Survivor South Africa: Champions kicks off today at 17:30 on M-Net (DStv 101), as the fifth season of the South African version of the reality format starts on an island in the South China Sea.
TV with Thinus asked the Survivor South Africa: Champions tribe leaders, Corné Krige and Mark Fish, their thoughts on the challenges ahead.
Do they have secret plans? What scares them the most about the upcoming experience? What do they think will irritate them the most, how did they prepare, and who is the last person they spoke to before they left South Africa? Read on for the answers to these and other questions ...
ALSO READ: How Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net really chose its contestants: "Individuals who proved a drive to win, no matter what it takes."
Do you have a secret plan to try and motivate and to keep the spirits high of your tribe?
Corné: Not really, as I have never been hungry. I think that hunger will become a motivator eventually.
Mark: I have no plans at all. We have to adapt to our surroundings together and whether it is humour, exercise, tears of joy or sadness, we shall give it our all.
What scares you most about this experience?
Corné: The uncertainty and the possibility of being hungry for long periods of time. I like my food!
Mark: Nothing at all. That's why I agreed to doing Survivor South Africa. I will be learning things about myself that I never knew or maybe just finding myself again. At least, I hope to.
Being a sportsman and having faced very stressful mental and physical moments and challenges in your career, what strategies are you going to try and use mentally, and how will you try and motivate and physiologically try to keep yourself from continuing and pushing on?
Corné: The best way to get through tough times is to be a close-knit family. I will try and get the team to feed off of each others' strengths. This will be crucial to success.
Mark: That is a tough one because I believe motivation comes from within. But I'm hoping that my team will feed off my relaxed ways and see when we compete that I will always give 150% to try and win. But win or lose, we do it together!
This is quite a departure from anything you've done before. Why did you say yes for this?
Corné: I'm not sure actually. Maybe the thrill of taking on a challenge totally different to anything I have ever done before.
Mark: I agreed because I have never done it before and I love a challenge.
Sand. Heat. Insects. Tribe members and cameras you can't escape from. What inescapable factors do you think might start to irritate you the most?
Corné: Possibly the heat and the hunger.
Mark: Human nature because just as much as it always surprises us when people surpass their own expectations, we also get the fighting, arguing and people wanting to give up - the negative side of us humans which I just do not like!
Who is the last person you spoke to when you left South Africa and what did you say?
Corné: To my wife and children and I asked them to pray for me.
Mark: My pregnant fiancé Salomé and my daughter. I love them dearly and the thought of them will get me through the tough times ... for shizzle!
How did you prepare for this physically and mentally?
Corné: It is impossible to prepare for a challenge like Survivor. I want to take each day as it comes, with its own unique set of challenges.
Mark: No preparations, just training as usual. What I am training for is when you don't know what to expect. They always say about Survivor to "expect the unexpected" so that's the biggest thing.
Survivor South Africa: Champions starts today, and is on Sundays at 17:30 on M-Net (DStv 101) with various repeats during the week.
Survivor South Africa: Champions (encore) is on Saturdays on M-Net Series Zone (DStv 115) at 13:00.
