βNever-say-dieβ Nicole burst βChallenge Beastβ Chappiesβ bubble in the final Individual Immunity Challenge and then βsmashedβ tied destinies partner Anela in the jury vote, to pick up the title of βSole Survivorβ and the R1 million cash prize in tonightβs (16 September) two-hourΒ Survivor South Africa: Immunity IslandΒ Finale.
Once the final two castaways had fielded the juryβs questions and made their final pleas, all but one of the nine Jury membersΒ - Shaun - decided that Nicole had played the better game than Anela.
With Chappies already holding aΒ Survivor South AfricaΒ record after winning seven consecutive individual challenges, the odds were against Nicole and Anela in the surprise final Individual Immunity Challenge. The gruelling endurance challenge lasted over two hours, with Anela falling first before Chappies blacked out and toppled from the precarious balance stakes to hand Nicole Individual Immunity and a seat in the Final Two. Effectively, the choice of who she would sit next to rested with her, as she would cast the only vote at the penultimate Tribal Council.
At camp, Chappies did his best to charm her withβ inside infoβ gleaned from his breakfast with jury member Anesu, while Anela took a soft-touch approach and told her heβd be at peace with whatever decision she arrived at.
At Tribal Council, both Chappies and Anela did their best to tug at her heartstrings with emotional appeals, but her mind was made up over who she thought she had a better chance of defeating before the jury β and she duly wrote Chappiesβ name down, making him the ninth and final member of the jury.
At the final Tribal Council, Anela opened the conversation by explaining how heβd used his sports coaching experience to set up his philosophy for the game, focussing on being the best at βgetting the little things rightβ and playing on pillars of βfreedom of expressionβ, βsimplicityβ and βflexibilityβ. Nicole explained how sheβd never erred from her intention of playing the game with integrity, reliability, honesty and trust and how her decision to fight Chappies for Individual Immunity earlier in the game, while everyone else opted for a spaghetti bolognese feast, showed her determination.
Each of the Jury members took a different tack when speaking to the Final Two: Renier asked them both to explain why they deserved the title more than the other; Anesu questioned Anela about whether heβd genuinely stayed true to his intentions and Amy asked both whether theyβd intentionally pretended to be anything other than their true selves. Shaun made the simple statement that his vote lay with Anela; Kiran asked them to detail moves theyβd considered, but never made; Marisha revealed that she was listening intently because she couldnβt decide which to vote for; Tyson said his decision was made and couldnβt be changed and Chappies questioned Anela about how heβd embraced his vulnerability during the game.Β
In the end, Nicoleβs blend of sheer tenacity and integrity was enough to sway the jury in her favour, trouncing Anela in the final vote.Β
Along with a spot in theΒ SurvivorΒ history books, Chappies was also selected as theΒ Survivor South AfricaΒ Mahindra Fan Favourite, picking up a Mahindra KUV100 #Dare ahead of Renier, Santoni and Kiran.Β
Survivor South Africa: Immunity IslandΒ is produced by Afrokaans, in partnership with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC). Visit theΒ M-Net WebsiteΒ for exclusive show content and join the conversation onΒ Twitter,Β InstagramΒ andΒ Facebook, using #SurvivorSAΒ and #MNet101.Β