While Alone Australia was wrapping up on SBS this week, another Australian was quietly battling it out in the wilderness on the US version of the survival format.
Nero Buys reached the final three on Alone: World Championship, surviving 85 days in the Canadian Arctic before choosing to tap out — giving Australian viewers another Alone journey to follow at almost exactly the same time.
The 40-year-old from New South Wales was one of 10 international survivalists competing in Season 13 of Alone, which brought contestants from around the world together to compete for the title of World Champion.
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Nero Buys before embarking on the 85-day challenge that would take him to the final three on Alone: World Championship (image – History)
The season was filmed in the Richardson Mountains of Canada’s Northwest Territories, inside the Arctic Circle, with survivalists from the United States, Wales and Portugal also competing for the US$500,000 prize.
Closer to home, Nero was joined by New Zealand’s Poldi Waldmann-Moloney, who tapped out on Day 14 after struggling with the physical demands of his shelter build and the isolation of the Arctic.
Nero grew up in country NSW and trained as a boilermaker and welder before joining the Australian Army as a Fitter Machinist and Armourer, serving for seven years including a deployment to Afghanistan in 2010.
He later turned to bushcraft and outdoor education, travelling around Australia teaching survival skills and spending two winters in Canada’s boreal forest, where he became close friends with former Alone contestant Kielyn “Kie” Marrone and her husband Dave.
Among Nero’s 10 items were a sleeping bag, axe, multitool, paracord, fishing line and hooks, bow and arrows, cooking pot, snare wire, salt and a ferro rod, giving him the tools he needed to tackle the harsh Arctic conditions.
After more than two months in isolation, Nero was one of three survivalists remaining alongside Canadian Aaron Barnard and Slovenian Žiga Ogorelec, before choosing to tap out on Day 85 after removing his gill net.
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Aaron lasted another two days before tapping out on Day 87, leaving Žiga as the last survivalist standing, with the Slovenian reaching Day 90 to become the first Alone World Champion and claim the US$500,000 prize.
Season 13 of Alone: World Championship is streaming now in full on Stan in Australia.
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