Ben Fogle Return to the Wild Season 1 Episode 1 heads to Restoration Island, Australia, where Ben revisits former businessman Dave to see how life has changed since his original off-grid journey began. Living on a remote paradise island off the Australian coast, Dave once faced the threat of eviction from the home he built in the wild.
Now, Ben returns to discover whether Dave has managed to protect his island lifestyle and how the challenges of isolation, survival, and freedom have shaped his life over the years. This inspiring episode of Ben Fogle Return to the Wild explores resilience, adventure, and the realities of living off-grid in one of Australia’s most remote locations.
#BenFogle #ReturnToTheWild #Australia #OffGridLiving #RestorationIsland
Now, Ben returns to discover whether Dave has managed to protect his island lifestyle and how the challenges of isolation, survival, and freedom have shaped his life over the years. This inspiring episode of Ben Fogle Return to the Wild explores resilience, adventure, and the realities of living off-grid in one of Australia’s most remote locations.
#BenFogle #ReturnToTheWild #Australia #OffGridLiving #RestorationIsland
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FunTranscript
00:01I'm Ben Fogel and for the past five years I've traveled the world meeting people from
00:06all walks of life who've given up the rat race for a new life in the wild I mean I'm
00:14unsuitable
00:15I can't live in an organized society living off the grid big brother doesn't stick his nose in
00:20your business but what's happened to these brave individuals since I left over the next few weeks
00:28I'll be heading back to the wilds of Australia the USA Europe and India to find out what challenges
00:36they faced if they want me to move they've got to move my house not living your life to make
00:41money
00:41there's no money so you just get on with it ages catching up with me and discover if living this
00:48dream is everything they'd hoped for the battle come to me it's really the only way to live
00:54you city people just don't know what you're doing
01:05today I'm taking the epic journey back to Australia oh look back on resto to revisit my
01:14first wild man Dave Glashine a businessman who gave it all up to live alone on a remote island on
01:22the
01:22Great Barrier Reef does seem incredible that all your fresh water was stored in that no one can live
01:27anywhere without water I'll find out what's changed for Dave that is quite a magnificent site in his
01:34battle to stay on his island I'll chain myself to the trees you know now quality and I aren't going
01:40we're going nowhere I'm retracing my steps and journeying over 10,000 miles to Australia's most
01:50populated city Sydney
01:54it's then almost 2,000 miles north via Cairns to Lockhart River on the Cape York Peninsula
02:03it's known as one of the world's last true remaining wildernesses
02:09this small airfield was built in World War two to protect northern Australia from Japanese attack
02:16now just 400 people call this remote outpost their home my host has left his car for me for the
02:24next
02:24leg of my journey it's a further 30 miles on rough terrain through the rainforest before I reach
02:41the same secluded creek where I met with my first wild man this is amazing to be back it's been
02:48five
02:49years since I visited Restoration Island and this is where it all began I've been to nearly 30 people
02:55all around the world since so there's actually a real sense of nostalgia deja vu I remember bits of
03:02it and I can't wait to see what has happened to Dave his dog Quasi you know he was really
03:08struggling
03:08with fresh water he was struggling with eviction from the island so I have no idea what has happened since
03:25it was over five years ago that I first arrived on this beach to meet Dave a real-life Robinson
03:35Crusoe
03:36hey how are you very nice to meet you in the 1980s Dave Glashine was a high-flying Sydney businessman
03:48when the stock market crashed in 1987 he lost six and a half million pounds in just one day
03:57he lost his home he and his wife separated and his teenage daughters went to live with their mother
04:05with his life in tatters in 1994 Dave saw an advert for a 50-year lease on Restoration Island
04:13with his last savings he bought the lease with two colleagues for a hundred and thirty thousand
04:19pounds Dave left the city behind and along with his new girlfriend and son Kai made the island his home
04:28they left soon after but Dave realized he had found his paradise and has lived on the island ever since
04:39this is a bit fantastic not a bad place to call home heaven it is heaven yeah I go on
04:50is that or is
04:51that not your idea of paradise Dave shares his home with dog Quasi his sole companion protects their home
05:02from saltwater crocodiles hey Quasi hello hello boy hello boy hello hello what a welcome what a place
05:21restoration island is a hundred acres and just a mile away from the Australian mainland its highest point is 115
05:31but Dave's made his castaway home on the five acre tropical sandy bar
05:37this getaway paradise has seen a few inhabitants since World War II but I thought Dave lived here alone
05:45what is this sorry who is that sorry I didn't mean to be rude that's my girlfriend that's Miranda this
05:52is Miranda
05:53she's a bit she's a bit she gets a bit worn a bit I thought it was just you and
05:57the dog here well well yeah well
05:59she's a secret we don't talk about it because everyone water and seems very I get very jealous the other
06:04hand she's
06:05lost one lost one arm totally but she's an attractive woman but she's very quiet
06:10does she just sit here in this chair well a perfect island why move around it's all a bit mad
06:14I know but she was only a torso when I
06:16when I arrived I thought we needed a woman I needed a woman on the island so that's how she
06:20started
06:20I'm really not sure what to make of Dave that's my that's my fascination is one here moment
06:25you're fascinated by moment do you believe in moment of course I do I'm waiting for one to land on
06:29the beach here
06:30I'm starting to think he may have been here on his own a little too long
06:34his simple home is made from timber with an iron roof
06:38he has no luxuries like TV or hot water but he does have a 50 year old toilet with a
06:44rainwater flush
06:45with solar panels for electricity internet comes via a satellite dish Dave is a true silver surfer
06:52I'm not a mechanical person so I can learn I learn a lot about doing things via the internet
06:57and Robinson Crusoe can do online banking that is the weirdest thing I've ever heard
07:03opening directly onto the beach Dave's bedroom is basic as are his clothing needs
07:09judging by what you're wearing now and the heat and things probably don't you need much stuff
07:13no you don't need you don't need much a lap lap you know that's what I normally wear
07:16and uh you normally wear what sorry like a lap lap a lap lap
07:19well it's like a tablecloth you know a linen tablecloth you cut it up and you make a g-string
07:23out of it
07:24yeah and you know this bit of everything here's got a hole in the bum so you might as well
07:28have it exposed
07:28so you wouldn't if I wasn't here you'd be in a g-string yeah yeah
07:31do you ever go naked on the island yeah yeah but but you feel a bit more protected
07:35you know running around like mowing lawns and things yeah it's not great
07:38part of our body needs to have a little bit a little bit of cover psychologically at least
07:42and if the thought of Dave walking around with only a g-string on isn't intimate enough
07:46he has a romantic little hideaway for me to stay in
07:50there's the love shack the love shack is this really called the love shack
07:53well we it's got two names the bush camp or the love shack so whichever you prefer
07:58look at this how about that this is amazing
08:03yeah nice ventilation I like the fact that there are no walls
08:07no walls
08:07and this is called the love shack
08:09this is the love shack
08:10have you been down here
08:11oh yeah well not really I've been practicing
08:15getting ready you know getting ready for love you know getting ready for love
08:21Dave fishes every day and grows his own fruit and veg
08:24is food important to you?
08:26oh very important food is one of the great pleasures of life
08:28and in the city everyone just rushes food and don't understand what it does for our body
08:33so you've got to eat it slowly and enjoy it like sex slowly and enjoy it
08:41I've lost my train of thought now
08:44and to make matters worse dinner is the food of love
08:47there that's a goodie
08:48that's a goodie
08:50oysters
08:53I've eaten all the natural ingredients of the ocean
08:56you soon work it out you see it's all trial and error
09:00as well as oysters Dave eats other seafood such as crabs and an abundance of fish
09:05what about the pre-restoration island Dave was he very different?
09:10oh well physically you bet I was the classic corporate cat you know
09:15overweight
09:15yeah
09:16how much did you weigh?
09:18I was 105 kilos
09:20when I came here
09:21and within two years I'm down to 70
09:23and there was no
09:25all I did that was different is I just ate better food
09:28and you feel better you wake up you can do a lot more things
09:31you know I'm not I haven't got time to look for wheelchairs
09:33but that's what people are doing wheelchair shopping you know
09:35plotting they're working up their grave sites
09:37where they're going to die you know
09:38or I haven't got time for that sort of stuff
09:41it's a different way of thinking
09:50Dave certainly knew how to make an impression
09:53and five years on
09:54I'm intrigued to find out how time may have changed my old castaway friend
10:00Dave's going to be about 74 now
10:03there's no spring chicken
10:04and living where he does
10:05this is a tough old life up here
10:07there's no one around
10:09it's a lot of physical work
10:12I'm kind of fascinated to see
10:14what's happened in the last five years
10:17I think I can hear him
10:21there he is
10:26look at that still got the beard still got the hair
10:29still got the Robinson Crusoe look
10:31hey
10:32hey
10:32hey
10:34look at you
10:35hey
10:36how are you
10:37how are you
10:38good to see you
10:38have a look at you
10:40you've hardly aged
10:41another day older than Dave been there
10:42well listen I'm so glad to see you here
10:45you look like you've been in the sun
10:47yeah a little bit of sunshine
10:48I've been travelling a bit since I last saw you
10:50I'm good
10:51you started the whole thing
10:52I've been all around the world
10:53but I love the fact I'm back
10:55should I get my bag in
10:57yeah
10:57I'll get this motor running
11:00oh Dave it's good to be back
11:02ha ha
11:02shall I push us out
11:03yeah just push us out
11:06off to Resto
11:12ha ha
11:14good to be back
11:22I'm in Australia
11:24revisiting one of my first ever new lives in the wild
11:28there's a boat
11:30yeah
11:31that's new
11:32you got yeah it's a beauty
11:33cockanoo it's called
11:34I don't know what it means
11:35it's Hawaiian I think
11:36I'd love to know how you got home
11:38that's the story don't worry
11:40couple little changes since you were here last
11:42it's been five years since I spent a week
11:45living with Dave and his dog Quasi
11:47on their remote island home
11:50hey
11:51that's definitely not Quasi
11:53no
11:54the new one
11:56oh look back on Resto
11:59so what happened to Quasi?
12:01a taipan got him
12:02a what?
12:03a bloody coastal taipan
12:04the most dangerous
12:05a snake?
12:06yeah yeah
12:06the most dangerous snake in Australia
12:07oh Dave I'm so sad
12:09poor old Quasi
12:09it was terrible
12:10he lasted a couple of days which is
12:12quite amazing really
12:14oh how long ago was that?
12:16oh a couple of years ago now
12:17oh that must have been devastating
12:19yeah it was
12:19and then Polly's arrived
12:21hello Polly
12:23hey Polly
12:24she is a fantastic dog
12:26I'm glad you've still got a companion here
12:27oh hello
12:28you've got to have a companion
12:29look I've got a friend I think
12:30yeah
12:32look
12:33welcome to Resto
12:34it's still there
12:35yes
12:36it stood the test of time
12:37I can't believe this is still standing
12:39Dave
12:40well it's amazing the good things that last you see
12:43five years
12:44karma
12:44there's good karma
12:45that is amazing
12:46that's still standing
12:47well there's a bit more to it I think
12:49I'm not sure when you were here
12:50was that section on?
12:51there were all sorts of sections Dave
12:53thank you
12:53it's rather appropriate
12:54welcome to Revolution Island
12:56well we're changing the tone a bit more
12:58are you?
12:59we're building up the tempo you know
13:01this is new I don't remember this
13:03well this is right
13:03this is the new extension
13:06oh my gosh the new addition Dave
13:07well you're that with extensions your family's grown
13:10Phyllis
13:11made Phyllis
13:12oh Dave
13:16I remember it from last time
13:18but it's almost magnified this time
13:20that the whole life here is a smile
13:23it's not a frown
13:25I think so much of life is about worrying
13:27and he has more than his fair share of worries
13:30and has experienced those
13:31but he still has a smile on his face
13:33it's like a big warm hug being here
13:41five years ago
13:42Dave's biggest worry on Restoration Island was water
13:47it hadn't rained properly for two years
13:50this is the water we're using at the moment
13:52well this is
13:53but you didn't build this did you?
13:55no this would have been built probably about the
13:57probably about the wartime
13:58it's not in great shape Dave
13:59no but it's the only water we've got left
14:01because the main tank over here is empty
14:03and we've just got a like a week
14:05this is all the water
14:06is this what we're actually using then this water
14:08that's what we're using for the shower and the toilet right now
14:11nice
14:11it doesn't look that
14:12it doesn't look that appetising from here
14:14no well underneath it's quite clean
14:15right
14:16but as I said it's only shower and toilet
14:18we're not drinking it
14:19we're not using it to drink
14:19we don't drink water from up here
14:22back then drinking water was stored in a cleaner tank near the house
14:27there was still some left
14:28but supplies had never been this low
14:30if the rains don't come
14:31so it could be another year
14:33I don't know
14:34does that worry you?
14:36well it's the first time ever
14:37it's the first time since I've been here
14:38that we haven't had a rainfall event to fill up our tanks
14:41so I've always figured it's going to happen
14:43so if it happens it happens
14:45that's the way it is
14:46no point worrying about things you can't control
14:50over the years
14:51Dave has continued to struggle
14:53with collecting enough water to survive on his island
14:58today
14:58we're off to check on his current water supply
15:03oh look
15:04here's the old one
15:04and that is obviously a new one
15:07two new ones
15:08two new ones
15:09this one's a bit like it was
15:10yeah
15:11it does seem incredible that all your fresh water was stored in that
15:15that's all we had there when you came
15:17we were down to that
15:19these are 10,000 litres each
15:21yep
15:22and
15:24they're both about half full now
15:25and I haven't taken anything out of the main tank
15:27the main tank's around there
15:28can I have a quick look?
15:29yep
15:29if you want to climb up there
15:31yep
15:33and peer down through the
15:34should I have a quick peek up?
15:35the shade cloth
15:37you can put your head on the shade cloth
15:40look at that
15:41that is completely full
15:43you have a lot of water in there
15:45that itself is 120,000 litres
15:47and it overflows into this one
15:48which overflows into that one
15:50all by gravity
15:52so we never need to touch this
15:54Dave's main tank has been lined with concrete to make it last
15:58along with his two overflow tanks
16:00he can now store 140,000 litres of water
16:04how long will that last?
16:05well it depends on how much you use
16:07and how long is a piece of string you know
16:09with your consumption how long do you know it will last?
16:11probably 20 years
16:12the way I consume water
16:13if we have a rainfall event
16:15every five years for example
16:18where the hills run
16:19to fill these and it does it in two days
16:21so I'm cool for 20 years
16:23which is effectively
16:24kind of an insurance policy for the island
16:26you've got enough into it
16:27of course it is
16:28you can't live here
16:29no one can live anywhere without water
16:30these aren't going to fail
16:32well the plastics might go
16:33but that concrete tank
16:34will be there for hundreds of years from now
16:36it's been a huge improvement to the island
16:38and for me personally
16:39because I know I've got water now
16:41I don't have to worry about water ever again
16:43that's a good
16:44that's a pretty important thing
16:47the last time I was here
16:48it was a little rusty puddle of water
16:51that was running out fast
16:52it seemed a bit hopeless to be quite honest
16:56I can see that psychologically
16:58that is a huge thing for him to now have
17:02it's basically his pension
17:10five years ago
17:12although Dave survived on the bare minimum of water
17:15in true Aussie fashion
17:17he still found enough to make a little homebrew
17:19the elixir of life
17:23beer
17:25it's a luxury item
17:27alcohol
17:27but it's a necessary luxury
17:30my personal objective on the island
17:33is if I don't work
17:34I don't get a beer
17:35I don't deserve a beer
17:36so is this your character
17:38this is your main luxury beer
17:40yes
17:40yes
17:42island living costs Dave
17:44just under £10,000 a year
17:46this is the same as his state pension
17:48so he's frugal with his spending
17:50but the businessman in him
17:52has never really retired
17:54he knows an opportunity when he sees it
17:56Dave trades his beer
17:58for fish with passing fishing boats
18:01you're not allowed to trade alcohol per se
18:03but I gift it
18:05you can gift it
18:05you can gift it
18:06I gift it
18:06in return for something else
18:07that you might be gifted
18:08they might
18:09we give
18:09we have
18:10we're giving
18:10we're givers
18:11we all give to each other
18:12it's not trading
18:13it has nothing to do with money
18:16people like to give me fish
18:18and I like to give them beer
18:20so if water really did
18:22if you were completely out of water here
18:25and you just had the bare minimum
18:27would you still brew do you think
18:28would you still use that
18:29yes
18:30it would be
18:32I'd clean my teeth in the beer but
18:34you'd clean your teeth in the beer
18:37but
18:38well it would be
18:39it would be certainly on the high list of priorities
18:41I'd be careful about it
18:43but
18:43but yeah you would
18:44I've never run out of alcohol
18:53a fishing boat is moored close to the island
18:56an irresistible opportunity to try and negotiate dinner
19:00but we're stopped in our tracks
19:02as Dave's old tin boat has a leak
19:06that's a fair amount of water in there
19:08yeah
19:08probably
19:1060 litres
19:1180 litres probably
19:1380 kilograms
19:14a lot of weight we don't need to cut around
19:17right
19:18especially not in water
19:19teeming with er
19:20what do you call crops again?
19:23croquepusses
19:23no you had the
19:24swamp dogs
19:25swamp dogs
19:26yeah they call them swamp dogs
19:29this boat is Dave's lifeline to the outside world
19:32without it
19:33he would be completely marooned
19:35where's the damage?
19:37where's she leaking?
19:38well we've got a leak
19:38we've got a
19:40we've got continual leaks
19:42so we just keep on
19:45keeping ahead of it
19:46so they're only hairline cracks
19:48but they're enough to sink the boat
19:49if you don't do anything
19:51yeah
19:53as you can see there's been lots of repairs
19:57in everywhere
19:58a simple little repair like this can save your life
20:01Dave gets up at sunrise every day
20:03and spends most daylight hours doing jobs around the island
20:06and nothing goes to waste
20:08he uses every last drop of what he has available
20:12that's proper island life isn't it?
20:14where you eek out every single
20:17well you do
20:17you have to
20:18because there's no shop to run to to get this stuff
20:22were you as resourceful when you were working in Sydney
20:26when you were a businessman?
20:27i had absolutely no idea
20:28really?
20:29i had a credit card
20:30i was resourceful
20:30what i could do was pull the credit card out of my wallet
20:33and that would do all the magic
20:35here a credit card has absolutely no value
20:38it's useless
20:38well you might be able to scrape out the last bits with it
20:41yeah you could do it
20:42yeah you could you could do that
20:43that's about the only thing it's useful for
20:49while we wait for the repair to dry
20:51Dave has another job for me
20:55i've never lawn mowed a desert island before
20:58this is the first
20:59well there you go
21:00well it's a bowling green island
21:01okay are you going to go and get one?
21:03i'm going to get mine
21:04where shall i head for?
21:05the palm tree
21:06this just gets even more surreal
21:09lawn mowing a desert island
21:14once and if the rains come
21:16the grass needs constant mowing
21:18Dave can't afford a sit on mower
21:20so it takes him a week to mow the whole five acre area on his own
21:25never mow over a coconut
21:33with our beer ready to load
21:35Dave and I are keen to strike up a deal with the fishermen
21:38but despite our best efforts
21:40our boat isn't quite ship-shaped
21:43it's always a bit nerve-wracking going to sea with Dave and his leaky boat
21:48that's not too bad
21:49this is the boat we fixed
21:53a little bit of water in there Dave
21:55oh not much
21:57five or six buckets
21:59that's not bad
21:59see
22:03i think that's a little more than five or six buckets
22:07we can't sink with this precious cargo
22:10oh that's right
22:12the crew of the irene have spotted us
22:15and are ready waiting and thirsty
22:17hey i'm bent
22:18how are you?
22:20nice speed there uh Dave
22:22nice driving Davo
22:24good morning boys
22:25how are you mate?
22:26do you know my mate here?
22:27I know Davo
22:29Davo's been around here for a while now
22:32he's our main source of beer when we run out
22:34yes
22:35no beer no work
22:36no beer no work
22:37simple
22:38what do you make of his lifestyle?
22:40sorry talking about you in front of you
22:41a little bit of envy there
22:43yeah
22:43yeah
22:44oh it'd be lovely wouldn't it
22:45but i work too
22:46but yeah yeah
22:47you know
22:48you haven't got power
22:49you haven't got water
22:50so all those things are stacked up against you
22:52but Davo seems to survive
22:57Dan and his crew fish the barrier reef for two weeks at a time
23:01using a simple rod and line
23:02they sustainably catch coral trout
23:06we're off to some of the other accidental catchers
23:09trevally and mackerel
23:12how does this deal work?
23:16depends how much beer he's got
23:17what have you got in there today Dave?
23:20that's what his story is
23:21my story is it depends on the glint of the eyes
23:22as to how desperate they are
23:25i think that one looks the nicest for him
23:29oh it's a beauty look at this one
23:30he's happy about that
23:32oh very nice
23:33he's got this thing about kissing fish
23:36i think he thinks it's going to turn into a woman
23:39so what that's about ten kilos of fish?
23:41ten kilos of fish for a carton and a half of beer
23:45a carton and a half more
23:47i think another fish
23:48you're a hard man Dave
23:49i think another fish
23:50okay we'll get you one more fish
23:51you're a tough man but today
23:53today you've got me on the right day
23:55we're a lucky day
23:55you've got that on the right day
23:56so then
23:57all right
23:58we'll shake on it
23:59okay
23:59it's a deal
24:00they're very trusting today
24:02i've got all the fish
24:03and all the beer
24:05you have
24:07business done and dinner sorted
24:08i can pretend i'm a bonafide fisherman
24:12thanks guys
24:13okay
24:13see ya
24:14good luck today
24:14thanks man
24:15look at the fish i caught
24:17wait till i show Quazzy this
24:19look Quazzy
24:19i caught a huge one
24:26how are you Polly?
24:29Dave's new friend Polly is a reminder of how life has changed since i was last here
24:35some things are all too familiar
24:38whoa it's the old homebrew
24:40oh yes yes
24:41but this is not beer though
24:42this is spiritual
24:44spirits
24:45you've moved on to the hard stuff
24:46so tell me what you've got in here
24:47let me smell it
24:48well have a smell
24:50woo
24:50that smells like petrol fuel
24:52it's just pure spirit in wood chips
24:56how much are you pouring?
24:57oh enough for a bit of a taste
24:58that's a pretty good looking taste
25:00and i'll get you a little glass
25:03not quite sure if this is whiskey
25:06boat fuel
25:07or a mixture of the two
25:09i've become quite the homebrew connoisseur over the last five years
25:13seems a bit like paraffin now
25:15so there's only one way to find out
25:17cheers
25:22that's strong
25:23is that like a hundred percent?
25:25no
25:25no forty
25:26i dulled it at forty percent
25:27really?
25:28yeah
25:29oh
25:30it tastes like pure alcohol
25:31maybe i had the water when i put it in the bottles
25:34maybe it is more
25:35which would be about eighty-four percent
25:38yeah
25:38it does taste more
25:39because i'm getting a bit of a buzz
25:40i think if i'm to be honest
25:43i think your homebrewing has improved over the last five years
25:47and what better way to round off an afternoon's drinking
25:50than with a little dance
25:52i've got to practice anyway
25:53that's how i practice
26:09i've returned to australia to visit one of my first ever new lives in the wild
26:16dave glasheen has spent the past 21 years as the sole inhabitant of this remote island off the north east
26:22coast
26:23this building is my first building in my life actually
26:26and it's just collapsed
26:28and what do you want to do literally just lift
26:30i think we lift it up and we put this under it
26:32just lift the other side up
26:44do you still constantly find yourself redoing things that have been worn away eaten by ants
26:50it's like maintaining your body you know like things deteriorate you've just got to keep up the maintenance
26:55have you got any uh nails or screws we could nail this in or do you just want to latch
27:01everything now
27:01we don't we all have it's a building without nails
27:04a building without nails
27:05there's no nails in this building
27:06okay
27:06it's lashed
27:07the whole thing is lashed
27:09yes
27:09well the great thing about ropes is they're they're forgiving
27:13but lashing look at the hawans they built these incredible boats
27:16that sailed around the world
27:19that were all lashed
27:20look at that that's pretty strong
27:22that's temporary permanent
27:23temporary permanent
27:26yeah well you do as best you can you know
27:30well we don't have ten shops to go to so we have to work on what we've got
27:34i think if i'm to be honest i'd give this temporary permanence about a week
27:40oh you'd be surprised
27:42this whole building is nearly 20 years
27:44that section's never fallen down
27:46yeah
27:47so nearly 20 years the only thing i've done is put that post in
27:50oh this is perfect
27:52it doesn't block your views
27:55let's try it
27:56nice
27:59back on resto
28:00i'm reminded how dave clearly loves people's company
28:10homebrew
28:11oh listen to that
28:13but when i first came here five years ago he'd been single for a decade
28:17a lot of younger people younger than me will assume that when you get to your late 60s you stop
28:24thinking about sex you stop thinking about girlfriends
28:27never
28:28never
28:28never
28:29never
28:29the minute you do that you're dead
28:30i think it's a natural thing i think what human beings are designed to be connected
28:35whether it be man to woman or man to man or woman to woman it doesn't matter as long as
28:39you're connected to something
28:40i'm connected to a dog at the moment
28:43i love him dearly but he's not a partner
28:45yeah
28:45describe your perfect woman
28:47oh god
28:47well now it's a woman who's intelligent
28:50yeah
28:50feminine
28:52um
28:53open mind
28:53in terms of ability to think outside the square
28:57and actually
28:58enjoys you
28:59as an individual
29:00and you know
29:02and wants to sing and dance
29:03a bit to your tune
29:05whatever that is
29:07dave tried internet dating
29:08he was inundated
29:10only one lady actually ventured here though
29:13and she had some thoughts of her own
29:16she talked about an open relationship
29:18and i thought well
29:19well that sounds pretty good to me
29:20like that just means you talk openly about you don't have secrets from each other
29:23i'm open anyway
29:24so that's easy
29:25how did you find out the reality
29:27well then i ring my daughter i thought they might know more about these things than me
29:30and my oldest daughter samantha said dad you are born under a rock
29:34that means there's a boyfriend in every city
29:37i said well
29:38well that's all right
29:39if someone really came and swept you off your feet but
29:43they didn't want to live this lifestyle
29:45would you
29:46would you give up the lifestyle for the
29:48for the woman
29:49well it'd be really hard i don't know
29:51my dream is that some woman will come here
29:54and and see it and feel it like i do
29:58she's out there there's three billion women
29:59there's got to be one or two or
30:01or a few open relationship ones
30:04it's not a big ask surely
30:15five years later
30:16dave continues his romantic pursuits on the internet
30:21one in turkey i've been talking to and one in florida
30:24there's a few out there you know
30:26they're not physical yet
30:28but i'm
30:28they look they look and sound nice
30:30and and you know but they're not here
30:32and i've not been there
30:34so i've got to go there i think
30:35uh and entice them here
30:37you'd still like some female company here
30:40oh well you know man i'm human you know
30:42there's long times it's the touch of a woman you know
30:46all men are like this i'm sure
30:48but not they're not the ones who are in the middle of nowhere
30:51that's all they that's why they invented mermaids
30:54men dreaming of women
30:55you look out to the sea
30:56and the girls come out of the water
30:58what like are you talking about mermaids again
31:00well it doesn't matter but as long as they're female
31:02i prefer one with legs
31:04but uh but maybe they can uh do that by day
31:07and then get back to the fin by night i don't know
31:09or maybe reverse that i'm not sure
31:13oh dave
31:20although dave arrived on the island in a relationship
31:23he's also embraced the single life
31:27on my last visit he took me to the place he loved the most to be alone
31:33wow look at these views
31:36pretty good eh
31:37this is your weekend getaway
31:39it is a getaway place basically
31:41you run up the hill to get away
31:43and this this must be a great place to look out for any passing shipping
31:46oh yeah you can you can observe from up here everything
31:49and they're different points i can see what's going on from up here so
31:52people can't sneak in on me here
31:55do you become quite uh territorial
31:57oh very much very territorial and uh
32:00you know if there's more than one boat here i think it's a crowd you know
32:06dave really was the king of his castle
32:10but this soon changed
32:11being alone in this tough wilderness was one thing
32:14but dave had to face a much bigger challenge
32:18eviction from his island
32:22in 1994 dave bought a 50-year lease on the island with two business partners
32:28they had plans to develop the island into a commercial tourist spot
32:33but when these plans failed one of dave's colleagues wanted to sell his share of the lease
32:38resulting in a lengthy legal battle
32:42when i was last here the supreme court had just ruled that dave must vacate his home
32:48his future on the island hung by a thread
32:53if i don't get any additional help financially
32:56well i could be booted off here
32:58and effectively i could be booted off now
33:04his only hope lies with an aboriginal community of 400 who live on the mainland
33:09over the last 35 years land has been returned to different indigenous groups by the australian government
33:17several years ago two-thirds of restoration island was returned to the local kukiau people
33:23they hope that the remaining third of the island that dave's lease controls will also be given to them when
33:29the lease expires in 2039
33:33dave has spent the last decade forming a close relationship with the locals
33:38together they hope to develop the island for future generations
33:45i've dragged them into it on the basis of saying well this is your land here now this is the
33:49chance i will fight while i'm alive
33:51so do you see yourself almost as a sort of caretaker for the kukiau people
33:56certainly i'm
33:58we're all caretakers of the world
34:00we can't own the land we can't take the land away with us
34:03so we're all essentially caretakers
34:05and i'm the kukiau person's representative
34:09as a business person
34:10to try to make it happen
34:12and that's all i want to do
34:13and so i'm trying to introduce a mechanism whereby my existing partner can exit
34:20with money if that's what he wants
34:22and we can progress the development on the island
34:25which the kukiau people now want
34:27it seems tragic that dave the sydney businessman who came here to get away from the stress of money and
34:33politics
34:33has been drawn back in
34:36you've lost everything once
34:37yes
34:38back in 87
34:38are you worried you could lose it again
34:40no
34:42no i'm not
34:42i've grown through that
34:44because i can survive
34:45i've learned how to survive
34:46the great thing about the island
34:47is that i've learned how to survive
34:49and in fact i'm way smarter now than i ever was
34:51except that you have this brewing storm presumably over there
34:55someone is going to come and ask you to leave
34:57well that doesn't matter
34:59i have 400 people in lockhart river that don't want me to leave
35:03will anyone get you off this island
35:04no not unless they drag me out
35:06i'll tie myself to a
35:08i'll chain myself to the trees you know
35:10now quality and i aren't going we're going nowhere
35:26Before i left i also got to spend time with the local kukiau people
35:30and spoke to the mayor about dave's predicament
35:34he has been evicted from the island according to the court ruling of the process that he went through
35:41he's saying he's going to stay put
35:44i mean what are your thoughts on that
35:45i think this is a prime opportunity for kukiau people to get that land back off the lee sea you
35:52know
35:53and translate it back into an opportunity between dave and the kukiau people
36:05and the kukiau people to get that land back off the coast of australia
36:09and the kukiau people to get that land back off the coast of australia
36:23oh
36:26five years ago my host dave faced eviction off his island
36:34but time has passed and still no one has forced him to leave
36:38instead dave's made strides in protecting his life in the wild
36:44my business partner realises i'm an asset
36:46not a liability
36:48because i'm the
36:49i'm the go between
36:50between the kukiau people
36:51and if he doesn't have
36:53their support
36:54it'll be very difficult to do anything here
36:57because they trust me
36:58and they don't
36:59they've never trusted any white person
37:01because they've never made
37:02they've never no one's ever tried to have a relationship
37:04as if they don't exist
37:06well they do exist
37:07and they're going to always exist
37:09my business partner wants money
37:11and i want to do
37:12i want to move on
37:13and and and develop there
37:14and get the island working
37:15so the bottom line is
37:16you need some cash
37:18i need some money yes
37:19i need some financial help
37:20and my plan is to is to attract capital in on their behalf
37:24and uh not a lot i don't know exactly how much
37:27it's really a matter of meeting people and talking about it
37:29and working out creative ways of resolving all
37:32so all parties have a win
37:34so the fight goes on
37:36no it's not a fight it's just a challenge
37:39it's a challenge in that sense it's not a fight
37:41and then what would you do with the island
37:43we'll have a sublease
37:44and we'll turn it into a healing retreat
37:46healing and inspirational retreat is my idea
37:48and and work with the local people
37:51to take to eventually take it over
37:53in the long run
37:54you're five years old and now 74
37:5674 august yeah
37:58yeah is there is there a sense now
38:00of a race against time
38:02to to get this place to the place that you want it
38:04or are you resigned to to
38:06no i'm just i'm just i'm just from
38:08i haven't changed
38:09i've always been impatient really in life
38:12about about speed and progress
38:15and what i call progress and
38:17but i'm glad it's taken a long time
38:18a learning curve
38:19because i've worked out what not to do
38:21and that took a long time
38:25in some ways it hasn't really changed
38:27yes he hasn't got an eviction notice
38:28but he still has a lot of money to raise
38:32he still has a lot of people to convince
38:35but ultimately all dave wants is the right to live here
38:38carry on the life that he's been living
38:41and that's not so hard to ask
38:47dave has shown me many of the improvements
38:49he's made in the past five years
38:52but i'm yet to investigate the newest addition
38:56and look at this dave that is
38:58isn't that a beauty
38:58that is quite a magnificent sight
39:00it is but it just needs a lot of tlc
39:03like everything here you know
39:04i got it from the salvage man for a dollar
39:06a dollar
39:07well he had to get it to care
39:08he wanted to burn it on the beach
39:09right
39:10he wanted to drag it here and burn it
39:11yeah
39:12and i convinced him to say no
39:13yeah
39:14i'll buy it for a dollar
39:15yeah
39:15you don't have to take it to cans
39:16it becomes my boat
39:18only you could buy something like this for one dollar
39:22it's half a million dollar boat to replace
39:24and it could be fixed
39:25tell me how on earth you got this thing up onto the beach
39:27we picked a big tide
39:29and i got a gang of people from lockhart
39:32cookie hour people young people strong people
39:34and with the help of them physically
39:36and a winch in the bushes here
39:38which we put which we pulled over or pulled out of its ground
39:41we dragged it up here over a couple of days
39:43it took a couple of days of grunt
39:44so you've put these
39:46concreted those in
39:47you've concreted these so that she remains completely up in
39:50treated pine so the ants aren't going to get to it
39:51yeah
39:51and the tip of it is exposed
39:54so we can
39:54and i plan to paint it all up again
39:57it'll be a very pretty boat again
39:59so you're going to put her back on the water
40:01no mentally
40:02in my head
40:03so go on what
40:04i know you love collecting stuff dave
40:07well this is practical
40:07this is going to be accommodation
40:09and this is going to be possibly my new camp
40:11so you think you'll actually move in here will you
40:13well come and have a look
40:14yeah
40:15dave and the locals moved the boat to a very specific spot on the beach
40:18and for a good reason
40:21this is on the esplanade
40:23this is public land
40:24that the council the cookshire ran
40:26this is not part of the least area of the island
40:28so we're allowed to be here
40:30everyone's allowed to be here
40:31oh so this is your way
40:32yes
40:32of circumventing regulations
40:35yes
40:36so this is basically your
40:38you're kind of guaranteeing that you can stay on the island
40:42this is my house
40:42it's broken down on cookshire land
40:45so if they want me to move they've got to move my house
40:48you're a genius
40:50you're a genius dave
40:51well up here thinking down there dancing
40:53you're
40:54you've still got it
40:55that's so clever
40:58i love his ingenuity
40:59i love the fact he's taken a shipwrecked yacht
41:02and he's shipwrecked it on the high tide line
41:05so that he can never be evicted
41:06classic dave
41:09dave's passion and fortitude has always excelled expectations
41:13but in this case even dave has surpassed his own ingenuity
41:17in this extraordinary location
41:21this is the surreal island
41:22i've always thought that your
41:23your island is eccentric in every way
41:26i love that this is sort of your retirement
41:29this is where you're going to retire to
41:30yeah and i just have only the critical things i need
41:33get down to minimalist stuff you know
41:35we've all got too much stuff
41:37but it's a it's a magnet
41:38look at it
41:39teak decks
41:40stainless steel
41:41other than the stainless steel rigging
41:43it's all built to the original specifications
41:46Dave i think you're a bit like the vessel itself
41:48they don't make them like this anymore
41:50well they're classic
41:51well they're older things
41:53classic and made to last
41:54yeah yeah
41:57well i hope so
41:58that's the plan
42:05it's time for me to leave restoration island for a second time
42:10dave continues to be a man who lives on the edge
42:14whether in a business suit in his previous life
42:17or protecting his island dream in this one
42:21his life is about creating this sort of robinson crusoe lifestyle
42:27it's about battling the elements the authorities it's it's part of what makes dave so completely unique
42:43unique
42:44it's been too short dave
42:46i can't believe it
42:47let me put this on the boat
42:48yeah i know
42:49it's always too short
42:50it's always too short
42:51busy busy busy
42:52yes and thank you for having me again
42:54and you too
42:55great to see you
42:56you're looking really well
42:57well you too
42:58look after yourself
42:59i will
42:59i'll be back in five years
43:01i'll have more surprises
43:02will you
43:03as i promised
43:04yeah this time
43:04well listen
43:05you know what
43:06it's amazing to come back here
43:08and i have a lot to be grateful for
43:09so thank you
43:11this is one of the first places i came for new lives in the wild
43:15and uh
43:16i was blown away
43:18i kind of
43:19i couldn't believe people actually
43:22lived the way dave had chosen to live
43:25it was the first little window i had into this
43:30this alternative life that people have chosen
43:33all across the globe and it was the beginning of such an extraordinary five years
43:54next time i'm in the canyons of utah
43:58i don't think they like visitors
44:00revisiting elderly twin brothers living in a secret hideout
44:03he was advised to go under a witness protection program or disappear
44:10and i'll discover if they're still preparing for the end of the world
44:14they're telling me the shit could hit the fan anytime
44:46and i'll see you next time
44:46and i'll see you next time
44:46thank you
44:46mm
44:46you
44:46all of you
44:46sorry
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