Survivor: South Africa

***Survivor: South Africa*** is the fifth season of the reality show *Survivor: The Sims*. This season was filmed in Kruger National Park in the Limpopo province of South Africa. *Survivor: South Africa* premiered on July 3, 2021, and ended on July 4, 2021.

At the beginning of the game, 18 castaways were split into two tribes of nine, each named after animals commonly found in South Africa. In the Limpopo state, the most common language is Pedi, or Northern Sotho. The two tribes were named Tshephe, which translates to the national animal of South Africa: the springbok, and Kubu, which translates to hippopotamus. On Day 21 when the tribes merged, the new merged tribe named themselves Naledi, meaning star.

Tatyana Kuzmina became the Sole Survivor in a 5-2 jury vote, beating Angelina Grimaldi and winning the $1,000,000 prize. *South Africa* marks the second time that the finalists who made it to Final Tribal Council were all-female.

To date, *South Africa* has produced three returning players across one season (Angelina Grimaldi, Natasha Brown, and Yau Ayuba).

## Production

For the fifth season of *Survivor: The Sims*, producers wanted to film in Africa to showcase a different feel for *Survivor* and not use a beachy location like the past four seasons. However, unlike the past four seasons, contestants were exposed to dangerous wildlife, and they lived in enclosures to ensure their safety from the wildlife.

For the first time, applications opened to Canadian citizens. For the casting of *Survivor: South Africa*, both U.S. and Canadian citizens were urged to apply for the show.

## Twists/Changes

* **"Back to Basics:"** For the first time since *Survivor: Samoa*, there were no Hidden Immunity Idols or Secret Advantages. Players were challenged to play a smart game without relying on any advantages.
* **No Tribal Swap:** For the first time in the game, the tribes remained exactly the same up until the merge. There would be no tribe switches, expansions, or absorptions.
* **Merge at 10:** The tribes merged into the Naledi tribe with ten remaining players.
* **7 Person Jury & Final Two:** Similarly to *Samoa* and *Thailand*, the final two castaways faced a seven-person jury at the Final Tribal Council.

## Castaways

### **Future appearances**

Angelina Grimaldi, Natasha Brown and Yau Ayuba returned to compete on *Survivor: All-Stars*.

## Trivia

* Tatyana Kuzmina is the first, and so far only, Sole Survivor to have 0 votes cast against them during their season.
* This is the first season with a red merged tribe.
	+ This, however, is not the first season to introduce a red tribe after the starting tribes. In *Panama*, the Yeguada Tribe was introduced after the expansion on Day 7.
* This is the second season to feature a 5-2 jury vote, the first was *Samoa*.
* *South Africa* is the first season to be filmed in Africa.
* *South Africa* is the second season with an all-female Final Two/Three (i.e. the finalists who made it to Final Tribal Council), after *Panama*.
* *South Africa* is the first season to accept Canadian applicants, as well as feature a contestant living in Canada at the time of filming (Marc Mendoza).
* The colors of the tribes each represent a color of the South African flag. This was a deliberate decision, to have each tribe be a color of the flag.
* This is the first season to feature a separate reunion episode.
* This is the first season without any tribe swap, expansion, or absorption. The tribes were left unchanged up until the merge for the very first time in the game.