The 30-year old rope access technician Noleen "'Pinty" Nkanjeni became the second castaway voted out in Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island on M-Net (DStv 101) after her aggressive approach irritated her tribe and they decided to send her packaging in a blindside orchestrated by Carla.
Where does the nickname "Pinty" come from?
Pinty: It came from my family, my family calls me "pint-sized". It evolved into Pinty growing up, and my friends all then called me Pinty from a young age. And my family still do call me "pint-sized" to this day and that stuck.
Why did you enter and want to be a part of the show?
Pinty: Growing up I watched Survivor. I also grew up in quite an adventure-orientated environment and I just wanted to have the experience and have one thing ticked off my bucket list - an awesome social experiment.
As a kid I had thought about entering. I thought to myself, I remember I was about 12 years old and thought to myself: Wow, it would be so cool to be a part of that. Now as an adult I had the opportunity to apply.
What was this experience like for you?
Pinty: Once in a lifetime, hey, really amazing and you know, it's a feeling that I can't really describe.
I would encourage anybody who would like to go out of their comfort zone, who would want to experience something completely out of this world to apply. Literally, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I can't any similar thing that could match up to it.
What was hard for you in a physical, mental or emotional way?
Pinty: Well, all three of those topics, all of them were shot, hey - the natural elements and the lack of sleep and really just how real the experience is.
I think that a lot of people, including myself, we didn't take into account how deep the experience would be and how "out there" it would be. I can definitely say that physically and mentally and emotionally the lack of sleep and then battling the natural elements were probably the toughest sort of thing that I had to experience.
When the credits rolled at the end of the second episode and you see who voted for whom, you said that you're so sure that Anesu and your alliance would have protected for you and have voted for Mike, but when you look that their votes, Anesu and the rest voted for you.
What are you making of that in hindsight?
Pinty: You know, at the time - the one thing about Survivor is that when you're sitting at tribal council you're not safe and to think that you are safe is being ignorant.
So I had a connection with Anesu that I felt was a really strong connection and that why at the time I couldn't have known that that was the case.
I couldn't have foreseen - watching the episode and just kind of seeing it all pan out - I had no idea. Going forward I always think about it from a different perspective.
If I was in her shoes and I had to protect myself and I had to make a really tough decision, would I have done the same? And you know, I probably wouldn't have done the same because for me trust and keeping to your honour and integrity is a very important thing.
That was one of the important things that I've highlighted throughout the game and before going into the game it was something that was a mental imprint. I think it's really important not to take it too personally and just to remember that Survivor is a game and that position was she in?
Move forward and take it as a positive side as opposed to a negative side.
Looking back and seeing what you weren't aware of and didn't see, what would you have done differently?
Pinty: Well, you know, it's really tough to say right now. I would have tried to maybe really get involved and try and save my own skin.
I can't really give you a full idea of the scenario. But at the time I would have found the time to really communicate with my alliance and try and save my own skin and to shine the target on someone else's back.
Some of your tribemates said that they've perceived you as being too aggressive when you asked questions and Carla said that she found you too abrasive. Do you think that you should have approached them in a different way?
Pinty: There's a couple of backstories. It's basically 3 days compressed into 40 minutes of an episode.
There are backstories that come behind what people see on TV.
The whole shoe story - there were two pairs of shoes and a couple of socks that had already perished in the fire which the viewers didn't see and maybe I could have been a bit more delicate or I could have hung back, including there was already one pair that belonged to Carla that had perished.
So it came across as me being harsh or "hardegat" but I'm a straight-forward person and I really care about people. Maybe the way that I said it was a bit too direct but it didn't come from a place of being mean or aggressive or nasty and there was a backstory to all of that.
That's just the one perspective on the show story. Then with Kiran there was backstory. It is what it is hey.
In what way was Survivor SA an experience that you didn't expect?
Pinty: In the few days that I was there the amount of rain - we're on the Wild Coast, it's tropical South Africa, it's like the dream location.
You don't expect it to piss down all the time - sorry for my language. It's cold and that I didn't really expect in terms of the environment.
If I was there for a longer time I probably would have a different answer for you but in that time I was there, the first day was paradise and the rest was hell. I still enjoyed my time regardless.
What did you learn about interpersonal relationships and human behaviour?
Pinty: Firstly I will start off with myself, really - for my own personal introspective look in, I think that just a bit of patience, and just a bit of tone and watching my tone.
It's not about what you say but how you say it and I think that watching my episode, I think a lot of the things that I said was not wrong but it was how I said it. That lesson and perception going forward in life is something that's important to take away.
People are unpredictable and much as I'd like to be, in life and in Survivor would like to be trustworthy and honourable - although I did see that I had lied to Chappies which is like a "wow" I forgot about that scene - just those kinds of things about people.
People are unpredictable. People will always make decisions that are suited for them and put themselves first.
Is there a moment that you think of back fondly or treasure?
Pinty: Winning the fire challenge was really special for me, I felt that that united the tribe immensely.
There were several moments - struggling together just to stay warm and to stay dry. There are so much that happens in the episode that viewers see in the span of 3 days.
There were so many special moments that really don't define the ultimate outcome. The outcome is the outcome but overall I treasured everything about that experience.
And you're going to see them all again at the end in the reunion.
Pinty: Ja, ja, ja, ja. There are no hard feelings.
Survivor's a game and you have to tap into other parts of yourself. Our human psychology and behaviour and character are forever changing and evolving.
The only thing that stays the same are our age and tangible things. The rest is forever changing and evolving and going forward I really wish everyone else the best of luck and I hope that they enjoy the rest of their time there and really just have an awesome time.
Survivor SA: Immunity Island is on M-Net (DStv 101) on Thursdays at 19:30
