No longer alone, Thirroul's Duane Byrnes taps out of Alone Australia

The Thirroul local had to survive alone in the winter wilderness of west Tasmania (lutruwita), finding his own food, water and shelter while capturing it all on camera.

The contestant in the SBS docuseries to last the longest takes home a $250,000 prize.

"That will be mine soon," Duane Byrnes said confidently in the trailer. But it was not the case for the 35-year-old, who was the fifth contestant to leave the competition.

"You can think going into it that you are going to be that winner, but until you set down there, and you're experiencing what is given to you out there you can change that mind frame in a split second," he said.

Mr Byrnes lasted 10 days in the cold and very rainy Tasmania before choosing to leave the competition.

In cultural awareness training, contestants were told the ancestors of the First Nations people in Tasmania didn't live in the area contestants were dropped into during winter.

"I understood exactly why Palawa people would not live in that area at that point of time," he said.

"The food sources were lacking severely, and I guess that's the key to survival right? So there's no food there. No food in trees. No fruiting berries off edible plants, then it's a struggle to live out there."

But it was ultimately a longing for human connection that brought his time on the island state to an abrupt end.

"The sole reason why I tapped out [is] I just wanted to be around someone, simple as that," the Alone Australia contestant said.

"I did miss my friends and family but I think the underpinning to it all was the lack of social interaction - with a human, any human,

"If someone was to bring me a person out there as an item, I would last out there for so much longer, but without that, for me, I just had enough - I needed to end my time out there."

In the latest episode, shown on SBS on April 19, viewers watch the moments the father-of-two decides he can no longer continue living alone.

He is shown fishing using a toggle off his jacket as a float. He tells us that the spring in the toggle reminds him of spending time with his son playing with electric car tracks.

"Throughout the time it's little things like that that remind you of home," he told the Mercury.

He adds watching that scene at home with his son was emotional.

"We saw that on the telly and he hugged me and yeah [it was] beautiful."

The Thirroul resident thanked the community for their support during his time on the show.

The five remaining contestants continue to compete in the 11-part docuseries - which Mr Byrnes will watch from the comfort of his couch.

"As far as what they do from here on, like I can't wait as another viewer now with everyone else to just keep watching and see how far they go in pushing themselves," he said.

"And hats off to them, they are mentally strong and quite resilient."

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