Snake and sandfly-infested islands with back-stabbing people are no place for a princess.
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That's what attracted Dr Ramona Salins to the American reality TV juggernaut Survivor.
She guided a team of medicos through the mud and mind games for 10 seasons.
Being no place for a princess was also the reason Dr Salins and her husband, Joe, left too, when their daughter Abbey-Rose, 2, grew into a pint-sized delight under an explosion of curls.
''Ever since having this little one, our life has had to calm down a bit,'' said Dr Salins, who has taken up as a part-time GP at Braidwood while the family takes a break from the rigours of reality TV. Dr Salins is determined to earn her stripes as a qualified rural GP and has chosen Braidwood, east of Canberra, because it is officially regarded as ''remote''.
The new doctor's arrival is a boon for the little community because it means there are now at least two GPs on any given day working out of the Braidwood Medical Centre. It's a perfect fit for Dr Salins because she can live and work part time at Braidwood and maintain a home and family in the Blue Mountains where her family is based.
Born in Penrith, Dr Salins had wanted to be a doctor since she was four. She's been an aid worker in Zimbabwe, Chile and the northern Himalayan mountains of India, accessible only by a three-day trek.
Survivor was the dream job for the 37-year-old with a thirst for adventure. ''The more you put yourself out there … the more things fall into your lap,'' Dr Salins said.
Her call came while working as a locum at Penrith. A friend said a team of doctors on Survivor was looking for another doctor. Six weeks later Dr Salins was in Fiji. Two seasons on, producers suggested she get a team of doctors together herself and take charge. She hand-picked them, looking for people like her.
''They can't be too prissy, they can't be people who just work in hospital environments, they have to be outdoorsy people and very flexible with hours.''
After 10 seasons handling emergencies, evacuating casualties, pulling head-strong injured contestants out of their million-dollar quest to win Survivor, she has stowed her satellite phone.
Months before challenges and tribal councils, Dr Salins would examine potential contestants in Los Angles, and again days before filming began. ''We check the girls aren't pregnant, that no one has an acute infection or injury that would deem them unable to compete.
''There are always some 'normal people'. There are a few extroverted, narcissist, argumentative people that they put in to fill those sort of roles and create havoc,'' Dr Salins said.
Psychologists remind contestants they are going to be watched by 20-million-plus people.
''You are being filmed 24 hours a day, so whatever you say and do, at the end of the day you have to be proud of, or live with, that you are going to see it back, your families are going to see it back, potential employees, so it's a big responsibility for the contestants.''
Dr Salins said host Jeff Probst was a charmer who showed no signs of wear and tear . ''You see how well he does at tribal council, that's not rehearsed, it's live. He's very good at getting contestants to say certain things, or probe them.''
Most of her work involved treating a crew of several hundred people who worked months ahead building sets. ''Last year we did six helicopter retrievals, plus a lot of road and boat retrievals,'' she said. ''I love emergency, that's my passion. But it's long hours and a lot of night shifts, so that's why I have decided to move to a GP.''
Even survivors need a break.