In her own words, Kate Grarock is just "the chick who likes camping". Until now, perhaps.
The Canberra expedition leader has been chosen for the first season of Alone Australia.
Its premiere on Wednesday will introduce Dr Grarock and nine other Aussie contestants to the show's cult following around the world.
"I'm an oversharer," she said.
"When in your life do you get the chance to step outside of it in complete silence and reflect on your entire life and how you're living it?
"Obviously that's going to bring up some stuff."
The 10 contestants were dropped into a remote region of western Tasmania, completely cut off from the world and isolated from one another.
Permitted to choose just 10 items from a list of 41 for their packs, the essential items are key to succeeding in the competition mission: outlast one another and win $250,000. In this case, that meant surviving the cold Tassie winter.
The list of items Australian contestants could choose from ranged from practical to, some might say, practically useless. They included a tarp, hammock, sewing kit and dental floss.
Dr Grarock used the brains trust of Canberra ecologists and some First Nations friends to help narrow down her choices.
"You can straightaway knock a few out. You don't need soap or a hair brush," she said.
"You need shelter, you need to be warm, you need to stay dry and you need to be able to cook."
Without giving too much away, Dr Grarock's list included a sleeping bag, ferro rod and a saw.
Contestants were also given a list of animals they were permitted to kill and eat in Tasmania, including rainbow trout, eel, possum and wallaby.
An ecologist who travels to remote parts of the country looking for new plant and animal species, Dr Grarock said she hadn't been in a rush to kill any Australian natives.
"I knew in myself that would break my spirit. Clubbing a wallaby to death, or whatever it was, that would have done more harm to my spirit than it could have done to nutrients wise," she said.
To take part in the show, Dr Grarock was forced to say goodbye to her six-month old baby and her partner Elsie. The nature of the competition meant not knowing when she'd be home.
As contestants are tasked with recording their every experience, Dr Grarock said her only trepidation about being broadcast into lounge rooms around the world was oversharing about her "very private" partner.
"My partner is just the most amazing person ever," Dr Grarock said.
"She said, 'as long as you feel healthy, physically and emotionally, just keep going'.
"That wasn't something I didn't have to have weighing on my mind, that I was leaving them or abandoning them."
Dr Grarock said the greatest challenge of Alone was, well, in the title.
"I'm an extrovert. I love people," she said.
"There's all these little interactions that you miss, even just a smile or a nod or an indication that you're doing a good job."
No audio books. No entertainment. Dr Grarock said distraction from the need for external validation is not easy to find.
"It's all well and good to plan all these cool ideas but you don't know much about the environment until you go in," she said.
"I missed the local IGA. Simple stuff like hanging out at Gang Gang. The biggest thing I was craving out there was flat surfaces.
"It's definitely a humbling experience."
Safely home in the ACT, Dr Grarock said there is no doubt being alone for long enough to examine her life and her relationships changed her.
As well as the reminder to cherish "schnitty night" and special moments with her family, it's reaffirmed her choice for a career in the outdoors.
"I don't feel like I'm this ultimate survival expert," Dr Grarock.
"Especially as a woman, sometimes we have doubts about our place in the outdoors.
"I guess it was quite an experience in terms of understanding that I do belong in this space and I can give this a red hot crack."
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