner sets massive show record to claim whopping $250,000 prize money
In a true testament to grit and survival, professional trapper Shay Williamson has been crowned the winner of Alone Australia season three – outlasting nine competitors to set a new record for the brutal reality show. The 30-year-old New Zealand man braved the unforgiving wilds of Tasmania 's rugged West Coast Ranges for an astonishing 76 days, taking home the season's $250,000 prize. Viewers were on the edge of their seats during Wednesday's nail-biting finale as Shay, who had endured over two and a half months in isolation, finally hit the ultimate jackpot. After a gruelling period subsisting on a truly unique diet, he managed to bag a pademelon – a small marsupial – securing him a much-needed substantial feed and cementing his place as the ultimate survivor. Shay's remarkable endurance was fuelled by an incredibly resourceful and unconventional menu. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. His impressive tally of provisions included 23 trout, 13 eels, two whitebait and freshwater shrimp, and a staggering 1100-plus worms. Not to mention a brave foray into consuming grubs and moth pupae, which he valiantly attempted to make more appealing by dubbing them 'cheese fries.' 'I tasted hard times and joyful times as I clawed out the other side and figured out where I could fit in, sustainably live, even forever out there, if need be,' Shay said in a statement released by SBS on Thursday. 'I'll always be grateful for the opportunity to help my family in this way, doing what I love for the people I love.' Shay's first meal upon returning to civilisation was 'KFC at the airport,' and he said strangers were smiling at him and giving him the 'thumbs up'. His victory marks a new benchmark for Alone Australia, with the season delivering a ratings bonanza for the public service broadcaster. More than 3.5million Australians tuned in to the finale, with 41 per cent watching via SBS On Demand. This multi-platform success is proof Australian audiences have a real appetite for under- produced and genuinely unscripted reality TV, in addition to glossy formats like Married at First Sight. In a heart-warming moment that had viewers reaching for the tissues, Shay was delivered the news of his win by his wife, Abby. What Shay believed was a routine medical check-up in the rugged Tasmanian bush turned into the surprise of a lifetime. He had vowed before the season began to last a staggering '300 days' in the wilderness if necessary to secure the win. As Abby emerged, the shock on his face quickly turned to joyous realisation that he had outlasted all the other competitors. Continuing in his statement, Shay revealed his lifelong connection to the land was his secret weapon. 'Living in the bush and off the land has been my life's passion since I was a kid,' he said. 'I built my life around the bush back home and became intimately connected to the land I come from, learning how our ancestors gathered food and lived in nature.' He added, 'I got the opportunity out there to put all that to the test, in a completely foreign environment.'
West Australian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
New Zealander Shay Williamson crowned winner of Alone Australia Season 3
He had a wealth of experience under his belt. And in the end this proved an advantage for New Zealand North Island professional trapper, Shay Williamson , who was crowned winner of Alone Australia Season three in a nail-biting double-episode finale, which aired last night. He walked away victorious after 76 gruelling days spent living wild in the West Coast Ranges of Tasmania (lutruwita), beating out his closest competitors — Food Safety Consultant Corrine, who tapped out after an impressive 70 days, and Bushman Muzza, who was forced to withdraw on medical reasons — to take home the $250K prize. 'I can't believe it! From day one, I've been saying, 'I want to come home with that money, no matter how long that takes, no matter how difficult it might get,'' he said. '$250K is life-changing for our family. 'Now I get to go home to my little slice of paradise.' Williamson, who first honed his bush craft as a teenager, admits he was initially challenged in the unfamiliar Tasmanian terrain, though he finished on a high, setting a new record for the Australian version of the show — he spent the sixth-longest amount of time competing across all international versions of the series. Williamson caught an elusive Pademelon in the late stages of the competition, changing his trajectory in the game, but it was lean times to begin with, with the New Zealander forced to think creatively when it came to his food sources. He consumed over 1100 worms, 23 trout, 13 eels, two whitebait and freshwater shrimp — grubs and 'cheese fries' (moth pupae) were also on the menu. Though from across the Tasman, his years spent living wild and trapping animals in his native New Zealand meant he was well-placed to make it to the end. 'I got the opportunity out there to put all that to the test, in a completely foreign environment,' he said. 'Living in the bush and off the land has been my life's passion since I was a kid. 'I built my life around the bush back home and became intimately connected to the land I come from, learning how our ancestors gathered food and lived in nature.'
