When the truck was about to pull out, the driver said, "Have a nice day! Bye bye!" and it pulled away. The contestants cheered and jumped up and down, shouting greetings and sharing hugs. They then separated into their two tribes and given instructions with their crates. They had 5 minutes to get as much as they could from their crate and carry as much as they possibly could to their respective camps.... five miles away. The two tribes were called Boran and Samburu.
Boran Tribe, which would always wear gold, consisted of Ethan Zohn, Lex Van Den Burghe, Kim Johnston, Tom Buchanan, Kelly Goldsmith, Diane Ogden, Clarence Black and Jessie Comacho.
Once at their respective camps, more hugs and cheers were shared. The home they would occupy for the next 40 days was partially set up. Each tribe found themselves within a circle of thorn bushes which was necessary to keep wild animals out, but the circle needed repair. A note at the camp gave them a map to the water hole and instructions to keep two people awake at night to be on guard against animals that hunt at night. The first hike to the water hole was disappointing, to say the least. The water was murky, muddy and surrounded by animal dung. Boiling was definitely in order... but neither tribe had fire.
At Boran, the tribe was dehydrated. Jessie was throwing up and feeling worse by the second. The quest for fire continued. While looking through the first aid kit, Lindsey discovered a little telescope. She took it apart and found the magnifying glass, gave it to Silas and he held it over the dry grass. Soon, they had fire and were able to boil their water. There was much rejoicing.
Tree mail brought the first Immunity challenge. The goal was to light three fire towers along a course while hauling a cart with them. The teams worked very hard and at the end, Diane collapsed from the heat and dehydration. Samburu won the challenge. Back at the camp, the water trip was needed again so Clarence said he'd stay and watch Diane, who clearly could not go any distance. Clarence opened a can of beans and the two shared them, causing a huge rift of mistrust in the tribe. When Boran went to Tribal Council, Diane was voted out of Africa, sparing Clarence probably because of his strength.
The first Reward challenge came up. The teams had to build a sort of stairway to the top of a tower and get one member to stand on the top. The reward was blankets, food and everything that was left behind on day one. Samburu won the challenge just ahead of Boran, which was due to the fact that Kim Johnston tripped and fell, causing the rest of the tribe to have to wait for her. Back at camp, she took full responsibility for their loss and apologized profusely. The tribe were very understanding and told her it was okay, but she worried about her vulnerability. Jessie, in the meantime, was getting sicker. She was terribly dehydrated but could not drink the water due to the taste.
At Samburu, the rift grew deeper. Silas was playing both sides, vowing that he was going to win Survivor. On a water run, Carl, Tom and Frank took Silas with them and spoke to him about getting on their side and voting off the weaker players (the youngsters) who were not working or doing anything. Silas gave them his word that he would vote with the older people. But Lindsey overheard Silas talking to Frank and she confronted him about the apparent agreement. Silas confirmed that he was definitely with the "youngsters" and not to worry. At Boran, alliances were being born between Ethan, Tom and Lex. Kim J speculated that the men were angling to vote off the women and that they had to be wary of voting alliances.
The Immunity challenge came up and it was about "the disgusting food challenge." Both tribes had to drink a mixture of cow blood and milk one by one. Neither tribe had any difficulty with it, so a show-down was in order. Each tribe had to choose the most squeamish from the other team to do the show down. Samburu chose Kelly from Boran and Boran chose Linda from Samburu. The glass was bigger and the drink was pure blood. Samburu won yet again, sending Boran back to tribal council. This time jessie was voted off because of her illness and the fact that she was getting weaker.
The Reward challenge had the tribes rolling a huge, heavy boulder along a marked course to the end. The reward was 100 gallons of fresh, clean water. Along the way, there were several near misses as people nearly got rolled over by the boulders but, in the end, Boran won.... for the very first time.
The Immunity challenge came next day which involved the tribes making up some sort of distress signal that could be seen from the sky. At Samburu, Frank suggested that they put an "S" on either side of the circle that was their home, forming a huge SOS. Boran, after lengthy discussion, decided to dip their mosquito nets in paint that Kim had brought as her luxury item and place everything they could move into a clearing, forming an SOS in the sand and surrounding it with a colorful compass while they danced around it, in different states of undress. The judge decided that because the SOS of the Samburu tribe looked a lot like any other community in Africa, it might be overlooked. Next they flew over Boran. The SOS was very clear, the colors stood out against the dirt and the people running around definitely caught their attention. Boran won Immunity for the first time sending Samburu to Tribal Council for the first time. At Samburu, Linda theorized that the Idol Goddess wanted out of Samburu because of the unrest in the tribe. She may have been right. The vote was split down the middle between Carl and Lindsey. They each had a chance to state their case and try to get the others to change their minds. Another tie ensued. The tie-breaker had Jeff asking a series of questions from the Survival Guide for Africa. Eventually, Carl was voted out of Africa.
At Samburu, the Samburu Slackers slept while the elders got tree mail. They had to immediately go to the Reward Challenge so there was no time to get water. Silas called the older members over, got down on one knee like a football coach, and asked them to please try and co-operate. Linda spoke up and told him that there was way too much disrespect the night before and exclusions. Lindsey was crying again about being "picked on" the night before at the Tribal Council while Linda kept asking to be on the team. It was pathetic all the way around. The reward challenge had the teams, one at a time, going through an obstacle course to get items of food. The first tribe to get all of the items back to the start, in a basket, won the food items. Samburu won the food challenge.
At Samburu, they arrived back with all of their food and realized they had no water. So the tribe hiked out to get more. At Boran, the tribe was going for water but came face-to-face with a huge water buffalo. The stood still as they could till it went away but they were all afraid. For the Immunity challenge, the teams had to relocate a camp with a hut, animal pen, flag pole and various items 200 yards up the hill. The first tribe to relocate the camp exactly, will win Immunity. Boran won and sent Samburu back to Tribal Council for the second time in a row. Next day, Boran was elated. Kim felt she was safe from Tribal Council and the whole team was happy. They took a hike up a mountain and sat in observation of the glorious land around them. They took the time to appreciate the land and each other. At Samburu, it was Frank's birthday and he was whittling his wife and children's names into his torch. The younger ones were speculating that they were all safe and the older ones were asking which one of them it was going to be. Silas then came along and told the older ones that they should vote for Lindsey to save the other three young ones from having any votes. Lindsey would happily take those votes and be safe with the younger ones around her. Linda asked who they were voting for. They wouldn't tell her. She asked what was in it for her if she did vote for Lindsey. They said: "Nothing." Bad feelings and grudges held strong.
At Tribal Council, Jeff puzzled over the split in the tribe. He couldn't understand why they were so divided and pointed out that if they merge with a split tribe but Boran were strong in alliance, Samburu would get picked off, no question. Frank confirmed that they were still two tribes in one and it was obvious that it was bothering the three older members. The three older members voted for Silas, slapping him in the face with his "suggestion" that they all vote for Lindsey and the younger members voted Linda out of Africa. As she was leaving, she said, "play nicely" causing Brandon to roll his eyes ~ something that he did often through this show.
Tree mail came for the tribes in the form of a voo-doo doll and a note. It told them to pick three members of the tribe and send them on a quest while the others wait. Samburu chose Teresa, Frank and Silas. Boran chose Tom, Lex and Kelly. They hiked to the place where they were originally dropped off and met Jeff. Jeff took their bandanas from them and handed the former Samburu members the colors of Boran. The Boran members were now members of Samburu. He gave them maps to their new homes and sent them on their way. Both remaining people in the tribes were totally shocked at the turn of events. The only two people who were truly happy with the situation were Teresa and Frank. They knew they were safe from the Samburu Slackers.
At the new Samburu, Lex, Tom and Kelly were appalled by the state of the camp. There was no wood, a foot and a half of ash at the fire and no firewood. So Lex, Tom and Kelly set about stocking up wood while Lindsey did her hair. Brandon did nis nails while Lex, Tom and Kelly went off for water. From under their mosquito nets, the Samburu Slackers called out directions to the watering hole. It was infuriating. Tom and Lex speculated about who had votes against them of the Samburu Slackers as they slept under their mosquito netting. It was imparative to find out who had the votes so they could get rid of the Slackers. One thing they all agreed on, Lindsey was a whiner and she had to go.
At the new Boran, Silas immediately went into "mole" mode and started making friends with Clarence, telling him he was so glad to get out of Samburu and that he wanted to be on the "strong" team with Clarence since the beginning. Frank and Teresa told their new tribe mates about the scheming and conniving that went on and how absurd it was there. Silas stood back and didn't say much of anything, taking it all in.
For the Reward challenge, the teams had to herd a 20 goats from one pen to another. The winner would receive three egg-laying chickens and a rooster. Boran won the challenge. Lex looked distinctly ticked off about it. Back at Samburu, Lindsey was crying ~ AGAIN ~ about the lack of stability in the tribe and how Silas seemed to be so happy to be at Boran. Brandon complained that Lindsey was not thinking strategy, running her mouth and trying to keep being from voted out. He said he was so glad he was gay because he couldn't stand dealling with crying women all the time. LOL! At Boran, Silas was still trying to worm himself into the tribe, even though Teresa and Frank were laying it on the line what kind of person he really is. Kim was trying to get Ethan to throw the Immunity Challenge so they could get rid of Silas. He wasn't too happy about that.
For the Immunity challenge, the teams had to put a picture together on a giant board. Each piece was cut out to fit in with the others like a puzzle. Samburu won Immunity, sending Boran to Tribal Council. Silas asked Ethan to go out and get some wood and told him that Frank was a back-stabber and he needed to go. When Ethan mentioned that Clarence was a threat, Silas assured Ethan that he could get Frank to vote for Clarence. Then he turned around and told Ethan that they could form an alliance WITH Clarence and get Frank out. (ARGH!) He then went to Kim and assured her that he really had no alliance with the three Samburus left behind and that he needs to get to the merge. Silas was voted out of Africa, thus ending his scheming and back-stabbing. Jeff then said something rather cryptic: "There's been a lot of assumptions made by a lot of you in this game. One of them is that in three days there's going to be a merge. You can head back to camp."
The Reward challenge came in and lunch was the prize. The teams had to answer a series of questions about Africa as a tribe. They started at the top of a set of bleachers and for each question answered correctly, they'd move down the bleachers. First to reach the bottom would win a huge buffet of pasta, vegetables, sandwiches, cookies and Mountain Dew. Samburu won the challenge and ate like kings and queens.
At both camps, speculation was rampant over who had votes against them and how the voting would go if they went to Tribal Council. For Immunity, the tribes were supplied with bow and arrows and had to practice for the challenge. The challenge had them one at a time step up and shoot their flaming arrow into 5 targets set at different distances. The first tribe to light up all 5 targets won immunity. Boran won Immunity thanks to a great shot by Ethan and sent Samburu to Tribal Council. Lindsey and Tom tied in their votes. Each person was asked to state their case as to why they should stay. Again, the votes were tied and Lindsey was voted out of Africa because she had previous votes cast against her. BUH BYE.
At Boran, Clarence awoke after a night of eating chicken and found it wasn't sitting to well with him. He went off into the bush and, when he was done, he rose to see elephants all around him. He was just lucky not to be trampled!
An Immunity Challenge was next on the menu and the two tribes met in a clearing. Jeff took the Immunity Idol back from Boran and informed them that the ten of them are now merged into one tribe. He passed out the new colors, green, and told them to choose which camp to live in. They all agreed on Boran and Jeff told them that after the challenge, they can all head over there.
The challenge had their wrists roped to a pully at the top of a barrel of water. If they moved, the water would topple over and soak them and they'd be out of the game. Eventually, it came down to Clarence and Teresa. They did the game "rock, paper, sissors" for it and Teresa won. Clarence toppled his water barrel over and Teresa had immunity. While there, though, Teresa promised Clarence she would not vote for him. She kept her word but with consequences that would unfold later.
Back at camp, there was a basket of cheese, crackers, fruit and wine to welcome them to their new home and a new flag and paints to create it. There was a lot of discussion about what to name the new tribe. Frank still felt like an outsider and floated around observing and gathering wood. Eventually someone asked him to sit in and partake of the feast which drew attention to his "loner" status. The tribe decided on the name Moto Maji which is Swahili for water fire.
The general consensus in the camp was that Clarence had to go. He was strong and big and a definite threat at the challenges. Lex took Clarence aside and told him that he was going that night out of respect for him. At Tribal Council, Clarence was voted out of Africa, but there were two votes against Lex and he did not like that at all. He swore vengence.
The Reward Challenge came up and had them catapulting 9 items with a plank into a basket on top of a tall tower. The winner got two goats to go into a local town and barter with the locals for money or whatever luxury they wanted. Ethan won the challenge and was allowed to take one person with him. He chose Lex since Lex came in second in the challenge. Armed with things to be traded from the other tribemates, they set off into town the next morning. This was one of the sweetest moments Survivor has ever given us. After the guys sold the goats and ate, they mixed with the local villagers and Ethan played some Hackey Sack with them. it was just so sweet to see these men interacting especially with the children.
Meanwhile, back at camp, Teresa gathered Brandon and Kim together and talked about an alliance with them and Frank. There was scheming and plotting going on all over the place. Lex was very sensitive to the fact that the tribemates were left behind while he and Ethan went on this amazing adventure so he was cautious about what he told them, but the two men brought candy and cookies back with them to share and it was appreciated.
Next was the Immunity Challenge. The tribemates had to play a game of concentration. Jeff showed them a set of 9 items in a grid and they had to memorize where they were. Jeff then asked them to find certain items and place them in the correct spot. It came down to Ethan, Lex, Tom and Brandon to do the final round and Ethan won. At Tribal Council, the votes were really up in the air. This would be the time where alliances would show through if they existed. Lex was nervous because of the past two votes and he figured it was Kelly who double-crossed him so he set the wheels in motion to have her booted. Kelly was, indeed voted out of Africa, but not before Lex gathered another four votes. Brandon had given his word to vote with Teresa, Frank, Kim Powers and Kelly. He went back on it and fell into line with Lex. Betrayal indeed!
The Reward Challenge came up and they had to be paired up. The fairest way to decide it was to put numbers in a hat so they all drew numbers. Frank and Brandon ended up being paired which was a great source of amusement to everyone. The challenge had the teams go through an obstacle course. The reward was a movie under the stars with snacks and relaxation. It came down to a challenge between the teams of Brandon & Frank and Ethan & Kim J. With Brandon barking orders all the way, the team of Brandon & Frank won. Brandon jumped around excitedly screaming, "I've got a date with Frank!" much to everyone's amusement. The two went off and ate like kids in a candy store and then, when the sun went down, they watched their movie, "Out Of Africa".
The Immunity Challenge came up next. In between the two challenges, there was lots more talk about how the voting would go at Tribal Council. Lex, Ethan and Tom were still discussing the Brandon issue. *snore* Anyway, the Immunity Challenge was all about fire. The tribemates had to gather sticks and brush, put it into a circle. Then they had to use a magnifying glass to get the fire going and burn a wick which would lower a sand bag and raise the flag. Lex won Immunity in this challenge which he felt he really needed to offset the previous votes and to stop a coup against him. Frank thought he had won it but his branches touched the wick so he was disqualified and Kim P. (little Kim) broke down in tears at not winning.
Back at camp, much scheming and plotting was in play. Ethan and Tom were adamant that Brandon could not be trusted and they wanted to vote for him but Lex was just as adamant that he would not vote against Brandon because brandon saved Lex's skin at the last Tribal Council. Frank took Tom aside and told him that he would vote Brandon out in a heartbeat. It was obvious that Frank saw where the strongest alliance was. At Tribal Council, Brandon was voted out of Africa.
The Reward Challenge was a Survivor Auction. They were given wallets with 20,000 Kenyan schillings in each of them. The only thing they had to do was bid on food items and load up on some much-missed foods and drinks. This was a lot of fun for the tribe and for the viewers. Everyone ate well.
A happy bunch of people headed back to camp and, for a change, smiles were shared. Lex commented on the interplay between people and the relationships that were obvious as people teamed up to pay for some of the food items at the auction. Talk soon turned to alliances and who would be voted out next. On the way to the water hole, the tribe was stopped to let a herd of zebra stampede by.
For the Immunity Challenge, the tribemates had to listen to a story told by Jeff. They then had to race around to the different stations where there was a question and two answers. If they got the answer right, they took a piece of colored leather and tied it on their staff in the appropriate place. If they got the answer wrong, they had to go to another station and try again later. Once again, Lex won Immunity and saved himself from the vote. At camp, Frank was being a little ridiculous with his opinions and really rubbed everyone the wrong way. Teresa wanted to grab him and tell him to stop it, but it was too late. At Tribal Council, Frank was voted out of Africa.
Back at camp, the tribe members left behind were struggling with some depression and knowing that Lex and Tom were out there eating like kings and having the time of their life wasn't helping matters. Tom and Lex returned and slowly revealed what they had done. Lex was still very aware that boasting about the adventure would be like rubbing salt in their wounds. While the tribe members hung on their every word, there was still Immunity ahead and the game was still on.
The Immunity Challenge had the tribe members using sticks to break the pots of the other tribe members. The last one with a pot left hanging won Immunity. This time Tom won Immunity. Back at camp, Teresa was trying to form an alliance with the women to get Lex voted out. At Tribal Council, in front of the jury of Brandon, Kelly and Frank, Kim Powers was voted out of Africa. Lex took another hit of two votes. Whatever alliance Teresa tried to form didn't work. The original Boran alliance was still in tact and was now a very real threat to anyone not aligned with them.
The tribe was treated to an instant reward at the tree mail. Each of them had an envelope with letters from home. Once again the tears spilled. The letters gave the tribe members a boost of strength and encouragement that was very much needed in these final days.
The next tree mail had the real Reward Challenge. The contestants had to do a word search... but the words were all in Swahili. It was a two part reward this time, but they had to solve the word search to find out what the first part was. Lex won it and found himself in posession of a Chevrolet Avalanche truck. In the truck was medical supplies for a local hospital that he was to deliver. Jeff and Lex got in the truck and started driving to the hospital. When they arrived, they were soon joined by another truck with more supplies. It was incredible to see how Survivor gave back to their host country in this episode. It was very touching to see Lex playing with the children and talking to the people there. He said he walked away a changed person. It was a gift.
Back at camp, there was a lot of talk about Lex. Tom still had some animosity towards him because of the whole Brandon issue. Ethan was really upset at having lost the Reward Challenge and seeing Lex win once more. The women knew they didn't figure into the "big plan" for the final three and tried to break into the alliance by speaking with Tom and Ethan. When Lex returned, he felt a very real strain in the camp and knew that he was in trouble for Tribal Council.
The Immunity Challenge had the contestants do an obstacle course that consisted of many elements from previous challenges. It contained both physical and mental aspects of past challenges including putting a ladder together, romping across some netting, putting a puzzle together, going up and over a wall and shooting a flaming arrow at a target. Lex won the Immunity Challenge easily. Back at camp, before Tribal Council, Teresa approached Lex and finally admitted that it was her who cast that one vote way back when. She also told him that Tom was gunning for him and putting the idea to get rid of Lex in everyone's ear. Kim J. confirmed what Teresa said about Tom trying to get people to vote Lex off which made Lex see red and start talking about cutting throats, etc. VERY unbecoming. At Tribal Council, Teresa was voted out of Africa. All of the former Samburu Tribe were now gone. It was only former Boran's left.
The Immunity Challenge came up again and it involved their knowledge of the other tribe members. At Tribal Council, Jeff asked them questions, one at a time, and had them reveal their answers. The jury watched with intensity to see who really did pay attention to the people around them. Kim J. won the "Fallen Comrades" Immunity Challenge and assured herself a place in the final three. Tom was voted out of Africa, leaving Ethan, Lex and Kim J.
Jeff showed up before sunrise the next morning to take the remaining three survivors for the final Immunity Challenge. Unfortunately, Lex had been up all night with terrible cramps and stomache complaints. He was not in the best shape. Jeff took them to a place where they had to go through the final right of passage. This included a Blessing from the Elders, a walk past all of the staffs of their fellow survivors and then a group of Samburu Tribe Members who would lead them through a ceremonial cleansing. Jeff urged them to truly experience every moment and try to take as much away from it as they could. At the end of the right of passage, the three remaining contestants had to put their feet on some stumps and a hand on the Immunity Idol and not let go. The last one standing would win Immunity and be in the final two. Ethan lost his balance in the intense heat after two hours and 46 minutes and fell off. Lex, extremely dehydrated from the previous night, lost his footing and stumbled off after three hours and 21 minutes. Kim Johnston won it.
Back at camp, Kim was elated to have won. The task of voting one man over the other was still ahead of her and rather daunting, but for now, she was enjoying it. Ethan and Lex felt very vulnerable but still had good words to say about each other and Kim. It seemed that the three of them felt equal to each other and they all liked each other equally. Kim had a tough decision to make. After she cast her vote, the three of them sat together holding hands, Kim with tears rolling down her cheeks. Her final decision was to keep Ethan with her and Lex went to the jury. (I think she chose Lex to go because he had already won so many immunities and rewards, as well as the truck).
The final day at camp saw Kim and Ethan relaxed and smiling. They crossed the final day off the water tower calendar, broke down some of the camp and spent some quality time together. As they headed off to Tribal Council for the final time, they took one last look around. Ethan theorized that he would probably get the male vote while Kim would get the female vote. Along the trail, they wondered what sort of questions would be asked of them and how the jury was thinking.
In the end, Ethan won with 4 votes. We were led to believe that it was happening in Africa, but the reality was, it was happening on a stage in Los Angeles. Those poor people had to wait all those months. It *was* a suprise ending, as they had promised, and it was a well deserved win for Ethan Zohn. He ultimately played with his ethics in tact. What a great show.
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