Reality TV

A piece of Alone Australia winner Gina Chick’s ‘heart will forever’ remain in Lutruwita

It wasn't a competition for her, but a ''dance''.
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Alone Australia isn’t for the faint hearted as contestants face all the terrifying forces of nature, but for 2023 winner Gina Chick it wasn’t a challenge but an opportunity.

As the winner, the first ever on Alone Australia, Gina gets to take home the prize money of $250,000 but it was never a competition for her.

Gina Chick is the 2023 winner.

(Image: Instagram)

“I live a life where being in nature isn’t a competition. It’s a willingness to have nature as a dance partner,” she told TV WEEK.

“This (the competition) meant that I could spend my time out there enjoying myself playing rather than thinking I need to dominate or win.”

The news of Gina’s win was so sudden and shocking, she was left speechless and initially thought Lee – the man who greeted her during the finale – was a figment of her imagination and reached out to see if he was real.

After the news settled, Gina was taken away from the wilderness that had been her home for a staggering 67 days. Telling TV WEEK she wondered if she could stay a few more days to truly say goodbye to the wild.

Gina on day one versus day 67 of Alone Australia.

(Image: Instagram)

There will always be some part of Gina that resides in Lutruwita – in the shelter made with her own hands using the nature around her and a tarp.

“I absolutely miss my Lutruwita home. My nest out there was [and] is a part of my heart forever. I feel like a part of myself is still out there,” she confessed.

And the one thing she would do differently? Absolutely nothing.

“There isn’t anything I would change about my survival tactics,” she said.

“I was really happy with the attitude that I had out there and the way I brought a willingness to listen to wild nature and listen to country and let country show me how to survive.”

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However, perhaps she would reconsider diving three meters down into cold waters to catch a fish that got tangled which left her cold to the bone for a week.

Now, Gina is home resting and planning to use her prize money to help her parents, improve the “rewilding offerings that I can make for people learning to be at home in wild nature.”

“My plans are to let the dust settle and hopefully get outside, spend a few days on my own sleeping in the dirt next to a fire, next to a river, doing some fishing, listening to the song of the moon.

“After all that has replenished my batteries, I have an album that I’ll be releasing later on in the year. I have books that are in the process of being written and I have a rewilding community.”

Plus, she would love to join another season of Alone on any continent not just Australia.

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