Kevin McCloud's Escape to the Wild

[Funkycoldribena]

bazza white said:

If you pur "Fofoa Island, Neiafu", Tonga into google maps you can see a few buildings and a small settlement a mile away on the adjoining island, biger town about 10 miles away by boat.

Few buildings? its like a metropolis on the next island...

[Megaflow]

Did anybody else think it was incrediably selfish of the parents to try and bring up children in that environment?

Sure it is beautiful and keeps them in touch with nature, etc. But children also need peers away from the family to develop

[Soupie69uk]

I watched this last night. I did wonder if they had bought the island or rented it.

I would like to know what they do for medicine and how far the nearest doctor is away. As above I did think it was possibly unfair bringing up your children somewhere this remote. I was glad the oldest lad went to boarding school so he can make other friends etc. but did wonder how they could fund that. Maybe they will get a grant going on income and maybe accept a certain number from that area to suppost it? Would be interesting to do a follow up in 5 years.

Overall I loved the program and I am looking forward to the next episodes.

[Tuna]

It seemed to me that they've spent ten years being distracted and/or entertained by the challenge of building their lifestyle. Now that they've got to a sustainable state, and kids are beginning to leave the nest, I'm not sure how much longer the adventure would last 'as shown on tv'. On the other hand, if they're not actually that isolated and have a steady stream of visitors to socialise with and earn from, then perhaps it's a bit easier than it sounds. It did look like the storm shelter was made out of block work rather than salvaged timber, so there's a little bit of marketing going on there. Thanks also to Channel 4 for broadcasting an hour long advert for their holiday destination.

The bravery, strength and optimism was very impressive though, and the lifestyle looks idyllic. I couldn't help feeling that the first bad toothache, broken leg or other injury could be quite unpleasant. That and the therapy bills for three boys brought up to teenage years without the company of girls their own age might be a bit of a hidden cost

[p1doc]

blurb on their own website says doctor/bank/big shops 45min boat ride away so pretty close considering where they are-sure they will get bored in a few years once kids moved on
martin

[Andrew[MG]]

Think he was pushing the fairytale too far when he said he made the doors, the floorboards and the structure for the beach house. Maybe possible with training and lots of tools but not possible for someone with no training and some basic tools.

[Megaflow]

Having seen thier website, and found a phone number on it, I suspect they are a long way from being as 'off grid' as they made out, and the whole program was nothing more than an advert for them as a holiday destination.

[V8covin]

Seems they don't even live in the house shown on the programme,they rent it out to tourists and live elsewhere on the island
https://www.flipkey.com/neiafu-vacation-rentals/p3...

[Bill]

Aha, I watched this last night and wondered how remote and self built it all was. For a bloke with that kind of eye for detail on the woodwork the pointing was st.

And a big +1 on the idea of bringing the kids up without peers/girls. Plus the whole "we don't follow the curriculum, we like the pretty fishes" schooling seemed a bit limited.

[Challo]

Just watching now. Fair play to them for making the move and setting it all up. They have bent the truth a lot though, and in reality not as off the grid as the show makes out.

They have the best advert for their beach house hotel, and will watch the money roll in.

[Oakey]

If they were that off the grid how did they ever find out about the show?

[Laurel Green]

What was with the horse ride to finally complete the journey, only to be confronted with their motorhome?

[Bill]

Yes, and the volcano melodrama is a bit overdone. I've climbed that volcano and I don't remember it being that high.

[2.5pi]

Wasn't there an eruption of this volcano earlier this year

[Laurel Green]

2.5pi said:

Wasn't there an eruption of this volcano earlier this year

Probably the eight weeks after the filming.

[Adam B]

beautifully stunning scenery, makes me want to go to Chile

would have been nice to know what the escape plan was if the volcano does blow, what did Kev say travelled at 200mph? surely not lava flow but I guess the danger is the sulphur cloud and ash

and shame we didn't see the finished home

[Laurel Green]

Adam B said:

and shame we didn't see the finished home

Yep, would be nice to see a return at the end of the series, or shortly after when complete.

[Steve_W]

Caught the volcano one last night. Liked the Paris-Dakar truck!

My OH wasn't impressed with them choosing somewhere so dangerous considering they have a whole world to choose from and had the kids who would have no say in where they pitched up - guess that's the maternal instinct kicking in. She was also wondering how much, if any, interaction the kids got with others the same age; being stuck with just mum & dad would get dull as they grow older.

The bit that amused me was the whole "had to get out of London and the 9-5; don't want the kids exposed to that" but if they hadn't done the jobs they did they wouldn't have the cash to be able to do what they're doing now.

I wonder if a lot of these sort of these escapist types use the "better life for the kids" reason as an excuse for what they want to do themselves and don't think through the longer term stuff - the comments above about all the kids leaving the tropical island when they're old enough is the sort of thing I mean.

Where's the "someone think of the children" image again?

Was also amused that they made Kevin ride "for an hour" on horseback to reach them; then the rest of the time they're tooling round in a LandCruiser that's parked next to the truck. Also, they're miles from anywhere but not so far off grid that they have electricity - hmmm.

[droopsnoot]

Steve_W said:

Was also amused that they made Kevin ride "for an hour" on horseback to reach them; then the rest of the time they're tooling round in a LandCruiser that's parked next to the truck.

Yes, and what did they do with that horse for the week he was there? It was tied to the truck in one shot, but we didn't see it again. Also I'm not sure we needed to see quite such detailed images of them gutting the wild boar.

What irritated me a bit was the repeated comments about how much better it is there than in England. Sure, it's built up and "all big buildings" in London and any urban area, but there's plenty of areas that aren't like that. Kevin asked about why they didn't just move to Scotland and she mentioned the weather - then cut to a home video of winter when they can't build for several months because of all the snow. I suspect "because we can't get an acre of land and do whatever we like with it for £20k" might be more like it.

I enjoyed this less than the one last week, but that might just be because I perceive a tropical island to be "nicer" than next to a volcano in a place that gets snowed in for several months. And after all that jeopardy about how terrible it will be if the volcano erupted, sure enough it did, and they were fine.

[benters]

An interesting concept for a tv programme. I like the format, and although I can see the comments for what they are, I do admire the couples seen so far who have at least initially shown that there is more to get from life than a salary and a skinny latte.

I suppose like others it is a shame that the first couple have seemingly turned there house into a holiday let, but perhaps that was only as a resort to paying for the kids to go off as and when to complete their education of life as well as School

Either way, hats off to them.

Edited by benters on Tuesday 16th June 12:10