by Thinus Ferreira
I can reveal that South Africa's first season of Love Island South Africa was filmed on the edge of Franschhoek in the Western Cape with the villa for the South African Islanders that was located on the private Maison Wine Estate and its vineyards close to the world-class Chefs Warehouse.
While many guessed at the possible location, the non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that the Islanders taking part in the reality series had so sign before joining the series, have been so airtight that even after their exit none have been able to, or been willing to, divulge where they've really been staying.
M-Net and Rapid Blue kept the exact location secret ahead of and during production and broadcast in order to try and minimise the possibility of onlookers or curious visitors who might disrupt or negatively impact the show with their physical presence if they went to the Maison wine estate to see if they can see anything of the making of Love Island SA.
It was a big departure of the producers to make use of the picturesque Franschhoek, 80km outside of Cape Town, for the localised South African adaptation of the ITV Studios format.
The production company Rapid Blue previously used The Midden Cottage, a 3-storey gated house in Eagles Nest Cape Town for ITV's 2020 Winter Love Island UK season and that has sweeping views over the vineyards of the Constantia valley.
Love Island France that was broadcast in early-2020 Rapid Blue used the spectacular Lothian House mansion on the Lothian Vineyards wine estate in the Western Cape's Elgin Valley in Grabouw.
Located on the banks of the Palmiet River, this sumptuous mansion comes complete with its own private lake.
For South Africa's version on M-Net (DStv 101), the production reviewed over 70 options and decided that the Maison farmhouse - originally a barn built in 1796 that had been converted over the years and that is now rented out as holiday accommodation and comes complete with a pool deck - would be the ideal fit for Love Island South Africa.
According to the production, the Franschhoek setting and farmhouse just off of the R45 road, "ticked all of the boxes" required to produce Love Island South Africa.
Love Island SA needed a bedroom space big enough space to
fit 7 double beds; a pool; a garden area to accommodate the firepit, as well as a gym area.
The patio needed to be big enough to accommodate an outside kitchen for the Islanders, a stove, a sink and a fridge, an area for 2 beach huts; an area for the Hideaway where
Islander couples could spend time alone, as well as space close enough to the villa for
the Challenge deck.
The show also wanted a stunning pool with a powerful visual
backdrop, and in addition the production required space to set up a technical base camp close by so that
the gallery and post-production departments could be linked through fiber-optics cabling.
Rapid Blue found the accommodation and contracted the villa through a location agency. It boasts 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms; 1 guest toilet; 2 living spaces, wrap-around verandas, 3 kitchens, a private splash pool and a large entrance with koi ponds.
So why did M-Net and Rapid Blue not use The Midden Cottage again?
Well, this time the show was looking for a villa in an area that
would allow most of the production team to be accommodated within a 10-minutes drive because of the show's shorter rig and build time - and also had to be on a property that
would not have urban noise restrictions.
The construction team that was brought in to transform the farmhouse into a Love Island SA villa had to work fast and installed technical lighting, microphones and various cameras that were rigged to capture all of the Islanders' antics.
Over 20 interior walls were constructed on-location to form a Love Island South Africa layout, complete with 10 neon phrase lights placed
throughout the villa. Over 250 meters of festoons with
over 16 structural poles were used.
Love Island SA had 2 medics living inside the production bubble of the show to look after any medical concerns, and to monitor the Covid-19 free integrity of the entire bubble production.
