Survivor Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Survivor Wiki

Dave Lipanovic[1] is a contestant from Survivor New Zealand: Thailand.

Dave found his footing early in the game as member of the dominant alliance Chani, but after the merge he was often under threat of being Pagonged along with the rest of his alliance. However Dave's friendship with Matt Hancock outside the game allowed them to protect each other when the other was vulnerable. This information helped Dave through the merge and he would eventually make it to the end not needing to play his idol and blindsiding Matt in the process. Matt revealed their friendship to the jury, which made them feel he had an unfair advantage and thus Dave received no votes to win.

Profile[]

Retrieved from TVNZ.co.nz
Name: Dave
Hometown: Auckland
Age: 26
Occupation: Clinical Pharmacist
While filming, Dave will turn 26 on the island, but he definitely can't expect a cake!
Dave is extremely competitive with an impressive sporting background including representing Otago in rugby league while at university studying. He's hoping this will help when it comes to the physical challenges.
When it comes to surviving on the island, Dave is a little worried about mozzie bites, they love him, but the feeling is definitely not mutual.
Why did you apply for Survivor? My partner is a big fan of Survivor, and she initially got me into it. We both enjoy reality TV and Survivor has always been our favourite.
I applied for the show to test myself and to push myself to the absolute limit – physically, mentally and emotionally. It's kind of like the modern-day Hunger Games for me, and I wanted to see how I went. Plus, it looked super fun!
What did you do to prepare for Survivor? I tried to eat a bit cleaner and cut down on snacking and casual beers too. I knew the hunger would be a tough hurdle for me, so I wanted to prepare my body as well as I could by minimising unnecessary calories.
What makes you the ideal teammate? I'm a well-rounded player, and as long as you are loyal to me, I'll be loyal to you. I want to get far in the game with genuine people that I have built relationships with, so hopefully I can find some like-minded people.
Of course, there will be that point in the game where you'll have to make hard decisions in which case you'll have to make the best decision for yourself, and I won't hold that against you if I'm on the jury!
Why do you think you should win Survivor? I'm a pretty straight-up guy, and I've got really well-rounded set of skills. I'm going be me and be as genuine as I can and trust in my abilities to get the end.
If all goes according to the way I want to play, I think people will respect my game and see how much I deserve that Sole Survivor title.[2]

Survivor New Zealand[]

Dave began the game on Chani, where he and Arun Bola found themselves in a strong position partially due to them being the physically strongest members of the tribe. However, losing the first three Immunity Challenges would set Dave on course for a season of being on the bottom most of the time. Fortunately for Dave, the swap reunited him with his high school friend Matt Hancock. The two stuck with their alliances from their original tribe though they did divert the vote away from each other. With original tribemates Arun and Renee Clarke as well as Khangkhaw defector Dylan Conrad on his side, Dave had Matt in his mercy but opted to blindside Josh and Dylan instead.

At the merge, Matt originally returned to his Silent Alliance remnants of Adam O'Brien, Brad Norris, and Tess Fahey along with fellow Khangkhaw original members Tara Thorowgood and Lisa Stanger to blindside Dave's closest ally Arun. However, with the knowledge that Matt was protecting him, Dave kept his idol. The post merge would also be frustrating for Dave as he frequently finished 2nd in many reward and Immunity Challenges until finally winning immunity on Day 36 thanks to an advantage from the Auction. However, Matt and Dave began to work together to take out Brad and Renee. After Eve Clarke's unanimous vote off, Lisa convinced Dave that Matt could not be trusted, so Dave joined a final 3 alliance with Lisa and Tara and joined them in blindsiding Matt with an idol in his pocket. Dave did not play his idol at the final 5 deadline since both pairs of Lisa/Tara and Adam/Tess vied for his vote, with Dave staying loyal to the former and voting out Adam since Tess was immune. The plan was to vote out Tess next, but she won immunity. This initially meant that ether Lisa or Dave would go, but Tara asked them both to vote herself out since she felt both were more worthy of getting to the end. They granted her wish, meaning the final 3 would be Dave, Lisa, and Tess. 

While Dave tried to argue that him getting to the end was a result of his hustling and determination, Matt revealed to the jury at Jury Villa that Dave and Matt had a friendship outside of the game. Thus, many of the jurors disregarded Dave's arguments. Adam's question to Tess and Lisa was a dig at Dave, asking them if they would rather have a challenge advantage or a friend in the game. Both responded preferring the friend. Dave received no votes because of this situation, finishing in 3rd place behind Lisa and Tess.

Voting History[]

Episode Dave's
Votes
Voted Against
Dave
1 Jose -
2 Karla -
3 Franky -
4 Chani Tribe Immune
5 Chani Tribe Immune
6 Josh -
7 Dylan -
8 Lisa Brad, Tara, Tess
9 Brad Adam, Renee, Tess
10 Renee Adam, Renee, Tess
11 Eve Eve
12 Matt Individual Immunity
13 Adam -
14 Tara Tess
Jury Votes
for Dave
-
Second Runner-Up, Day 39

Post-Survivor[]

Newtorch This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

Trivia[]

  • Dave and castmate Matt Hancock went to high school together.
  • Dave is the highest placing member of the original Chani tribe and the highest placing man on Thailand.
  • Dave receieved the most elimination votes in Thailand, with 11 cast against him.

References[]

Survivor New Zealand: Thailand Castaways
 Adam
Khangkhaw
NZS2 adam t
 Arun
Chani
NZS2 arun t
 Brad
Khangkhaw
NZS2 brad t
 Dave
Chani
NZS2 dave t
 Dylan
Khangkhaw
NZS2 dylan t
 Eve
Chani
NZS2 eve t
 Franky
Chani
NZS2 franky t
 JT
Chani
NZS2 jt t
 Jose
Chani
NZS2 jose t
 Josh
Khangkhaw
NZS2 josh t
 Karla
Chani
NZS2 karla t
 Kaysha
Khangkhaw
NZS2 kaysha t
 Liam
Chani
NZS2 liam t
 Lisa
Khangkhaw
NZS2 lisa t
 Matt
Khangkhaw
NZS2 matt t
 Renee
Chani
NZS2 renee t
 Tara
Khangkhaw
NZS2 tara t
 Tess
Khangkhaw
NZS2 tess t
Advertisement