BREAKING. Graham Jenneker wins Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net; capping a hugely successful revival of the reality show.

Graham Jenneker (29) from Cape Town was voted the winner on Sunday night in the 5th season of Survivor South Africa when Survivor South Africa: Champions broadcast its live finale and reunion show on M-Net and brought to a close an internationally watched, and a much buzzed about season.

Graham Jenneker who won with the most votes from fellow tribemates, made it to the finale with fellow contestants Sivu Xabanisa and Buhle Madlala who were contenders for the prize.

The financial manager from Bellville in Cape Town won the R1 million prize after securing 5 votes with Buhle Madlala getting 3 votes and Sivu Zabanisa 2 votes after the final Tribal Council.

Meanwhile the former Springbok rugby captain Corne Krige won the popular viewers' vote as favourite team captain.

Survivor South Africa: Champions concluded with a live finale and reunion show on M-Net on Sunday night, capping a season which not only successfully revived the format for South African television and M-Net, but which proved hugely successful for the pay-TV broadcaster and producer Endemol South South Africa.

The successful 5th season was largely thanks to excellent production values as well as an extremely well-chosen collection of contestants.

The esoteric collection of contestants for Survivor South Africa: Champions included an astrophysics student, a gay events planner not conforming to any stereotypes, a farrier who has never been married, a female member of the army, and two South African sports captains, Corne Krige and Mark Fish acting as lightning rods and absorbing the energy usually making any perceived leaders an instant threat on the reality show.

"There was so many challenges you encounter on the island - as anybody does in life. You know, you get knocked down not only once. You get knocked down hundreds of times - in the game and in life. It's how you pick yourself up that matters. That's the most important thing," says Graham Jenneker.

"A show like Survivor is much tougher and more than what people expect. And you must go there expecting the unexpected," says Corne Krige who said he would do it again or want to relive the experience.

"I expected it to be tough. But it was much tougher than what I ever expected".

"It's just amazing to go out there and to talk to people and they can't stop talking about Survivor South Africa. It's incredible," says Lani Lombard, head of publicity at M-Net.

The successful Survivor South Africa: Champions season has proven once again how adept M-Net has remained at creating buzz-worthy local South African television and appointment Sunday evening television that captures the imagination of South African television amidst an ongoing recession where South African broadcasters struggle to do the most with available budgets when it comes to commissioning local TV series.

The secrets of the live finale of Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net on Sunday at 17:30 that you want to know!

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The live finale and reunion show of Survivor South Africa: Champions is set to take place this Sunday on M-Net (DStv 101) at 17:30 at only TV with Thinus has the insider secrets you want to know.

The Survivor SA: Champions finale, the end of the 5th season of the reality show, will literally be like no other before it.

Where the live finales of all the previous seasons took place at M-Net's studios in Randburg inside what is now the SuperSport studio, the finale will be happening for the first time ever in a brand-new location: Sasani Studios.

For that, furious construction has started on a special set to recreate the atmosphere of the South China Seas where the Survivor SA: Champions contestants battled the elements - and each other.

"The set construction started on 14 May at 09:00 and should be completed by late Friday night, ready for the first rehearsal of the finale which will start at 09:00 on Saturday," Eileen Sandrock, the CEO of Sasani Studios tells TV with Thinus.

"The Survivor SA: Champions finale is being held in a brand-new studio at Sasani, and this will be the first live show to be hosted in Sasani's new Stage 8".

The construction of Sasani's Studios' new 2 330m2 studio complex, Studio 8, started in October last year and Eileen Sandrock and her team says they're thrilled that Stage 8 was chosen for the live finale of this flagship M-Net show.

TV with Thinus can spill that there will be a live studio audience as well - a very small invited audience of 60 people that include the family members of the castaways and captains Corne Krige and Mark Fish, members of the media and sponsors.

"The reunion show has been designed to be an intimate, yet gripping television event, during which the Survivors can reflect on their time on the island," a source reveals.

"The studio audience is smaller than before, as we want to focus on the completion of the emotional journey of the castaways, which sometimes gets lost in a huge studio affair," says Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of publicity.

Some of the original props and items viewers saw during the course of Survivor SA: Champions on M-Net will pop up again.

"It's never possible to bring the entire Tribal Council set back to South Africa," Anton Burggraaf the head of entertainment television from production company Endemol South Africa tells TV with Thinus, "but we will be using many of the original props from the Tribal Council and the island".

"We are also recreating some of the elements from Tribal Council, like the crates for seating and the fire pit. We have gone for a more intimate feel this year, so while we are incorporating some jungle elements in the foliage and the South China Sea feel in the set textures, there will also be large screens with island footage as backdrops".

After those harsh words, fights and take-downs at Tribal Council during the show, its anyone's guess what the various contestants are going to have to say to each other during the finale and reunion.

"Contractually, the contestants are not allowed to see one another without being chaperoned by M-Net representatives before the live reunion show," says Lani Lombard.

"The top three met for the first time since the island today (Friday) when they did radio interviews at Heart 104.9 fm and Smile 90.4 fm. They will also be at the Valley of the Stars event at the Tyger Valley Centre tonight, where they will answer questions about the show and sign autographs".

"All these activities are supervised by M-Net. The castaways from the different regions are arriving in Johannesburg tomorrow (Saturday) and on Sunday they will all arrive at Sasani a couple of hours before the show starts," Lani Lombard tells me.

Another big question is about those votes and the names the contestants wrote down which is now being kept until the big reveal on Sunday.

"The votes have been under lock and key since they were couriered from the island," says Anton Burggraaf.

"The sealed envelope was opened in the presence of auditors and verified, and returned to the voting box and the box is now locked in a safe place".

"An encryption code known by only two people, was shared only a few weeks ago to a closed edit for the final vote sequence. Anyone working in the edit and final mix process has signed a confidentiality agreement. Currently only 7 people have seen these votes," says Anton Burggraaf.

"The box will be collected from the sage by the event security personnel and kept under their guard until required on set during the live show. The winner was known to only three people on the island, and four people subsequently in post production".

"No-one from M-Net or publicity know who the winner is," says Anton Burggraaf. "Nobody from Endemol SA or its suppliers besides these seven - sworn to secrecy - know who the winner is before that winner's name will be announced live on Sunday evening during the show on M-Net".

"Maintaining the secrecy around the winner is always the most interesting thing," says Anton Burggraaf, "but it is also reassuring that there is an unwritten production etiquette that it is in everyone's best interest that only a handful of people know - because it is their job to know, to write scripts, direct content and edit the shots".

"In fact no-one - except the public who don't know this etiquette - ever asks who the winner is,it is simply bad form!" shares Anton Burggraaf.

Don't miss the Survivor SA: Champions live finale and reunion show this Sunday on M-Net (DStv 101) at 17:30.

Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net goes global as the popular reality show is shared online through illegal downloads.

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Perhaps fitting for a show thematically built around pirates and piracy and set in the South China Sea, M-Net's Survivor South Africa: Champions has become globally popular as the show's episodes are illegally downloaded and are being shared by viewers around the world.

The new season shown on Sundays at 17:30 on M-Net - the fifth local version of the international format which was filmed at the end of 2013 by Endemol South Africa - managed to not only revive viewers' interest in the South African version but also garnered international viewers.

People as far afield as Canada, Norway and New Zealand quickly enquired how they can maybe watch episodes of Survivor South Africa: Champions as soon as possible and they download episodes which are available the very next day after a Sunday's broadcast.

While episodes of Survivor South Africa: Champions are illegally uploaded to be downloaded and shared by people across the world, it doesn't appear to have hampered the viewership and ratings of the show in South Africa.

Survivor South Africa: Champions instantly shot into the list of weekly top 10 most watched shows on M-Net and has steadily climbed where it has now become the second most watched weekly programme on the South African pay-TV broadcaster, edged out from the number one spot only by the Sunday night magazine show Carte Blanche.

It's not clear whether viewers are tuning in for the new twist in which former sport captains, rugby's Corne Krige (pictured) and soccer's Mark Fish led different teams and who themselves can't be voted off.

The surging popularity of the reality show which has now passed the halfway mark and which will end with a live finale in mid-May revealing the winner, could also be due to a combination of theunexpected twists and the intriguing collection of remaining contestants.

Among the conniving players remaining in the show are a gay wedding planner rugby player, a sportman who grew up in Hillbrow, an astrophysics student from Khayelitsha, a helicopter pilot, a farrier who's never been married, and a scheming contestant who's worked in counter-intelligence in Afghanistan.

Asked about what M-Net is making of the illegal downloading, yet buoyant online popularity of Survivor South Africa: Champions, the pay-TV broadcaster tells TV with Thinus that it doesn't condone piracy of TV shows.

"Even though the illegal downloading and sharing of Survivor South Africa: Champions indicates how popular the show is and demonstrates the great demand for top-notch local productions, M-Net does not condone piracy in any form or in any region".

"Piracy has a negative impact on the development of the local television and film industries and harms the investment of broadcasters and sponsors," says M-Net.

EXIT INTERVIEW. Survivor South Africa: Champions' Zan Lang: 'They saw my weakness which was my temper'.

On Sunday evening Zan Lang (24) who told his Utara tribe in Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net he's had enough and is quitting, got his wish when they voted him out and sent him home.

TV with Thinus caught up with him, as Zan Lang explained why he decided to quit the show, why he wrote that Solly is a coward and why he doesn't need to be loyal to anyone.

Zan Lang explains what "broke him down", whether he was surprised or not that people actually wanted him to stay, how he feels about how he played the game, what he would have done differently, and what he want to say to his tribe members in hindsight.

Zan, you did explain in Sunday's episode of the show why you decided to quit. Is there possibly anything you want to say to put it into more context, or want to explain exactly why you decided to make that decision.

Basically it has been a while coming for that decision, I had been playing with it in my mind for a few days.

Ultimately what pushed me to make the final decision was just not gelling with my tribe like what I thought that we could have. Basically just being physically weak and emotionally weak. I was really, really missing home and my family, my friends, my girlfriend and the people that I love.

It was an emotional decision at the end and that's basically how it happened.

What I saw - its a question with an "a" and a "b" - what I saw when you wrote your card of who you voted for, you wrote on the card that Solly is a "COWARD" in capital letters, and then you also wrote that you don't need to be loyal to your tribe. 

I was wondering why you wrote those two things?

I wrote Solly's name down because him and I didn't gel from the beginning, from the first day on the beach.

I just felt that Solly was a bit ... a bit ... naieve. He had a lot to say but not a lot to contribute to the tribe, especially around camp. And him and I had personal problems. We just didn't get along from the beginning. That's why I wrote his name down.

And with the loyalty thing, I believe that family comes first when it comes to anything - your family and your friends. People that, on the tribe, that I didn't really get along with or actually like cared to much about, were Solly and Marion because they were pushing me to the edge on a daily basis.

So I wrote that down just to let them know that my loyalty lies with the people who are important to me and the people at home that I care about - not with people that I just met and have spent nine days on an island with.

Then I wanted to ask, looking back, is there something that you would have done differently?

Prepare emotionally and mentally more for the game than I did physically. I ultimately think that the game of Survivor is more rather an emotional and mental game and that's what you need to prepare for much more than what you need to prepare for on the physical side.

That's all I put into it pre going onto the island - I trained every day and I got my whole body into what I thought was the perfect mix to to take it further in the game. And ultimately that came back to bite me not preparing mentally and emotionally for the internal battles that happened at camp.

How do you feel about how you played the game while you were there?

Well, I think that I could have taken more care of my temper, and kept my emotions at bay and my outbursts because I honestly - when you're on that island you're in a completely different mindset to what you're at home and are around people that actually know you.

So I would have kept my opinions to myself a little bit more. I came across a little bit too strong at the beginning where people thought I was being a bit bossy, when in actual effect I was just trying to help the tribe get further in the game and to make things at camp a little bit more comfortable so that wouldn't necessarily have to struggle throughout.

When I got there and I started recommending people on what we could do to improve things, maybe people took that as me being bossy and outspoken. But I was really just trying to help my team.

Is there something that you would like to say to them now in hindsight?

Well, seeing now what actually happened behind-the-scenes and what I didn't know was happening while I was there - like I said I wasn't too much in it with the strategy game as well - they saw my weakeness which was my temper maybe, and getting a little bit headstrong and putting my opinion across maybe too often.

So I would have definitely, probably tried to make more alliances with people on my tribe. Maybe be a little more friendly towards them, even when I didn't agree with what they were planning or doing or saying. I think maybe keeping to myself my opinions probably would have helped a lot.

Did it surprise you that you wanted to quit and be off the island, and then actually there were people who wanted you to stay and not vote you off?

No it didn't because I had initially spoken to Mark and I've spoken to Stephen and Shane before I had actually spoken to Buhle on the island.

All three of them, Mark, Shane and Stephen all said that they did not want me to leave and that they would rather vote for someone else that night. 

But again, when you're in that frame of mind even if people are trying to tell you that you need to stick around, once you've made your decision - and its an emotional decision on that sort of level being on that island in those conditions - your emotions do take hold. 

So, that why eventually in the end I handed over the flint to Buhle in the end because I thought they were still gunning for Buhle. And I made good friends with her on the island and we got along well. So I would have rather protected her which is what I ultimately tried to do with the flint. 

And that's how it happened. Next time, if there ever is a next time, I would play the game more strategically than just strength wise in the challenges.

What was the most difficult thing for you?

Definitely the lack of food. You don't actually realise when you're sitting at home and you see Survivor, you don't think, you know, they're eating the odd fish, they're getting the odd banana here and there. 

So you don't know that if you don't get any food, you don't eat. And the amount of food that we were eating - we were living on coconuts and that's not much nutrition in a coconut. So that really broke me down. Because I normally eat like a horse at home.

So that took a toll on my body and my strength in the challenges as well. When I don't eat I do get emotional and I do honestly have outbursts of maybe anger and I've been trying to work on that since I got back from the island to turn my whole experience into a positive.

I wanted to actually ask you as the last question what you've learnt from this experience?

I've learnt a lot from the experience. First of all I've learnt what you can live without and the luxuries that we have in modern day life.

You don't necessarily have to have those to be complete or anything like that. Another thing is that when you're out there you do need some sort of emotional connection to someone. You do miss home. And you miss the small things in life.

And ultimately its made me appreciate the small things in life. It's made me appreciate my friends a lot more. Its made me appreciate just being at home with the loved one. And I mean, honestly its made me a better person and I've learnt a lot from it.

I deal with people totally differently now compared to before I went to the island and being on the island. I'm a lot more outgoing and a friendly person now. 

And I want to turn the whole experience into a positive and see how I can maybe help improving other people's lives back in my hometown.

The amazing secrets revealed of the beautiful Tribal Council area of Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net.

The most fascinating - and most beautiful - part, when it comes to the overall look of Survivor South Africa: Champions on Sundays on M-Net at 17:30 is definitely the meticulous attention to detail and the mood and atmosphere the Tribal Council area brings to the show.

Did you know it was constructed at an abandoned fort near a river bed? That what you think is water trickling down the walls isn't even water at all!

Something big and amazing in the set had to be toned down - and another Tribal Council element kept wreaking havoc on the set. And just take a guess what it's all made of!

These are just some of the amazing secrets behind the making of this wonderful section of the show, and the production company is spilling some of them.

Anton Burggraaf, the head of entertainment television at Endemol South Africa, the production company behind the 5th season of this local version of the reality show for M-Net, reveals the secrets of the Tribal Council area.

 (If you click on the photos, they will open up bigger, and you can study the amazing details.)

What big factors impacted on and were important for the design and look and feel of this season's Tribal Council area?
The biggest factor in the design of Tribal Council for Survivor South Africa is the general thematic thread of the series, which this season is a Chinese pirate theme, influenced by the folklore and history of the people and countries on the South China Sea.

Tribal Council is also a great opportunity to reference similar events that must have happened within pirate groups in the 18th and 19th centuries: meeting to decide the fate of retrobates and deserters - or cutting down on numbers when times were tight - a very familiar idea to Survivor!

So it seemed natural to go for a pirate liar which in this case is an abandoned fort.

Another factor in the design is the shoot location and here the first prize is getting the best out of a found location.

We used a dry river bed and a massive tree and built around both so we could maximise the moat idea and the moonlight moodplay for atmosphere.

The voting booth seems so much smaller than in the past and gives a "claustrophobic" quality to the look this season compared to previous seasons. Is that just an optical illusion or is it really built smaller?
The voting booth was purposefully small and dressed to give the feeling of being dungeon-like.

The flame lighting gives that "feeling of heat" idea. The use of a wide-angle lens gave a further sense of claustrophobia in that the subject looks larger than their surroundings bur that you are able to see the entire room. So in some sense it is an optical illusion, but an intentional one.

The water seen running and the seepage on the surrounding "walls" - who has to turn open the taps and remember to close them? And why the element of water on the walls?
The effect was an addition once we had done initial camera tests.

It was apparent that the surrounding foliage would play a big role and that it made sense that we could pull the sense of the jungle - where it always rains! - into the set.

I hate to ruin the illusion but this is not water - it is a shiny epoxy paint effect that mimics water! No taps needed!


Where within and around the Tribal Council area were cameras positioned and compared to previous Tribal Council areas, was it easier accessible or more difficult to film?
Barring the featured tree and the background trees, the area we used was quite open.

So what you see with the "river" in the background is the full extent of the featured set and behind all the shots is lots of room to move and have the crew work. This is standard for most Tribal Council sets.

What broke or went wrong or didn't quite work or had to be constantly adjusted?
One of the design features is the "skull" in the back wall. This was rather theatrical on camera and kept pulling focus, which would have taken viewers' attention unnecessarily off the conversation,so this was toned down.

The skull face had a much less menacing cheek bone and teeth once the set artists were put back to work!

What was often a menace was the smoke from the tribe torched which often wreaked havoc by smoking up the shots. They had to be moved, depending on the wind.

Is their a favourite thing, section or element of the Tribal Council area for people who worked on the production?
I think most people's favourite part was the voting booth because it was so unique.

It always gave us a sense of thrill and completion, mainly also because the entire sequence on set happens in total silence - the crew can't hear the whispers of the castaways explaining in the booth who they're voting for.

How would you describe the theme of the Tribal Council area and what things were added and created and put in there physically to create this theme?
It's a Chinese pirate theme. What may be interesting to viewers is that the entire Tribal Council set is made of locally sourced wood.

The "stone effect" is all art department working their magic. Even the canons are not real!

The decorators sourced all props locally in Kuala Lumpur, Lalacca and Singapore so did a little treasure hunt of their own in the local markets.

This brought back statues, boxes, figurines, pots, plates and all kinds of artifacts that services the Chinese pirate theme.


Survivor South Africa: Champions is on M-Net on Sundays at 17:30

EXIT INTERVIEW. Survivor SA Champions' Killarney Jones: Zan, Shane and Mark Fish 'in a circle of most evil'.

On Sunday evening Killarney Jones (45), a martial artist, became the first tribe member of Utara to be voted out of Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net as the third contestant in this season of the reality show to be let go.

TV with Thinus interviewed Killarney Jones who talked about why she's not a fan of Mark Fish, the stitches she secretly had in one of her fingers, what she thinks of Zan, whether she knew people were plotting behind her back, why she found climbing Kilimanjaro much tougher than Survivor SA and revealing many more surprising things.


What do you think of Zan?
Well, right now, and always,  from the time I changed my alliance with him, I don't think very highly of him. I have certain principles and values in life, Thinus, and when you form an alliance or you have loyalty to someone, its a loyalty that carries out all round, not just applying to one thing.

So if I'm loyal to you, I will be loyal to you in front of people, behind the scenes, that's who I am. I feel that if that's broken and you show a different face then ... I'm a black and white person. I for you, or again you. And right now I'm against Zan.


Do you think there was a most evil person?
There were a lot of evil people there because everybody's fighting for positions. I'd have to say Zan was definitely .... he would do anything to win, step on anyone head. So that's evil in my books. Shane probably following shortly behind.

Other than that ... Look, I'm not a fan of Mark Fish. Lets put it in simple English. He would be in that circle of most evil.


Okay, because I wanted to ask you, you said in the show that Mark Fish is more a liability than he's an inspiration. Why?
Because a person who is the captain of a team or a group of people lead by example. So if you want people to be motivated, show motivation.  If you want people to work hard around the camp, lead by example. And he was just the opposite of all that.

I felt that he was fairly lazy around the camp site, I felt he didn't understand and try and get to know the people in our team. You know Thinus I coach people and the only way you're going to get to know people is to sit down and get to know them. Sit down with them and watch them around the fire, see how they interact with each other.

If someone says to you I've won five championships of this sport, as a sports person you know what physical sports entails, what strengths these people have to have to make it in sports like that. You should know that. He didn't know that. He didn't take the time.

He was just hanging on for dear life and going with the flow whatever the case was. Completely disinterested in gathering us up and finding out who needs to do what. He wasn't.

If you look at the footage where I asked him and I said 'how about speaking to the people around camp. You're the leader here, see that everybody pulls their own because it's starting to cause a bit of negativity - there's lazy people. How about as a team leader just have something to say to everybody'.

What was interesting for me about you was that once we started watching Survivor South Africa: Champions, the ordinary viewer might not know unless they've read your bio that you're a strong sports woman, you are strong physically.
But what we saw you doing was sitting and being involved in trying to make a fire, being hands-on with actually setting up the camp, and really building the tent. Was that hard for you, or different to step back and do different things than just showing your strong? 
I'm a team player. I have in the past done camping and I've done training out of town in very rural circumstances. So I'm used to roughing it. But as you say I am a team player, I like pulling my own. I'm not a lazy person.

In fact I'm a hyper active person. I'm not someone who can sit by and watch people work hard and not help. Me doing that was not for anything other than just pulling my own and trying to use my strength to contribute positively towards the team.


I'd like to ask you who'd you like to see win?
Buhle. I'd like to see her win. Simply because I can relate to her. After seeing how the voting went, I really, really think she is 'what you see is what you get'.

And knowing a bit about her and being a strong women, I think its very, very important as a role model if you have children, of if you have people look up to you, that the youth in South Africa today look up to women who are pulling their own equally in society and I think she's one of those.

She's one of those who go out there, she's a go-getter, she's a strong person. I'd like her to go far in the game. I'd like to see her win.


I wanted to ask you, you were so good at making alliances, and getting people on your side and building loyalties. And then people started doing that towards the end behind your back. Did you realise, or did had an idea that people are suddenly forming an alliance behind you to vote you off?
I found that out in the eleventh hour. And that's why I worked doubly hard to form an alliance that would try and keep me in the game.

This is why you suddenly saw me becoming very active in forming alliances because Buhle told me that "your on the hit list". She said "your on a hit list".

Up until then I had no idea that I was on a hit list. And once Buhle told me that I was on a hit list, I thought that it was time to really step up the game here. That's when I stepped it up to strategise to make sure that I stay in the game.

Was there an emotional moment for you? You make me feel like one of those people who - unlike Zan - know when to keep things in even though you're very angry, or happy or emotional, and that you know when you can show how you really feel, or not not show it.
Did you ever feel as if you're going to lose your temper or go out of your mind but just contain it?
You know, when you're in the arena and you perhaps find out somebody's a dirty fighter - it happens often in the martial arts arena - people are out there to win, especially on the international level. It's all about honour. You learn early in the sport: be an honourable person. There's a time and place for everything.

To create a scene for the hell of it, its pointless. There's a time and place for everything. And it clouds your judgement, Thinus. If you are out there as a loose cannon, you can't think straight.

So in the past its served me well to know when to do certain things, when to become emotional and when to shield it.

And yes, your right, I have been shielding when I wanted to just pull my hair out! And if I had to pinpoint some of those times, it was mostly when decisions around challenges were made which Mark Fish was responsible for. For me those were the most challenging ones where I just wanted to confront him and say 'Listen Mark..."

But I thought to myself "You want to stay in this game, this man is going to go to the end of the game with you, and he's going to try and promote you". What you don't want to try and do is spoil a relationship before you had a chance to play the rest of the game.


What about the show surprised you the most?
Wow. What surprised me the most was ... I would have to say Stephen.

During the game, you're probably not aware if it - I had four stitches in one of my fingers due to an unjury I incurred during a challenge where the box carrying a puzzle fell on it. I had a very big open wound so I needed stitches.

During that time I was very disoriented because I've lost a lot of blood with that injury. Stephen stepped up and said "Wow, I've never seen such a brave person. Lets just sit one side". And he was really very supportive.

Seeing the footage of today's episode [4th episode] I was quite surprised. I thought "Wow, I did not expect Stephen to turn around and be so passionate about voting me off". I was quite surprised by that.


You've climbed Kilimanjaro. Was that or doing Survivor South Africa: Champions the harder thing to do?

I would have to say from a physical perspective Kilimanjaro was very, very difficult for me. I caught pneumonia on the second day.

So I climb for a week after than with pneumonia and I climbed down with pneumonia. So for me physically it took a toll on my body.

I got up with a fever, you sleep with a fever. You hallucinate because you have a lack of oxygen and now your body is trying to fight the pneumonia.

It was for me one of the biggest learning curves in my life. But I'll tell you what, Thinus, it prepared me for Survivor South Africa, as strange as it sounds.

I had to pull out all the stops when I was on Kili and I was sick. So when I got to Survivor I said how bad can this get? You tell me how bad can this get? You know when we reached the last base camp on Kilimanjaro I couldn't walk from my tent to the pit latrine which was 12 footsteps. I couldn't walk it, I couldn't breathe. I was completely out of my head with fever.

So I would say the one prepared me for the other physically. Emotionally Survivor rules hands down. In terms of mind games. When I got to Survivor - man, the mind games are just out of this world. You cannot fathom it until you're there.


What do you appreciate the most after having returned to civilization?
Hardship is not a big thing for me. I can rough it, I can camp for however long to get the results I want to get. But I think being around the people that you love, magnifies it when you're away from them and you're surrounded by strangers and have to make decisions 100% on your own.

I come from a very close-knit family and my partner's close with me as well. You can bounce ideas off them and to see something from someone else's perspective its always easier to make decisions, even though I'm a very strong-minded person.

And I like being around the people that I feel close to and I like to feel their support. So for me when I got out of Survivor and I got back home it just made me appreciate those people so much more.


Survivor South Africa: Champions is on Sundays on M-Net at 17:30

Zan Lang on Survivor South Africa: Champions gives the middle finger and shows what an egotistic sore loser he is.

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The egotistical Survivor South Africa: Champions contestant Zan Lang (24) will show just what a sore loser he is and how little respect he really has for others, when viewers will see the filthy contestant who struggles to control his impulses, temper and loathing of others, give the middle finger on South African television after an obstacle course challenge.

The past three episodes of Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net would have given viewers who've looked closely and observe all the signs and signals - just like Zan Lang will be doing this evening with his own "up yours" signal - a clear indication his how "secretly" vain, self-centred, egotistical, and apparently shallow Zan Lang really is.  

Take last week's second episode of Survivor South Africa: Champions for instance. 

When tribe members manage to catch a fish and bring home much-needed and appreciated food, the oh-so fake Zan Lang with his superiority complex looks down on them because they "dared" to catch a shark as well.

Zan Lang doesn't eat sharks because he's on a deserted island and Mr Delivery can deliver hamburgers. ("You don't kill the top predator in the ocean.") 

Did Zan Lang not know before he went on this little adventure that if you're away from civilization that you need to adapt to circumstances?

To mouth off and tell the other contestants, after their hard work and effort that "it's a waste of an animal" and to then blatantly turn his back non-verbally on them to show his disdain of them, exhibits a lack of emotional intelligence. (Is it also even necessary to mention that this show is premised on getting people to like you so you're not voted off?)

"No matter how much money you give me, I'm not going to play down my values just to impress my tribe. I'll let them know how I feel about the situation," says Zan Lang.

Uhm, what "values" is showing other people the rude middle finger, Zan? 

Disrespect and a lack of team spirit seem to be the values being exhibited in Survivor South Africa: Champions by Zan Lang.

Zan Lang says that he has values and won't eat a shark out of principle, but then when the shoe is on the other foot he takes the tribe flag to make a hammock for just himself to sleep and says: "everyone's allowed to use initiative and make their own hammock".

So. When other people do what needs to be done to in a situation, its not right. But when the situation is reversed, the egocentric person will always rationalise it all away to fit just one thing - themselves.

"People are getting so pissed off about the sentimental value of a flag; then they really came to the wrong place. And they are not survivalists."

People like Zan Lang are never wrong. In their minds, whatever they do, is right. And whatever others do, or are, will always always be wrong. 

Even saying something inane like "I will let them know how I feel about the situation" shows how much Kardashian Kool-Aid Zan Lang has drunk. 

Yes, irrespective of the social dynamics and context at play, I will be the egocentric person, I make sure I'm the centre of attention, and I will interject with my view and my my feelings and what I think - irrespective of how other people might think or feel, or whether it might hurt them. Sometimes even precisely because it will hurt them.

What Zan Lang has been showing non-verbally the past three episodes is how he might fake that he's also about team and inclusivity, but how his own individualism, and his own perception that he's better than anyone else, will trump anything and everything if it comes down to a choice. 

(Ironically it also made him the "perfect" contestant to include in a reality TV programme - a television genre which thrives on displaying people who exhibit characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder.)

His friends - if he has real ones - can start by giving him a copy of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends & Influence People. (Hint: it doesn't have a chapter or advise showing people the middle finger.)

Listen to the arrogant, self-importance when Zan Lang unflinchingly tells his Utara tribe mates, people he is supposed to be in a team with: "I'll feed myself whatever I want to eat, and then if you guys don't want to eat it, you guys are more than welcome to go hungry. I really don't mind. Okay."

Check the fake pleasantry marker, the unsympathetic attitude, the preoccupation with just his own well-being, his own success, his own achievements, his negative reinforcement and negative influence on team spirit and blatant threat as he is interpersonally exploitative.

Zan Lang is one of those people who says "let's do it" but then shakes his head from side to side at the same time to show that non-verbally he doesn't mean what he's saying at all.

Remember the first episode of Survivor South Africa: Champions? It was the insightful Shane Hattingh who said of Zan Lang: "His temper is going to get the better of him".

Viewers will see that temper and how he externalises the inner disgust he has of others in this evening's fourth episode.

Zan Lang will still have to grown and learn that other people have value and deserve respect too. Not because of who they are or what they can do, but because they exist.

EXIT INTERVIEW. Survivor SA Champions' Marsha Wessels: 'I will tell you straight up, I definitely didn't say 'Good luck, EVERYBODY.'

On Sunday evening Marsha Wessels (44) who's been with the South African National Defence Force for 22 years was voted out of Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net as the second contestant to be let go.

TV with Thinus caught up with her, as Marsha Wessels reveals only to me what she really said and to whom when she turned back around after her torch got snuffed, what the reaction has been since she's back home, what she really thinks of Zavion Kotze who lied to her, and what she appreciates most since she's back in South Africa.


Why did you say in the episode that you know you're "at the bottom of the food chain at the moment"?
I felt that I was strong and that suddenly I was in a much weaker position after Ashleigh was voted out because out alliance was weaker. I knew the rest were not going to aim directly for the other two out of the three who were in an alliance of our own in the first place.

After your torch got snuffed, you turned back and said "Good luck jhgjhgkjh", but I couldn't make out whether you said "Zavion" or said "Everybody".
No, I will tell you straight up I definitely didn't say "Good luck, everybody" when I turned back. Its for Zavion Kotze and for Corne Krige because I really believed that we have a strong bond. So I was definitely speaking to them.

And what do you think of Zavion Kotze? At the end he lied to you and said your name didn't come up, knowing full well everyone will be voting for you.
I think he ... we had a bond. I believed we had a bond. And I still believe that. He just had to put his game plan hat on and had to think about himself and moving forward in the game.

Who do you hold responsible for being voted out?
Do I really have to answer that? Definitely Graham's great game. The episode clearly showed that he made up a story but its okay.

What was everybody's reaction since they've seen you on the show and your back home with your family?
My family and friends and the entire South African army are ecstatic. I definitely flew the flag high and they're all very, very proud of me and what I've managed to do while I was on the island.

What was the most difficult thing for you?
The difficult part for me was to constantly think of how am I going to play the game. There's constantly stories, and chatting, and rumours. Its very, very difficult for me. I couldn't lie. And maybe ... I should have put another hat on.

So looking back now, what would you have done differently?
I would definitely, definitely have been strong. I wouldn't have hidden how strong I am and can be. I'm very, very competitive. I was probably a bit ignorant and naive in a sense in that I was so happy and glad that there was a captain. Corne Krige. I hid away a bit under that.

In the army you have a leader and you follow the orders of the leader. I didn't need to step up to be the leader. I could be a bit more under the radar. What would I have done differently? I would have been more observant. I think it blinded me a bit.

Which tribe member of members did you like? Or do you still like?
I definitely liked Zavion. We had a connection. I liked Ashleigh a lot. We shared the same stories about our kids. And definitely Moira. We also had a connection. Those are the three with whom I could definitely connect on the island.

What around the show and the experience surprised you the most?
I think ... I'm a big Survivor fan and I've watched every single episode on television. I think its amazing that I was able to be there. That I could have done it in my own shoes. And that M-Net made that dream possible for me. The crew was amazing. It was such an experience.

Okay, so its not going to be you, but who would you like to see win?
There's definitely two people who are playing the game. If Graham continues to make up stories and play that kind of thing he might come out tops. And the other one is Shane in Utara. They have the same type of a game plan, so any one of the two of them could come out tops.

What do you appreciate more back in civilisation?
Oh wow. I appreciate the smell and the taste of coffee. The smell of my kids and my husband around me. I appreciate them so much more around me.

We go away a lot as army people in the National Defence Force. But every time you return home after any experience in life, you just have renewed appreciation of your family around you and what they mean in your life.

'Shouldn't we be going towards a hole?' Zavion Kotze realises that silence is golden on Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net.

Watching Real Desperate Housewives of Miami in Atlanta, if you think about it, you'll realize that there's one thing which is the cause of all the trouble: the mouth - people who cannot help but mouth off, constantly, saying what they're really thinking.

The funniest moment in the second episode of Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net on Sundays at 17:30 for me is this one: contestant Zavion Kotze who is captured by the camera wanting to say something - but just sitting there with his mouth agape.

The funny thing is ... Zavion Kotze didn't need to say anything. The viewer knows and gets exactly what he wanted to say and express - but clearly decided to hold back. How so very not Real Desperate Housewives of Beverly Hills like!

The hilarious moment (and I rewound and rewound and rewound it multiple times to laugh at it again and again on my PVR) started on the Selatan tribe when Zavion Kotze, Corne Krige and Philip Dickson tried to start a fire.

Zavion Kotze starts rubbing the stick on a piece of plank, Corne Krige blows, and Philip Dickson holds wood fibres in an attempt to start a fire. But its not working.

"Shouldn't we be going towards a hole?" enquires an exasperated Zavion Kotze, the tone of his voice equal parts comment and question.

"It doesn't matter because its all open/over," says Philip Dickson. That's when Zavion Kotze makes the classic face of a person who wants to say something - but somehow succumbs to the gentler gods. Oh the humanity!

Philip Dickson of course doesn't see Zavion Kotze's facial expressions - although the viewer does: the eye-roll with eyes cast to the side and then downwards, and the literally jaw-dropping face - a clear non-verbal indication of exactly what Zavion Kotze is really thinking of Philip Dickson and the absolutely ridiculous situation!

Survivor South Africa Champions: Zavion and Corné - And a brand-new bromance blossoming on TV (which always starts with a shoulder slap).

There's a brand-new bromance blossoming on South African television, and its playing out - thanks to the content directors and a reciprocating shoulder slap - between Corné Krige and Zavion Kotze on Survivor South Africa: Champions on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sundays at 17:30.

Viewers tuning in to the new fifth season of the local version of the international reality show would have seen the insta bromance which is developing between the former Springbok rugby captain and the former rugby player wedding planner.

And the other Survivor South Africa: Champions contestants have picked up on the Joey-Chandler camaraderie it too.

"I just want to get picked by Corné. That's all. If I'm on Mark's team I will be quite upset. Corné please pick me, pick me, pick me," narrated Zavion Krige to camera in the first episode.

And indeed Zavion Kotze ended up being picked second by Corné Krige ("The guy at the back with the blonde hair and the straw hat and blue shirt.") during the first episode last week. Zavion responded with a "Yes! I'm on Corne's team. Yes!")

"Zavion. I won't forget your name because you cleaned them up," said Corné Krige later when the Selatan tribe properly introduced themselves.

"We've got a connection in terms of rugby. I used to play rugby with the Sharks Academy for two years after school. And we've got that to connect on, and I'm hoping that its going to carry through getting to know him better, so he can root for me to won," said Zavion."

Oh, and how to viewers' delight is that little bromance not blossoming on that island in the South China Seas.

Not just sitting together at the Selatan camp, Cor and "Big Zav" were also sitting together and right next to each other at tribal council (yes, it could be that they were set up that way by the content directors), but from their non-verbal body language you can clearly see who the leaders in this season is at the moment.

Where you sit, how you sit and who you sit with - given a choice - is one of the most obvious non-verbal cues of who we like and who we don't like. People try to sit close to (and stand and interact with) the people who they have an affinity for.

"Zavion and Corne are very tight. They're like a bromance," remarked Shona during Sunday evening's second episode.

People look but they often don't really see. Observe closely, and you will see how friends blatant mimic each other's non-verbal body language and facial expressions for instance, without even being aware of it.

You can quickly work out who's friends with whom, even if you've just arrives at an event or enter a group and don't know anybody, by looking at what people are a mirror of each other's faces.

Do you still have Sunday's episode of Survivor South Africa: Champions on your PVR or DStv Catch-Up or On Demand?

Go back to the first tribal council and look at Zavion's face and Corne's facial expressions.

They constantly make the exact same facial expressions, given the same verbal cues, even when they're not looking at each other - for instance leaning forward, gazing down, even when they're not looking at each other (go see if you can spot it).

Fascinating huh, when you know what to specifically look for.

One swallow does not make a summer, but once you notice a repeat pattern you can trust it.

So you'll quickly see, and would be able to gauge the level of the friendship between Zavion and Corne. It's clear they are much better friends with an instantly high level of trust from the outset than any of the other remaining contestants on either tribes.

They sit the same, they shoulder slap the same (doesn't it always start with a shoulder slap?) and the adorable burly duo even make and echo back the same little laugh in the clip above if you study it closely for your sociological perusal.

Yes. Now do you see how the one gorilla is signalling to the other gorilla that they're running the show together?

And speaking of sociology, lets get to Survivor South Africa: Champions' first tribal council. The whole of Selatan - including Corné Krige - were answering dishonestly. Lying, lying, lying.

Look at how someone would shake their head from side to side in the negative while trying to give a positive to an answer.

Look at how they "uhm" in the middle of a sentence just before blurting out something they have to make up (a lie or half-truth or justification); the eye-blinking while talking (I want to hide with my eyes because what I say with my mouth is fake), the quick downward gazes (admitting defeat or your body non-verbally admitting you're "caught in a lie"), the shoulder shrugs.

It's all too much, yet fascinating television. With Zavion Kotze and Corné Krige as the first very strong relationship in Survivor South Africa: Champions, it will be interesting to see what other strong relationships take shape on that island.


(PS: A long time ago before I had a Samsung Galaxy, far, far away, when Survivor SA first came to South Africa, this journalist was one of the journalists who played a real-life version of the game in Media Survivor, and actually managed to win. And yes. I study micro-expressions since having watched Lie to Me.)

EXIT INTERVIEW. Survivor SA Champions' Ashleigh Bryant voted out first: 'It was a shock. Yes I was blindsided.'

On Sunday evening Ashleigh Bryant (23) from Cape Town became the first evicted contestant from the new season on M-Net, when her torch got snuffed after a dramatic turn of events of double-cross, blindsided, didn't-see-that-coming alliance switching.

I caught up with Ashleigh Bryant on Sunday to ask her more about her experience on the island, the show, and how she feels after what happened.

Read what Ashley Bryant told me about missing toilet paper, who she would like to see win and what she thinks about the show.

How does it feel to be the first person voted out of Survivor South Africa Champions?
Not so great. I think it's always one of the hardest things to go out being the first. It was quite a shock. You just got to take it in your stride.

Do you feel you were blindsided?
I think I was. Yes. I was blindsided because I don't see myself as being the weakest. I think I have a lot to offer in terms of physical strength, mental strength. I was under the impression that regardless of which alliances were where, that we were going to follow Corne's lead. So yes. It was a shock.

Have you been back to Cape Town and what did people make of you?
I actually graduated. I graduated before I went on the show, and I'm currently looking for a job. So I haven't been thrust into the public that much. From the people I know and the people in my life - they're all very positive and supportive and they loved it. I'm feeling like its my 15 minutes of fame here.

What about the show surprised you the most?
How hard it would be and how suspicious you become. You quickly become suspicious of people.

And why did you decided to enter the show?
I love the show. I'm a die-hard fan and have been for many years.

What was for you the most difficult thing, one the actual show began and you arrived on the island?
Probably food. I'm a big eater. So that was quite a huge thing to get my head around.

I see you said you studied film, or studying film was part of your tertiary studies. What do you make of the way in which Survivor South Africa Champions looks and the way in which it has been filmed?
It's blowing my mind. I think its beautiful. Production did a great job. It was very professional and everything is top class.

Since you're not going to win I think, who would you like to win?
Well, taking my personal feelings out of it, I think the person who has the most entertainment value for me, I think Zavion should take it. He's breaking stereotypes. He's doing a great job. Knowing him on the island, he's huge, he's a sweetheart. And although there were moments when I didn't really trust him, I know that he's a good person and I think that he deserves it.

What do you appreciate more after having done the show?
The toilet and my toilet paper.

Ha ha.
A luxury that you really do take for granted. I mean, there's been times that I've forgotten to buy toilet paper and its been a huge crisis and the end of the world. But I will never forget again.

And my last question Ashleigh, is, what did you learn from Survivor South Africa Champions as an experience?
Uhm. What have I learned? To look at the bigger picture. Not to get too invested in the little things which are happening right there. Just to take a step back and to be calm about the things you're doing.

Thanks so much for the time.

How Survivor South Africa Champions on M-Net really chose its contestants: 'Individuals who proved a drive to win, no matter what it takes'.

Survivor South Africa: Champions, starting today on M-Net (DStv 101) at 17:30, and filmed on an island in the South China Sea, brings a completely new real-life, sociological case study in group dynamics to South African television.

In this season the two tribes are each led by South African sport stars, Corne Krige and Mark Fish, who can't be voted off, which results in a major change to the group and leadership dynamics at work over the course of the 27 island days.

But how were the chosen 20 contestants for this fifth season selected by production company Endemol South Africa and M-Net programming executives?

"Contestants have to understand that Survivor South Africa is both a mental and physical game and have to illustrate their strategic abilities," TV with Thinus is told.

For Survivor South Africa: Champions, 60 potential contestants culled from the national audition process underwent "intense physical and psychological testing".

M-Net invited South African citizens older than 18 to attend auditions for Survivor South Africa: Champions in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban where more than 5 000 people showed up with the usual "camping out" at the audition venues to be as close to the front of the queues and several dressed in outrageous attire trying to make that important first impression.

It was here where wannabe Survivors had only 30 seconds to convince members of the selection committee that they should be chosen to go to the island - unknown to them located in the South China Sea - a long, long way from home.

"The ones with the best first-round pitches then appeared in front of the committee again, as they grilled potential candidates with more questions and then whittled down the numbers for more intensive audition sessions," I'm told.

"In the end, there was a shortlist of 60 contenders who went for intense physical and psychological testing before the final 20 Survivors were selected."

So why the change from the usual paper entries to physical auditions? It's much easier to gauge whether someone has the making of a Survivor in person than on paper says the production.

As in the previous four seasons, the selection committee, a panel of M-Net programming executives and the directors and producers of the series, was looking for "contestants who would surprise the audience as well as their tribe mates - multi-faceted individuals who can prove that they have the drive to win, no matter what it takes".

"The panel was also on the lookout for candidates who were very familiar with the Survivor franchise - both locally and internationally."

Survivor South Africa: Champions was filmed in October 2013, but the identity of the contestants only revealed last week by the pay-TV broadcaster.

The chosen contestants who made the final shortlist were only allowed to tell their close family members and employers that they are on the show, and everyone - the contestants as well as those they told - sign strict confidentiality agreements.

"Having two predetermined tribe captains - a worldwide first for Survivor - brings out different social dynamics to previous seasons," says the production.

"The Survivors don't scramble to become a tribe leader. Instead they try to win their captain's favour. Outside of the spotlight they have more space to connive and form or jump alliances. This makes this season totally unpredictable. It's a completely new case study in Survivor group dynamics."