That picture is of an uninhabited island in the south Pacific, the sort of location that could be used for the filming of a 'reality' television series about a group of 'Castaways'. It seems reality isn't good enough for the BBC though, their idea of remote is thirty minutes from a pub.
Filming for the new series has begun on Great Barrier Island which is a 35-minute plane trip or two-hour ferry ride from Auckland but the British contestants will not be far from the comforts of home. The magic of television will be necessary as the "castaways" will actually be staying in Harataonga Bay - just a 30-minute drive from a store, a chemist, a cafe, a sports club, a golf club and an airfield. The bay is home to a Department of Conservation campground with, admittedly, cold showers and long-drop toilets. The road and campground will be kept open for the public throughout filming, which means it is possible that the odd tourist or school group could stumble across the production, or locals could go along to watch.
"Who are those people Mummy?"
"They're castaways from England darling."
"What are castaways?"
"People who have been shipwrecked, or literally castaway from a boat or aircraft into a strange land where they have to fend for themselves."
"You mean they have to do their own shopping at Spar rather than ask Mr McGregor to bring it to them in his Land Rover Discovery?"
"Something like that."
"And why are their clothes all dirty, haven't they got any money for the launderette?"
"Ssh, it's all part of the 'magic' of television."
The campground can accommodate up to 80 people, but demand largely drops away towards the end of January and it was expected to be quiet during filming, although it is possible that the 'castaways' will be visited by school children on a field trip and some families still on holiday.
Even a local who lives two kilometres from the beach describes the bay as "semi-isolated". "If it was really isolated, you wouldn't be able to drive a car down."
A farmer who grazes his stock around the campground has moved the animals away from the area in preparation. "You can't possibly have a cow mooing in the background when you're a castaway," one of the locals remarked adding that she had seen supplies being brought in over the past few weeks, including containers and building materials. Replica pieces of an old wrecked boat have also been transported to the bay.
Still this being the hideously overmanned BBC there will be a production crew of 120 which will mean a good cash injection for the island. Oh yes and just to make sure they are popular with the locals the BBC's own location manager has sent out letters to the locals advising them of alternative campgrounds to use due to disruption that might be experienced during filming, and discouraged people from visiting the bay.
So there you have it, the BBC takes 140 people to the other side of the world so that they can fight the elements and each other within walking distance of the local shops. They could have taken them to a 'remote' island off the British Isles if they wanted to do that, again, couldn't they?
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