For three Tribal Councils in a row, his alliance members, the so-called Spit Shakers Seven, kept him in the dark about their voting plans. But this week self-proclaimed social butterfly, architect Cobus Hugo (28), had to swallow an even more bitter pill. With five votes against his name – also from the people he once believed could take him to the top – Cobus became the thirteenth person to be voted off M-Net’s Survivor SA: Island of Secrets and the fifth member of the jury.
Before host Nico Panagio had snuffed Cobus’s torch, however, Tribal Council delivered nail-biting drama. When it was time to read the votes, all eyes were on Jacques. He was supposed to play the Hidden Immunity Idol, draped around his neck. Instead, he just slowly buttoned down his shirt.
Then, there was another rude awakening for over-confident Steffi. Her name was written down as well and she heard Nico saying “… two votes Steffi… two votes Cobus … two votes Jacques”. If Jacques played his Idol for Cobus, as the jury wished, it could have been a tie! And, If Jacques’s bold move to persuade the other players at the bottom of the food chain that gunning for Steffi could be their saving grace, it could have been even worse for the former Miss Namibia.
How the Suvivors voted:
The consensus at camp – without the targets knowing, of course – was that the votes would be split between Jacques and Cobus. In the end, the Amigos alliance – Rob, Nicole, and Steffi – voted for Cobus. So did Durāo and Mike, who Jacques tried to win over by sharing his advantage with them. Laetitia and Mmaba followed the orders of “senior management”, as Jacques calls the power players, and went for Jacques. Thus, the two votes, received by Steffi came from Jacques and Cobus.
How the week’s episode played out:
This week’s Reward Challenge revealed quite a lot about the Survivor’s standing in the game as well as their strategy, needs, and attitudes. Host Nico presented them with three options to play for: a hearty meal with wine, a letter from home or an advantage in the game. To win the reward, they had to keep two opposing forces (a set of handles) apart with a heavy metal bar shaped like a key between them. If at any point during the challenge they released tension on those handles, the bar would slip through, shatter a tile and eliminate them from winning.
Nicole and Durāo both picked the meal, but then Durāo realised that Nicole needed the nutrients more – and deliberately crushed his tile.
Most of the castaways were craving a letter from home. After Jacques, Laetitia and Cobus fell out, it was game on for Steffi and Mike. Taking his cues from Durāo, Mike thought it was an excellent plan to let Steffi win.
The final face-off for the advantage in the game was between Mmaba and Rob. Even though Mmaba needed it more than ever before, Rob didn’t budge. After his victory, Rob was sent off to the Island of Secrets to spend an evening alone and find out more about his advantage. The advantage turned out to be an opportunity to practice for the all-important Immunity Challenge as well as everything that was up for grabs at the Reward Challenge.
While an emotional Rob shed more than one tear when reading the letter from his dad, there were also plenty of red eyes back at camp. Steffi’s letter from actor husband Clint Brink made her all weepy and the others broke down at the thought of missing out on much-needed encouragement from home.
Rob’s winning spree did not end at The Island of Secrets. He came out tops at the Immunity Challenge, where he also won the opportunity to test-drive a Mahindra SUV for a month upon his return to South Africa.
But will all of this put a target on his back now? After thirty days on the island, it’s clear that everyone is there to win and that nobody can be trusted.
What went through your mind when Nico read out your name? My thoughts were, “How did it happen that my name came up as the decoy?”.
Did you sort of expecting your head was on the chopping block or was it one of those WTF moments of blindsided? It was 100% a wtf moment, I’ve been blindsided.
How do you feel about The Spit Shakers Seven gunning for you? I’m still confused as to why they gunned for me because I don’t think I have given them a reason to. I hoped that they would stick to the initial agreement of the final seven.
What did you learnt from this blindside? I learnt that I should have made more of an effort with the ‘loose change’ of the Manumalo Tribe.
You always seemed to believe in trust, and now trust went out the backdoor. Do you still believe in the T ending in rust? I do still believe in trust. For me, it wasn’t about the trust being broken, but about the game that is being played and for that I respect it.
Who were your biggest enemy on the island and your bestie? I got along well with everyone and didn’t have an enemy or a bestie.
Rob seemed like leader of the pack, do you think this is a correct statement, or not? He does seem to be making the moves at the moment as he has enough lap dogs informing him – but anything can happen in the game of Survivor.
You chose a letter over food, but without an actual letter. How did that make you feel? I was disappointed in myself for losing the challenge, but I wouldn’t have chosen food over the letter.
How did that somehow crush your moral? It didn’t crush my morale. I had a moment of sadness, but I quickly got over it.
What did you make of the challenges this season, and is there 1 favourite and 1 never-again-challenge for you? The challenges were surreal for me. My favourite challenge was catching the sandbags for the donut reward and my worst challenge was the slide puzzle, as Nathan was trying to throw the challenge.
What will be your role on the jury? I would like to be a jury member that stays realistic with no emotions involved. I’m looking for a Sole Survivor that will own their game.
When you returned home, what was the first thing you did? I drank a bottle of wine!
What advice would you give to the remaining cast members? The remaining castaways should get off their moral high grounds and start playing the game of Survivor.
Who do you think could be a winner? I am a jury member and cannot answer that question.
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