Who else is currently going through Survivor SA withdrawal already?? I am gutted that it’s all over.
I attended Sunday’s season 5 finale which I can only describe as an intimate, edge-of-your-seat, dramatic and emotional affair capped off with a side order of massive jolling!! The castaways rocked up all shiny and dolled up ready for the big reveal.
The final tribal council did not have a shortage of shocking moments and of course, as expected, Marian was responsible for one of them. Graham told me that we barely got to see most of the jury grilling session that he was subjected to, especially when it came to Marian. She apparently went bos.
She completely lambasted him and, along with several other jury members, told him that Sivu should win. Marian then flips it and reverses it by ultimately voting for Graham to win. So what on earth happened??
I said to Marian that I am not as surprised that she voted for Graham as I am that she and Shane did not vote for the same person. I was convinced that they would vote as a duo but not so!!
Basically she said that she watched Graham fight throughout that grueling tribal council when seemingly every odd was stacked against him. He impressed her so she gave him her vote. She called it her last blindside. Nice one :)
My second favorite shocking moment came from Mr. Solly!! Dude, where was that ruthless guy when you were still playing the game? I had not seen that side of Solly before and I liked it!
I spoke to him after the show and he basically said look, it was a toss-up between Sivu and Buhle, literally hahaha! He flipped a coin to determine that he would vote for Buhle. Classic. But geez he gave Graham a tongue lashing!
The moment that we had been waiting for all season finally arrived and Graham dropped to his knees as Nico announced that he was now this season’s Survivor winner. As you all know, I predicted that Graham was a strong contender earlier on in the season and from the top 3 I was pulling for him to win so I was happy. Congrats dude!!
Graham’s dad (also named Graham) and his beautiful girlfriend Erin were so gracious and supportive. What a wonderful family! Well-deserved win Graham. Wishing you guys all the best xxx
After a brief press conference where Graham was clearly flustered with disbelief, we all hung out at the Hunter’s sponsored cocktail hour where I learned a few things about this group of castaways.
Altaaf is possibly one of the funniest survivors and his sense of humor did not translate during the show AT ALL!! He always seemed so serious to me but he is far from it. I am not permitted to repeat any of his funny stories but let’s just say they involved a very expensive german shepherd, a R27,000 shopping spree in the Changi Airport and the search for a mistletoe. Enough said.
I also learned that Gena and I are basically the same person, Moyra is in LOVE with her new car but it won’t fit in her garage and Zavion is my soulmate. I can confirm that he really does look airbrushed in person (his boyfriend John will co-sign) and he is even lovelier on the inside. What a great addition to the Survivor family you all are.
This may surprise some of you but I learned nothing new about David. He is EXACTLY the same stranded on an island as he is at a cocktail party. The one liners are real & unrehearsed, the pink panties were in his pocket all night and he truly has no regrets.
Turns out that we both dwell in the same area so I am looking forward to many cups of coffee / glasses of wine with him. For the ladies, please note that Stephen’s “superman” eyes are even more mesmerizing in person. Corne Krige agreed that Stephen’s elimination was the biggest shock of the season because he really was pegged to go much further.
I approached Zan with care and concern because I honestly wasn’t sure what his reaction was going to be given that I did not take too kindly to him quitting the show in one of my earlier blogs.
He could not have been nicer to me. For those of you who want to know he is still very much with his beloved girlfriend and they are happy together in East London.
Interestingly enough, I asked him if he would play the game again and without hesitating he said yes. I was not expecting that. Zan believes that he would go into it next time with a different mindset and so that is why he would like to play again. Good attitude to have.
Buhle’s jacket needs its own instagram account. It was beyond beautiful and I somehow restrained myself from stealing it like an idol in Gena’s bag. I want it!!! I can also confirm that Buhle and Vel are true friends and we plan to bond over a sushi dinner sometime soon.
Another bit of backstage info is that there are still some seriously p*ssed off castaways. I promised not to mention any names but there are 2 castaways who are still quite upset with 2 other castaways. Funnily enough I actually would never have guessed who. Can you? Anyway, it’s a game and they need to get over themselves. Pronto.
With Season 1 winner Vanessa Marawa.
We ended the night at an exclusive after-party. WOW! The champagne was flowing freely and we all sat around swapping Survivor stories. In the process I learned that Sivu definitely earns the “most chilled out guy” of the night award. I can see how he squeezed past everyone on the island and nobody saw him coming until about the Top 6.
Then let’s see ... I would describe my conversation with Shane as intense and interesting which I don’t think is a huge surprise. I look forward to more chats though because he strikes me as the type of person who knows everything about everything. You know, the guy you would use as your phone-a-friend on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Ja – that dude.
It is clear that once you have experienced this there is an unspoken fraternity amongst all Survivors. Nobody else truly knows what this crazy journey is like until you have walked the path. Sounds cheesy but it has bonded us all for life (even the ones who still don’t like each other)!
Thank you M-Net for such an outstanding season and to all you guys out there who took the time to read my blog. These were just my views and opinions through the eyes of a former player. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing with all of you. I will continue to blog about other random things and hopefully another Survivor SA series in the very near future. Stay blessed everyone and thanks for playing ...