Fervent radio presenter Mike Venter (21) from the East Rand, became the sixteenth person to be voted off M-Net’s Survivor SA: Island of Secrets. Mike’s journey on Survivor SA came to a shocking end after Rob spilled the beans at Tribal Council that his name was the target for the evening. Rob’s news to vote him out came as a rude awakening to Mike, who walked into Tribal Council feeling safe in the arrangement that Steffi’s torch would be snuffed.
The eager-for-bold-moves-beaver’s attempt at taking out Rob seemed to be the deciding factor for the Tribe to blindside him, which was revealed when Rob admitted that he was hurt by Mike wanting to take him down, “This Tribal Council I decided we talk now because I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to talk to Mike again so I was hoping he could tell me why he did that because I had not made a move on him and even thought of making a move on him when he decided to come for me,” and that’s when it hit home and Tribal Council was turned on its head. It became evident to Mike that he was going home and that puppet master Rob was working towards a Sa’ula top-three finish. This turned the target not only on Mike but on Durāo too who is not an original Sa’ula member, though the revelation took a while to hit home for him as everything unfolded.
Amongst all the pennies dropping at Tribal Council, Rob also had to manage the repercussions of not choosing Nicole to join him for the Reward back at camp. Upon arriving at Tribal Council, Nicole refused to make eye contact with Rob and questioned him about his decisions – she also revealed to Nico that Rob’s decision to send her to the Island of Secrets made her stronger and her decisions more refined. Although Nicole continued with her bold statements aimed at Rob, she made it clear that her loyalty remained with him when prompted on the recent events at the Island of Secrets.
Earlier that day, the remaining six castaways arrived at their next combined Immunity and Reward challenge where Nico for the news that their loved ones would be joining them. The Survivors were immediately overcome with joy, but it was short-lived. Rob and his mom, Josie, quickly made way in the challenge and won, awarding Rob the Immunity necklace and the opportunity to choose two Tribemates to join him for Reward. Based on his promise to Laetitia and Steffi’s lack of nutrition, he chose them to join him back at camp for an authentic South African braai with their loved ones. This left distraught Nicole, Durāo and Mike bidding farewell to their loved ones and departing to the Island of Secrets, with nothing.
The question is – with the game flipped on its head – will Rob still achieve his dream Sa’ula finish, or will the King be knocked off his throne?
Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets is screened on M-Net every Thursday at 19:00. It will also be available on DStv CatchUp. Fans can visit www.mnet.tv/survivorsa and follow all the breaking news and conversations around the show on Twitter @Survivor_SA / #SurvivorSA and on the official Survivor Facebook page.