In this week’s episode of Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island, (15 July, 19:30 on M-Net) the castaways are manoeuvring for merge – even if they’re not 100% certain when it will arrive. In an emotional rollercoaster of an episode, some castaways fight demons that haunted them at previous challenges, while others receive heart-rending messages from home.

Reasons why you don’t want to miss Episode 7:

• A Castaway resorts to hand-washing individual grains of spilt rice in a bid to right an accident that could have catastrophic consequences.
• An Immunity Island visit delivers a series of surprises that could have major repercussions on the game – if they’re played at the right time. 
• One castaway begs previous tribemates for salvation at a challenge – will they extend an olive branch?
• A number of secret advantages and handicaps are still in play: Anela has a ‘No Vote’ for his next Tribal Council; Tyson has a second Immunity Idol; Anesu is still in possession of her ‘Tribal Pass’ that allows her to send herself or someone else to camp before the votes are cast, and Chappies can jump ship from tribe Vuna to Zamba, if Vuna wins the Tribal Immunity Challenge. Some of these advantages have expiry dates - and it’s up to the castaways to make the most of them, before time runs out.

Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island is produced by Afrokaans, in partnership with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), and hosted by Nico Panagio. Catch each exciting episode on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) on Thursdays at 19:30. Visit the M-Net Website for exclusive show content and join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using #SurvivorSA and #MNet.