Adventurer Ben Fogle returns to meet previous contributors who turned their back on the rat-race and set up home in some of the most remote locations on Earth.
Intercut with scenes from the original episode, he discovers how life has changed for better or worse since his last visit, what challenges they have overcome and finds out if their life in the wild is still shaping up to be their ultimate dream.
He re-joins a variety of brave individuals who continue to venture down a very alternative path to everyday life.
These include Barbara from series three, who lives deep in the Australian bush; Annalisa who featured in series 8 in her Swedish forest hideaway; and Peter and Miriam who starred in series 7, nomads walking the world.
In Australia Revisit, Ben heads back to western Australia to revisit 69-year-old Barbara, a widow who has lived alone in an isolated bush camp for 16 years. As one of the most colourful and eccentric people he’s ever encountered, Ben is excited to see his Swiss friend but quickly learns that the past eight years have not been easy. Last time Ben experienced some of the hottest temperatures he’s ever encountered and learned that Barbara was striving to maintain the legacy of her deceased husband Roy. That was largely in the form of a wild animal retreat that Barbara was operating on her own.
Ben helped move 250-kilogram logs, attempted to stop a 40-year-old truck with a mere rock, and carried a new tombstone that Barbara had created to Roy’s final resting place. Now he discovers that not only has his inimitable friend had to deal with a serious cancer scare, but she came close to losing everything in a devasting bushfire. But none of this has dented Barbara’s enthusiasm to keep the dream of Roy’s Retreat alive.
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild – Australia Revisit, tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm
