Sebastian Calderon, Murray Pioneer

A well-known Riverlander will test his mental and physical limits as part of a popular reality TV series, premiering today.

Loxton High School teacher and former SANFL player Ben Grieger is set to debut on season three of the SBS survival show Alone Australia.

Mr Grieger, a dedicated husband, and proud father of three, has juggled family life, teaching, and community involvement, while also being an advocate of the Riverland’s environment.

Mr Grieger has always had a passion for nature, providing him the necessary skills and competitive mindset to endure the toughest challenges within the show.

“For me, it was mainly about the challenge and the sense of adventure,” Mr Grieger said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really find your limits and we don’t get that opportunity often.

“Just the chance to test your limits is pretty nice and an amazing opportunity.

“I’ve always loved the outdoors, so that chance to embrace adventure, step outside and this experience always resonated with me. The opportunity to be out by yourself and find your limits out in the wilderness, and get away from it all.”

Mr Grieger has learned many things from the local environment, including both live and deadfall trapping methods, and experience foraging for native plants like saltbush, wild lettuce, prickly pear, and quandong.

As part of Alone Australia, Mr Grieger will be one of 10 contestants attempting to survive for as long as possible in remote Tasmania, with the choice of just 10 items of equipment, competing for a first prize of $250,000.

“The experience really puts you through your paces mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally,” Mr Grieger said.

“Your physique and your mind takes a big toll, the impact it has on participants, depending on how long they stay out there, it affects you as a person in every domain.

“Once I was out there on the land, it’s tricky. All your normal comforts are completely removed and you are in a bit of a tricky spot, I can’t have a cup of tea with my wife, or play with my kids, take the dog for a run, or listen to worship music.

“You can’t do any of those things. It’s just you and your emotions, and you’ve got to work through them or leave, that’s the only kind of option.”

Mr Grieger said one of the most challenging aspects of being alone in nature was coping with mixed emotions, and the want to be in a comfort zone.

“When you’re tired, cold, hungry and homesick, the intersection of all of those things certainly makes it challenging,” Mr Grieger said.

“Coming from working in a high school, a hustling, bustling environment where I am interacting with hundreds of teenagers a day and a close staff community, while also being a parent of young children at home, and then being completely ejected from that for a period of time, that was a shock to the system.”

Mr Grieger has always been close with the Riverland community, something he feels proud to be part of.

“Being part of such a tight community like the Riverland has helped me to grow, and when I was out there, I was 100 per cent aware that I wasn’t just out there representing myself, I was representing my community in so many different ways,” Mr Grieger said.

“It was a real privilege, and I was aware of that. I’m not just representing Ben Grieger the individual, I’m representing the husband, the father, the Loxton High School teacher, the Loxton resident, the St Peter’s church member, a member of the Riverland community.

“I’m out there representing the Riverland, South Australia and country South Australians.”

“Just living in this environment, this beautiful kind of area, particularly the river, where we have such beautiful natural resources at our doorstep, and being able to live in this area and enjoy nature, is fantastic.

“It meant that I could practice and hone those kind of skills pretty easily, but it also fosters an appreciation for the natural world as well, and that was something good to have in my back pocket when I was out on the land.”

Mr Grieger said the experience taught him things that will be valuable to his students, especially the benefits of slowing down and processing life events as they come.

“When you leave the crazy business of our modern life and you’re out by yourself a length of time in the natural world, you learn the importance of rest, silence and solitude” Mr Grieger said.

“When you slow down and you are surrounded by nature, your heart and your mind start to settle into a really nice, natural rhythm.

“There is time and space for you to process things in a really healthy way that you don’t normally get just living in our normal modern society.

“Having experienced that out on the land, I’m a massive advocate for slowing down and a motto I want to embrace personally and I want to share is to ‘live slow, love big’.

“Oftentimes, the slowing down gives us the capacity to love fully and be the best versions of ourselves, but when we are absolutely maxed out, oftentimes we can’t be our best self.

“With anxiety and depression among young people in particular, and I see it at school, there’s so much going on a young person’s plate these days, but if we can get ourselves off our devices and away from screens, and get some time out, particularly in nature, it’s good for our hearts, our minds and our souls.

“I’m just totally advocating for living slow and loving myself, I just got to put it into practice now, that’s the tricky part.”

The third season of Alone in Australia premieres today, with a double episode at 7.30pm, on SBS and SBS On Demand.

This article appeared in Murray Pioneer, 26 March 2025.