Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island

Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island
Season Information
Version	South Africa
Filming Location	Wild Coast, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Filming Dates	November 2020 - December 2020
Season Run	June 3, 2021 - September 16, 2021
No. of Days	39
No. of Castaways	20
Winner	Nicole Wilmans
Runner(s)-Up	Anela Majozi
Tribes	Vuna Zamba Osindile
Cast
Opening Sequence
Season Chronology
Previous	Island of Secrets
Next	Return of the Outcasts

Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island is the eighth season of Survivor South Africa.

Nicole Wilmans defeated Anela Majozi in an 8-1 vote to win the title of Sole Survivor, becoming the first female winner since Survivor South Africa: Santa Carolina over a decade prior.

To date, Immunity Island has produced four returning players (Chappies Chapman, Dino Paulo, Pinty Nkanjeni, and Thoriso M-Afrika) for a future season.

Production

The season was officially announced in December 8, 2019, with the applications being open immediately and the deadline to submit applications being January 20, 2020.

The season was supposed to be filmed in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines, the same location where Survivor South Africa: Philippines was filmed, but production was postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19. According to M-Net and Afrokaans, travel restrictions forced production to film the season locally in the Wild Coast, South Africa. Pre-pandemic, the tribes were supposed to be named "Ahas", "Bungo", and "Sulo" (Filipino words, meaning "snake", "skull" and "torch" respectively), but because of the sudden halt in production, the Buffs were not delivered in time, thus a local company that produced similar headwear was commissioned to recreate the Buffs, keeping the similar design, colors, and tribe emblems, but taking the tribe names from the Zulu language. Ahas was renamed Vuna, Bungo Zamba, and Sulo Osindile. The unused original Buffs were given away to the cast and crew.

Network Ten, the network that airs Australian Survivor, made this season available for Australian viewers on their on-demand service. Episodes were uploaded at 9am the morning after the South African broadcast.

Twists/Changes

• Tribes Selected by Random Draw: Rather than the tribes being pre-determined by production, the tribes are decided by a random draw. The men and women would draw from different bags, with each bag containing five parcels of orange and green Buffs.
• Immunity Island: After an Immunity Challenge, one member from the losing tribe will be exiled to Immunity Island for the afternoon where that player will be given an Immunity Necklace and an offer to compete in a solo challenge for an advantage in the game. Accepting the challenge will allow the player to keep the Immunity Necklace for themselves in the upcoming Tribal Council but at the cost of their vote, while declining the challenge will allow the player to return back to camp immediately and vote at Tribal Council, but will have to pass the Immunity Necklace to someone else, or it will lose its power in that Tribal Council. Further, a clue to their tribe's Hidden Immunity Idol is available on Immunity Island for them to find.
  • Tribal Council Pass: Known as the "Safety Without Power" advantage in the American version, its owner may leave Tribal Council before the vote. The player cannot vote, but cannot be voted for. The advantage can be played until there are seven players left. The advantage is transferable.
  • Tribal Insurance: This advantage allows its holder to steal a vote from any of their tribemates, allowing them to vote twice. This advantage could be used when there were either thirteen or twelve players left in the game.
  • Juror Removal: The winner of the Day 37 Immunity Challenge was allowed to select one juror to be permanently removed from the Jury.
• Diplomatic Immunity: After the Reward Challenge on Day 2, the representatives sent for the challenge would earn Diplomatic Immunity, represented by a bracelet. At any point if their tribe loses an Immunity Challenge, the castaway may invoke their Diplomatic Immunity by handing the bracelet to Nico and abstain from Tribal Council by permanently joining the opposing tribe.
• Hidden Immunity Idol: Hidden Immunity Idols are hidden around each camp site, with clues available to find while on Immunity Island. In addition, another Hidden Immunity Idol can be found at Tribal Council. The castaway who finds this idol may leave it in its hiding place at Tribal Council until the player decides to play it. Also, starting this season, the last time that idols can be played is at the final six.
• Double Tribal Council: On Day 13, both tribes were forced to attend Tribal Council separately to vote out one of their own.
• Tied Destinies: The final ten castaways were randomly divided into pairs. For the rest of the episode, the castaways' fate were linked to their partner: the challenges were competed in pairs and once a player is voted out, their partner was also eliminated with them.
• Final Two and Nine-Person Jury: For the first time in Survivor South Africa, two finalists would face a 9-person jury.

Castaways

Contestant		Tribe Affiliation				Finish	Votes Against
		Original Tribe	First Switched Tribe	Second Switched Tribe	Merged Tribe
	Jason Brookstein 27, Johannesburg, GP Structural Engineering Draughtsman	Zamba				1st Voted Out Day 3	7
	Pinty Nkanjeni 30, Cape Town, WC Freelancer	Vuna				2nd Voted Out Day 6	6
	Mike Laws 32, Cape Town, WC Lawyer	Vuna	Zamba			3rd Voted Out Day 8	7
	Paul Cupido 29, Johannesburg, GP Aftercare Teacher	Vuna	Zamba			4th Voted Out Day 11	5
	Thoriso M-Afrika 36, Kariega, EC Marketing Officer	Zamba	Vuna			5th Voted Out Day 13	2
	Carla Gubb 29, Cape Town, WC Corporate Sales Executive	Vuna	Zamba			6th Voted Out Day 13	6
	Dino Paulo 30, Johannesburg, GP Live Escape Game Owner	Zamba	Vuna	Zamba		7th Voted Out Day 16	4
	Qieän Wang 35, Cape Town, WC Self-employed	Zamba	Vuna	Zamba		8th Voted Out Day 18	6
	Marisha du Plessis 35, Tulbagh, WC Guest House Owner	Zamba	Vuna	Vuna	Osindile	9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21	4
	Shaun Wilson 40, Cape Town, WC I.T. Business Owner	Zamba	Zamba	Vuna		10th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 23	6
	Renier Louwrens 30, Secunda, MP Chemical Engineer	Zamba	Vuna	Vuna		11th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 26	6
	Amy Eliason 33, Johannesburg, GP Corporate Lawyer	Zamba	Zamba	Vuna		Eliminated 4th Jury Member Day 26	0
	Anesu Mbizvo 29, Johannesburg, GP Doctor/Vegan Lifestyle Entrepreneur	Vuna	Vuna	Vuna		12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 28	5
	Wardah Hartley 39, Johannesburg, GP Yoga Instructor	Vuna	Zamba	Zamba		13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 30	10
	Santoni Engelbrecht 39, Strand, WC Online Business Owner	Vuna	Zamba	Zamba		Eliminated 7th Jury Member Day 33	9
	Kiran Naidoo 29, Johannesburg, GP Strategy Consultant	Vuna	Vuna	Zamba		14th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 35	5
	Tyson Zulu 24, Johannesburg, GP Entrepreneur	Vuna	Vuna	Zamba		15th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 37	14
	Chappies Chapman 32, Centurion, GP Transformation Coach	Vuna	Zamba	Vuna		16th Voted Out 10th Jury Member Day 38	10
	Anela Majozi 25, Durban, KZN Math Educator	Zamba	Zamba	Zamba		Runner-Up	4
	Nicole Wilmans 26, Somerset West, WC Digital Marketing Manager	Zamba	Vuna	Vuna		Sole Survivor	3

Season Summary

After a draw of Buffs, the twenty castaways were divided into two tribes of ten: Vuna and Zamba. A new twist, Immunity Island added a new layer of deception to the game, allowing selected players to choose individual immunity or a chance to earn a game advantage.

Throughout the pre-merge, all iterations of the Vuna tribe enjoyed numerous challenge victories, but was undermined during the first Tribe Switch, where original Vuna members Chappies and Santoni sided with the original Zamba to avenge their ally Pinty, who was voted out during the original Vuna's only Tribal Council. After a second switch, the original Zamba members turned on each other, merging both tribes with even numbers 6-6.

Despite intertwining relationships across tribes, old tribal lines held, with the original Vuna taking an early advantage after a masterful social play, effectively decimating the original Zamba to just the pair of Anela and Nicole. The former Vunas, Kiran, Tyson, and Wardah, however, shook the status quo and blindsided a major social threat in Anesu, though Anesu's allies Chappies and Santoni avenged her by correctly playing a Hidden Immunity Idol, eliminating Wardah. Chappies found himself relying on individual immunity to stay alive and went on to win five consecutive Immunity Challenges. The implosion of the original Vuna caused their eventual extinction, culminating with Chappies losing the Final Immunity Challenge to Nicole, who promptly voted him out on Day 38, leaving her and Anela as the Final Two.

At the Final Tribal Council, Anela was praised for his social connections but was criticized for bailing out from strategic decisions he himself planned. On the other hand, Nicole was lauded for effectively playing an under-the-radar game and eliminating Chappies, but was chastised for an apparent lack of strategic initiative. In the end, it was Nicole's game that won the jury over, winning her the title of Sole Survivor in a 8-1 vote.

Episode		Air Date	Challenges		Exiled	Eliminated (Vote)	Finish
			Reward	Immunity
1	"Nothing Unites Like a Common Enemy"	June 3, 2021	Vuna	Dino1	Thoriso	Jason (7-2)	1st Voted Out Day 3
				Vuna
2	"I Can Go 'Bos'... No Pun!"	June 10, 2021	Zamba	Zamba	Santoni	Pinty (6-2-1)	2nd Voted Out Day 6
3	"Always Be Closing"	June 17, 2021	Zamba2	Vuna	Amy	Mike (5-3)	3rd Voted Out Day 8
			Vuna2
4	"Gloat or Vote"	June 24, 2021	Vuna	Vuna	Carla	Paul (5-2-1)	4th Voted Out Day 11
5	"Collateral Damage"	July 1, 2021	Vuna	Anesu		Thoriso (2-1-0)3	5th Voted Out Day 13
						Carla (5-2)	6th Voted Out Day 13
6	"Control the Flow"	July 8, 2021	Vuna	Vuna	Anela	Dino (4-0)3	7th Voted Out Day 16
7	"Look Behind You"	July 15, 2021	Vuna4		Anela	Qieän (4-1)	8th Voted Out Day 18
8	"Here for a Good Time"	July 22, 2021	None	Kiran	Tyson	Marisha (4-0)3,5	9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21
9	"A Deal with the Devil"	July 29, 2021	Amy, Chappies, Renier, Tyson, Wardah [Santoni]6	Kiran	Wardah	Shaun (6-5)	10th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 23
10	"Tied Destinies"	August 5, 2021	Anela, Nicole4		None	Renier (6-4)	11th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 26
			[Amy, Renier]			Amy (no vote)7	Eliminated 4th Jury Member Day 26
11	"Brownie Points Are Everything"	August 12, 2021	Chappies, Nicole, Tyson, Wardah	Chappies	Santoni	Anesu (5-2)	12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 28
12	"All in a Day's Work"	August 19, 2021	Survivor Auction	Chappies	Nicole	Wardah (2-0)3	13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member10 Day 30
13	"A Very Weird Vibe"	August 26, 2021	Chappies	Chappies	None	Santoni (3-2-0)3,8	Eliminated 7th Jury Member Day 33
14	"A Sour Taste in the Mouth"	September 2, 2021	Chappies [Anela]	Chappies	None	Kiran (3-2)	14th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 35
15	"The Fruits of Your Labour"	September 9, 2021	Chappies4		Chappies	Wardah (1-0)9	Removed from Jury Day 37
						Tyson (2-1-1)	15th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37
16	"The Final Decision"	September 16, 2021	None	Nicole	None	Chappies (1-0)	16th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38
			Jury Vote			Anela (8-1)	Runner-Up
						Nicole (8-1)	Sole Survivor
17	"Reunion"
Notes: ^1 One Immunity Necklace was available for each tribe during the race for supplies at the marooning. Dino collected Zamba's during the challenge, giving him individual immunity at his first Tribal Council. Vuna's necklace was not claimed. ^2 This Reward Challenge saw an individual of each tribe battle for a reward item. The winner of each battle kept the reward for their tribe. ^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user. ^4 Combined Reward/Immunity Challenge. ^5 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user. ^6 Due to the odd number of players, Santoni was chosen to sit out of the challenge, but if she guessed the winning team correctly, she would join them at their reward. Santoni guessed the winning team correctly. ^7 Amy was Renier's partner during the Tied Destinies twist, therefore she was also eliminated when Renier was voted out. ^8 The Fire Idol was played, forcing the two castaways with the most votes to compete in a fire-making challenge to determine who would be eliminated. Santoni and Tyson received the most votes respectively; Santoni lost the fire-making duel to Tyson and was eliminated from the game. ^9 For winning the challenge on Day 36, Chappies earned the power to remove one of the jurors.

Voting History

		Original Tribes		First Switched Tribes				Second Switched Tribes		Merged Tribe
Episode		1	2	3	4	5		6	7	8	9	10		11	12	13		14	15	16
Voted Out		Jason	Pinty	Mike	Paul	Thoriso	Carla	Dino	Qieän	Marisha	Shaun	Renier	Amy	Anesu	Wardah	Santoni		Kiran	Tyson	Chappies	Anela	Nicole
Vote		7-2	6-2-1	5-3	5-2-1	2-1-03	5-2	4-03	4-1	4-0-03,6	6-5	6-4	No vote7	5-2	2-03	3-2-03,9	Duel	3-2	2-1-1	1-011	8-1
►►►	Nicole	Jason	—	—	—	Tyson	—	—	—	Chappies	Wardah	Tyson	—	Anesu	None1	Kiran	—	Kiran	Tyson	Chappies	Jury Vote
►►►	Anela	Jason	—	Mike	Wardah	—	Carla	None1	None1	Chappies4	Wardah	Tyson	—	Anesu	None8	Santoni	—	Kiran	Tyson	None
►►►	Chappies	—	Mike	Mike	Carla	—	Carla	—	—	None5	Shaun	Renier	—	Tyson	Wardah	Tyson	—	Kiran	Anela	None		Nicole
►►►	Tyson	—	Pinty	—	—	Thoriso	—	Dino	Qieän	Marisha	Shaun	Renier	—	Anesu	Santoni	Santoni	Won	Nicole	Nicole			Nicole
►►►	Kiran	—	Pinty	—	—	Thoriso	—	Dino	Qieän	Marisha	Shaun	Renier	—	Anesu	Santoni	Santoni	—	Nicole				Nicole
►►►	Santoni	—	None1	Mike	Paul	—	Carla	Dino	Qieän	Marisha	Shaun	Renier	—	None1	Wardah	Tyson	Eliminated					Nicole
►►►	Wardah	—	Pinty	Anela	Paul	—	Chappies	Dino	Qieän	Marisha	Shaun	Renier	—	Anesu	Santoni						None9
►►►	Anesu	—	Pinty	—	—	None1	—	—	—	Chappies	Shaun	Renier	—	Tyson								Nicole
►►►	Amy	Jason	—	None1	Paul	—	Carla	—	—	Chappies	Wardah	Tyson	Eliminated									Nicole
►►►	Renier	Jason	—	—	—	Tyson	—	—	—	Chappies	Wardah	Tyson										Nicole
►►►	Shaun	Qieän	—	Mike	Paul	—	Carla	—	—	Chappies	Wardah										Anela
►►►	Marisha	Jason	—	—	—	Kiran	—	—	—	Chappies												Nicole
►►	Qieän	Jason	—	—	—	Tyson	—	Santoni	Santoni
►►	Dino	Jason	—	—	—	Tyson	—	Santoni
►	Carla	—	Pinty	Anela	Paul	—	Chappies
►	Thoriso	None1	—	—	—	None2
►	Paul	—	Wardah	Mike	Wardah
►	Mike	—	Pinty	Anela
	Pinty	—	Mike
	Jason	Qieän
Notes: ^1 This castaway chose to Stay and Play on Immunity Island, forfeiting their vote in exchange for individual immunity. ^2 This castaway lost the challenge on Immunity Island, thus they were unable to cast a vote. ^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user. ^4 This castaway played the Tribal Insurance advantage, allowing them to steal another castaway's vote to vote twice at Tribal Council. Since they had previously lost the challenge on Immunity Island, they were only able to vote once. ^5 This castaway's vote was stolen by the Tribal Insurance advantage. ^6 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user. ^7 Amy was Renier's partner during the Tied Destinies twist; therefore, she was also eliminated when Renier was voted out. ^8 Chappies used a Tribal Council Pass on Anela, allowing him to leave Tribal Council without voting. ^9 The Fire Idol was played, forcing the two castaways with the most votes to compete in a fire-making challenge to determine who would be eliminated. ^10 For winning the challenge on Day 36, Chappies earned the power to remove a juror. He chose Wardah. ^11 Anela and Chappies did not vote as they could only vote for each other. By virtue of winning the Final Immunity Challenge, only Nicole voted.

Trivia

• Due to the last-minute change of filming location from the Philippines to South Africa, replacement Buffs with the new tribe names were not reprinted in time. Instead, a local headwear company was tapped to produce the new Buffs.
• Immunity Island is the first season since Santa Carolina eleven years ago to produce a female Sole Survivor.