Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets

Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets is the seventh season of Survivor South Africa.
This season saw the introduction of the eponymous , a variant of that bestowed game-changing powers to its visitors. The season generally proceeded in a straightforward manner, with one player, Rob Bentele, controlling the entire post-merge game with little effective resistance. Despite this, the cast of fiery personalities provided the kindling for much tension, with many of the in-game conflicts centered around the brash temperament of Danté De Villiers, the ostracism of Jacques Burger at the final eight, and the criticism directed at the majority alliance's sanctimonious gameplay. In the end, Rob defeated his allies Nicole Capper and Durão Mariano in a 6-4-0 jury vote to become the seventh Sole Survivor.
To date, Island of Secrets has produced five returning players (Danté De Villiers, Felix Godlo, Meryl Szolkeiwicz, Steffi Brink, and Tania Copeland) for a future season.
==Production==
==Twists/Changes==
*Three Tribes: For the first time in Survivor South Africa, the game started with three tribes, each with seven members.
*: Each week, selected castaways will be banished to the Island of Secrets, where game advantages may or may not be available.
** Hidden Immunity Idol: Clues to the location of Hidden Immunity Idols at camp and at Tribal Council were given to visitors to the Island of Secrets. 
***Two-Part Hidden Immunity Idol
***Time-Limited Hidden Immunity Idol
**Reward Steal: This advantage allows its holder to steal one reward from another castaway after any Reward Challenge.
** Vote Nullifier: This advantage allows its holder to block one castaway from voting at Tribal Council, and could be used up until there were four castaways left.
*Extra Vote: An Extra Vote advantage was up for grabs at the first Reward Challenge. It was only valid at the first Tribal Council after the merge.
*Hidden Immunity Idol: Hidden Immunity Idols were hidden around the tribe camps and castaways were either given or had to find clues to help locate them.
*Tribe Switch: On Day 8, a tribe switch occurred, dividing the 18 remaining players into three tribes of six.
*Tribe Dissolve: On Day 15, the Laumei tribe was dissolved, and the 15 remaining players were divided into two tribes of seven with the remaining player to being sent the Island of Secrets.
* Early Merge: For the first time, the individual phase of the game will commence with thirteen players left in the game.
* Final Three and Expanded Jury: This season featured a Final Tribal Council with three remaining finalists facing a ten-person jury.
*Reformatted Final Tribal Council: Final Tribal Council commenced with the jurors delivering individual speeches to the finalists, following which an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists. However, the open forum was not shown in the episode.https://robhasawebsite.com/survivor-south-africa-island-of-secrets-jacques-burger-deep-dive/ (2:48:00)
==Castaways==
Contestant	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation 	Tribe Affiliation 	Tribe Affiliation	Finish	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	FirstSwitched Tribe	SecondSwitched Tribe	Merged Tribe 	Finish	VotesAgainst
 	Lee-Anne van Renen33, Durbanville, WCMrs. Cape Town 2018 	 	 	 	 	 	5
 	Paul Smulders54, Ruimsig, GPReal Estate Agent 	 	 	 	 	 	4
 	Ting Ting Wong25, Durban, KZNDoctor 	 	 	 	 	 	4
 	Rose-Lee Smith33, Paulshof, GPCrime Scene Analyst 	 	 	 	 	 	3
 	Felix Godlo29, Garstfontein, GPSales Consultant 	 	 	 	 	 	4
 	Tania Copeland51, Somerset West, WCImmigration Consultant 	 	 	 	 	 	5
 	Rocco van Rooyen26, Stellenberg, WCProfessional Athlete 	 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Nathan Castle25, Milnerton, WCMedia Producer 	 	 	 	 	 	5
 	Meryl Szolkeiwicz31, Irene, GPPilates Instructor 	 	 	 	rowspan="13" 	 	8
 	Geoffrey Cooke-Tonnesen33, Colenso, KZNHome Loans Consultant	 	 	 	 	17 	
 	Seipei Mashugane40, Soweto, GPBiker Queen 	 	 	 	 	9 	
 	Danté De Villiers31, Dwarskersbos, WCCoffee Shop Owner 	 	 	 	 	7 	
 	Cobus Hugo27, Greenpoint, WCArchitect 	 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Mmaba Molefe28, Plumstead, WCInvestment Analyst 	 	 	 	 	7 	
 	Jacques Burger27, Queenswood, GPIndustrial Engineer 	 	 	 	 	12 	
 	Mike Venter21, Parkrand, GPRadio Presenter 	 	 	 	 	4 	
 	Steffi Brink27, Glen Austin, GPFitness Model 	 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Laetitia Le Roux58, Randburg, GPNurse 	 	 	 	 	4 	
 	Durão Mariano28, Newlands East, KZNHotel Guest Liaison 	 	 	 	SecondRunner-Up 	4 	
 	Nicole Capper34, Fourways, GPEx-Mrs. South Africa 	 	 	 	Runner-Up 	3 	
 	Rob Bentele28, Richards Bay, KZNEvents Videographer 	 	 	 	Sole Survivor 	3 	
==Season Summary==
This season began with three tribes of seven: Laumei, Sa'ula and Ta'alo. Sa'ula lost the first two Immunity Challenges with the five remaining members forming a tight bond through their struggles. At Laumei, a trio formed between Geoffrey Cooke-Tonnesen, Mike Venter and Mmaba Molefe to vote out Rocco van Rooyen, although the tribe's immunity streak prevented them from doing so. At Ta'alo, Tania Copeland found herself as the tribe outcast, but a twist in which she was sent to the Island of Secrets and chose to stay there on the night of the tribe's first Tribal Council resulted in Ting Ting Wong being eliminated instead.
At the Tribe Switch, Tania was given the power to choose her new tribe, where she joined the new Laumei. The new Laumei proceeded to go on a losing streak, reducing their numbers to three and triggering a second swap in which the tribe was dissolved. At the new Ta'alo, Mike joined forces with Rob Bentele to vote out Rocco at the first opportunity. At the new Sa'ula, a rift formed between Geoffrey and Danté De Villiers, with Nicole Capper blindsiding her close ally Nathan Castle. The day before the merge, the seven members of the Ta'alo tribe forged the "Spitshaker Seven" alliance.
The tribes merged at 13 with 5 original Laumei members, 4 original Sa'ula members and 4 original Ta'alo members. The Spitshaker Seven voted out Meryl Szolkeiwicz and Geoffrey for being threats before Rob, Nicole and Steffi Brink decided to turn on their alliance and orchestrate the blindside of Seipei Mashugane. Danté tried to rally the bottom members of the alliance to take down Rob but was ultimately ignored due to his aggression and being perceived as a physical threat. A major fight broke out at camp between Jacques Burger and Rob's core alliance, which resulted in the former being ostracized by his tribemates. Mike made his own plans to take down Rob's core alliance, which was foiled due to Durão Mariano choosing to stay loyal to Rob. Rob and Nicole proceeded to eliminate any member of the tribe who showed any display of disloyalty to them, leaving them and Durão as the Final Three.
At Final Tribal Council, the final three received heavy criticism from the jury; Durão for being perceived as a confused coattail rider, and Rob and Nicole for their betrayals and perceived sanctimonious attitude. Despite the hostility from the jury, Rob and Nicole received votes with Durão receiving none, and ultimately, Rob was rewarded for his control of the game, winning the title of Sole Survivor in a close 6-4-0 vote.
==Voting History==
==Trivia==
* Island of Secrets is the second season of Survivor South Africa to feature an odd number of castaways, after .
**As a result, Island of Secrets is the third season of Survivor South Africa to have an uneven gender divide, after and Maldives. This season featured 10 women compared to 11 men.
* With Rob's victory, the male winners of Survivor South Africa outnumber the female winners for the first time.
* Members of this season's production crew were also given their own customized Buffs.
* With 21 contestants, Island of Secrets features the most number of castaways in Survivor South Africa.
==References==
Category:Survivor South Africa
07
Category:Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets