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Survivor South Africa: Panama is the first season of Survivor South Africa. The premiere aired on September 3, 2006.

After 27 days, estate agent Vanessa Marawa defeated entrepreneur Jacinda Louw in a 3-2 jury vote, winning the title of Ultimate Survivor and the R1 million prize.

Production[]

A South African version of global reality phenomenon Survivor was announced by pay channel M-Net on Tuesday 11 April 2006, and was filmed on the Pearl Islands in the Gulf of Panama from June 6, 2006 until early July.

In Survivor South Africa: Panama 14 contestants were chosen from a shortlist of 700, with six additional contestants selected as replacements in case any of the original 14 were unable to take part through injury or other reasons. Entries opened for the show on April 11 and closed on May 15. More than 18,000 South Africans applied to be on the show. Pierre van Niekerk (49), a resident of Rietfontein in Pretoria, entered 1,000 times. Nico Panagio, who eventually joined the series as its host in Survivor South Africa: Santa Carolina, auditioned to be a castaway, but was not chosen as casting was not accepting public figures at the time.[1]

On July 16, M-Net announced the host of the show - Capetonian Mark Bayly, who auditioned to be a contestant and was hired as presenter instead.

Survivor South Africa: Panama was filmed in the Pearl Islands at the same time as five other Survivor productions: The Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Sweden and Turkey.[2]

Twists/Changes[]

  • Tribe Composition: The fourteen castaways were divided into two tribes of seven.
  • Unexpected Start: The contestant were led to believe that they were on their way to attend a media briefing, when the pilot of the plane they were in faked an emergency landing near a Panamanian village. The host then arrived, announcing that the game had started. The tribes were divided and informed that they could only take the belongings that could fit in one backpack for each tribe.
  • Mock Vote
    • Penalty Vote: After Jude quit at Tribal Council on Day 8, the host announced to the remaining Aguila tribe members they would still have to vote. After Mark read the votes, he announced that the person who had received the majority of the votes would already have a vote cast against them at their next Tribal Council.
    • Tribe Switch: On Day 12, Rana unknowingly voted for one member of their tribe to join the Aguila tribe, replacing a member who had been evacuated.
  • Merge: The tribes merged on Day 17 with seven contestants remaining.
  • Dead Man's Island: Starting at the merge, the castaways voted out at Tribal Council would be exiled to an island called Dead Man's Island, where they would wait to compete for two spots to re-enter the game when there were three contestants left in the main game.
  • Semi-Finals: At the second final four, the castaways would compete in a challenge where the first person out would be eliminated from the game, the last person standing would be the first finalist, and the other two people would compete in another challenge to define the second finalist.
  • Final Tribal Council Format: Two finalists faced a jury of five. The jurors individually addressed the finalists.

Castaways[]

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Dead Man's
Island Status
Votes
Against
Original Tribe Switched Tribe Merged Tribe
ZAS1 don t Don Soper
54, Hurlingham Manor, GP
Businessman
Rana 1st Voted Out
Day 3
4
ZAS1 sam t Sam Allerton
30, Hogsback, EC
Sculptor
Aguila 2nd Voted Out
Day 6
5
ZAS1 jude t Jude Wilken
39, Kempton Park, GP
Hostage Negotiator
Aguila Quit
Day 8
0
ZAS1 ncumisa t Ncumisa Ngcaweni
30, Kenilworth, WC
Skills Trainer
Rana 3rd Voted Out
Day 10
4
ZAS1 sanele t Sanele Gumede
27, Sandton, GP
Brand Manager
Aguila Evacuated
Day 12
0
ZAS1 danielle t Danielle Vukic
35, Green Point, WC
Fashion Producer
Rana Aguila 4th Voted Out
Day 14
8
ZAS1 nico t Nico Hinis
43, Parkhurst, GP
Restaurateur
Aguila Aguila 5th Voted Out
Day 16
5
ZAS1 lezel t Lezel Crook
28, Llandudno, WC
Attorney
Rana Rana Burba 9th Voted Out
Day 24
1st Eliminated
1st Jury Member
Day 25
9
ZAS1 brigitte t Brigitte Willers
24, Auckland Park, GP
Sports Model
Aguila Aguila 6th Voted Out
Day 19
2nd Eliminated
2nd Jury Member
Day 25
5
ZAS1 gareth t Gareth Tjasink
27, Sunninghill, GP
Medical Doctor
Rana Rana 10th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 27
3
ZAS1 zayn t Zayn Nabbi
24, Durban, KZN
Journalist
Rana Rana Eliminated
4th Jury Member
Day 28
2
ZAS1 mzi t Mzi Tyhokolo
31, Honeydew Ridge, GP
Energy Advisor
Aguila Aguila 7th Voted Out
Day 21
Returnee
Day 25
5
Eliminated
5th Jury Member
Day 29
ZAS1 jacinda t Jacinda Louw
25, Bedfordview, GP
Entrepreneur
Rana Rana Runner-Up 1
ZAS1 vanessa t Vanessa Marawa
27, La Lucia, KZN
Estate Agent
Aguila Aguila 8th Voted Out
Day 22
Returnee
Day 25
6
Ultimate Survivor

Season Summary[]

The debut season of Survivor South Africa started with 14 castaways divided into two tribes: Aguila and Rana. The Aguila tribe dominated in Reward Challenges, but suffered from poor interpersonal dynamics and eventually spiraled into an extensive losing streak. Meanwhile, Rana struggled in most of the tribal challenges, but the group of self-proclaimed "diplomats" was able to keep their morale high. Their unity helped them to win the challenges where they counted, helping them to enter the merge with a 4-3 numerical advantage over their rival Aguilas.

Upon the advent of the merge, the Ranas used their numbers' advantage to dispose of the three Aguilas. Despite the apparently seamless pagonging, cracks began to form within the alliance, as Gareth and Zayn disagreed with Jacinda Louw and Lezel's amoral approach to the game. Unbeknownst to the Ranas, the Aguilas who had been voted out were sent to Dead Man's Island for a chance to re-enter the game. They were joined by Lezel, who was voted out by her alliance at the final five. Ultimately, Mzi and Vanessa won the return challenge and successfully broke apart the Rana coalition, causing Gareth's blindside.

The Final Two was decided by a semi-final challenge, the first round of which was won by Vanessa and the second round by Jacinda. The two women pled their case at Final Tribal Council, with Jacinda emphasizing her strategic game and Vanessa asserting that she had to scrape her way through to the finals. The votes were split between tribal lines, with Zayn emerging as the swing vote; his inclination to support the more moral player led him to cast his jury vote for Vanessa, who defeated Jacinda in a 3-2 final vote.

Episode Air Date Dead Man's Island Challenges Eliminated
(Vote)
Finish
Inhabitant(s) Eliminated Finish Reward Immunity
1 September 3, 2006 Aguila Aguila Don
(4-3)
1st Voted Out
Day 3
2 September 10, 2006 Aguila Rana Sam
(5-2)
2nd Voted Out
Day 6
3 September 17, 2006 Aguila Rana Jude
(no vote)
Quit
Day 8
Nico
(4-1)
Receives Vote Penalty
Day 8
4 September 24, 2006 None Aguila Ncumisa
(4-2)
3rd Voted Out
Day 10
5 October 1, 2006 Aguila Aguila Sanele
(no vote)
Evacuated
Day 12
Danielle
(3-2)
Switched to Aguila
Day 12
6 October 8, 2006 Aguila Rana Danielle
(3-2-1)
4th Voted Out
Day 14
7 October 15, 2006 Rana Rana Nico
(3-1)
5th Voted Out
Day 16
8 October 22, 2006 None Gareth Brigitte
(4-3)
6th Voted Out
Day 19
9 October 29, 2006 Brigitte Jacinda
[Lezel]
Gareth Mzi
(4-2)
7th Voted Out
Day 21
10 November 5, 2006 Brigitte Vanessa
[Gareth]
Gareth Vanessa
(4-1)
8th Voted Out
Day 22
Mzi
11 November 12, 2006 Brigitte Gareth Gareth Lezel
(3-1)
9th Voted Out
Day 24
Mzi
Vanessa
12 November 19, 2006 Brigitte Lezel Eliminated
1st Jury Member
Day 25
Zayn3 Mzi Gareth
(3-1-1)
10th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 27
Lezel Brigitte Eliminated
2nd Jury Member
Day 25
Mzi Mzi Returnees
Day 25
Vanessa Vanessa
13 November 26, 2006 None Vanessa Zayn
(no vote)4
Eliminated
4th Jury Member
Day 28
Jacinda Mzi
(no vote)5
Eliminated
5th Jury Member
Day 29
Jury Vote Jacinda
(3-2)
Runner-Up
Vanessa
(3-2)
Ultimate Survivor
Notes:

^1 In a surprise twist, instead of voting out players, the person who received the most votes would automatically receive a penalty vote at their next Tribal Council.
^2 In a surprise twist, the person voted out would join Aguila. Danielle was "voted out" and swapped to Aguila.
^3 This Reward Challenge was held after the episode's Immunity Challenge.
^4 The final four competed in an elimination challenge, with the first-placer going straight to the Final Tribal Council. Vanessa came in first, while Zayn finished last in the challenge, eliminating him from the game.
^5 Jacinda and Mzi competed in a challenge for the final spot at the Final Tribal Council. Jacinda won, eliminating Mzi from the game.

Voting History[]

Original Tribes Switched Tribes Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Voted Out ZAS1 don t
Don
ZAS1 sam t
Sam
ZAS1 jude t
Jude
Mock
Vote
ZAS1 ncumisa t
Ncumisa
ZAS1 sanele t
Sanele
Mock
Vote
ZAS1 danielle t
Danielle
ZAS1 nico t
Nico
ZAS1 brigitte t
Brigitte
ZAS1 mzi t
Mzi
ZAS1 vanessa t
Vanessa
ZAS1 lezel t
Lezel
ZAS1 gareth t
Gareth
ZAS1 zayn t
Zayn
ZAS1 mzi t
Mzi
ZAS1 jacinda t
Jacinda
ZAS1 vanessa t
Vanessa
Vote 4-3 5-2 No vote1 4-12 4-2 No vote3 3-24 3-2-1 3-1 4-3 4-2 4-1 3-1 3-1-1 No vote6 No vote7 3-2
Vanessa Sam Nico Danielle Nico Lezel Lezel Lezel Gareth Jury Vote
Jacinda Don Ncumisa Zayn Brigitte Mzi Vanessa Lezel Gareth
Mzi Sam Nico Danielle Nico Lezel Lezel Gareth Eliminated Vanessa
Zayn Don Danielle Danielle Brigitte Mzi Vanessa Lezel Jacinda Eliminated Vanessa
Gareth Don Ncumisa Danielle Brigitte Mzi Vanessa Lezel Zayn Jacinda
Lezel Danielle Ncumisa Danielle Brigitte Mzi Vanessa Zayn Eliminated Jacinda
Brigitte Vanessa Nico Mzi Nico Lezel Eliminated Vanessa
Nico Sam Brigitte Danielle Brigitte
Danielle Don Ncumisa Zayn Nico
Sanele Sam Nico Evacuated
Ncumisa Danielle Danielle
Jude Sam Quit
Sam Vanessa
Don Danielle
Penalty vote Nico5
Notes:
^1 Jude elected to quit the game due to her poor health. No vote occurred for her removal.
^2 Instead of being voted out, the person who received the most votes would receive a penalty vote at their next Tribal Council.
^3 Sanele was evacuated after sustaining a shoulder injury. No vote occurred for his removal.
^4 In a surprise twist, instead of voting out players, Rana would vote for one person to be swapped to Aguila. Danielle was "voted out" and swapped to Aguila.
^5 After receiving the most votes at Tribal Council on Day 8, Nico automatically received a penalty vote at his next Tribal Council.
^6 The final four contestants competed in an elimination challenge, with the first placer going straight to Final Tribal Council. Vanessa came in first, while Zayn finished last in the challenge, eliminating him from the game.
^7 Jacinda and Mzi competed in a second challenge to for the second spot in the Final Two. Jacinda won, eliminating Mzi from the game.

Trivia[]

References[]

Survivor South Africa Seasons
Panama · Malaysia · Santa Carolina · Maldives · Champions · Philippines · Island of Secrets · Immunity Island · Return of the Outcasts
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