Salesman Mike loses his pitch in Survivor SA

Over-confidence in a sales pitch can be a dangerous position and in episode 3 of Survivor South African Immunity Island, Mike learnt this the hard way when he was voted out by fellow tribe members at the end of a dramatic episode.

From the get-go, chaos was in store as buffs were dropped and castaways chess-pieced around. Vuna gained 6 Zamba members and at the new Zamba, Vuna members unsettled the already shaky politics. The scene was set for tension galore in the first few minutes.

Early in the show a carrot-munching indaba saw Thoriso convinced she was the next to go at Zamba, but the buff-drop changed everything, quickly. Seven days in and the disruption saw the original tribe members seemingly standing together while secretly regrouping in new alliance formations.

Before the Immunity Challenge even happened, Mike became the bullseye in everyone’s new-Zamba radar and was cited as being too strong and his personality too dominant.

The Rewards Challenge featured a curious twist with sandbag wrestling affording Tyson and Paul an opportunity to get close, the latter whispering the location of an immunity idol to his old tribe-mate to protect him from his new foes.

A hammock, blankets and pillows, a tarpaulin and some chairs were up for grabs, the new-Vuna taking the bulk of the spoils. But as the tribe will later learn, Amy has placed it all at risk after losing her Survivor SA Immunity Island challenge.

The Immunity Challenge was a tense affair. Just before, Zamba’s Anela went on a desperate scramble for an immunity idol, really concerned about the loss of allies during the tribal mix-up.

Chappies pointed at Tyson as being a potentially dangerous competitor while Carla’s behaviour verged on the paranoid, also in Zamba. But Mike still had the biggest target on his back. Odds were on him to leave Survivor SA next.

Despite having a tribal advantage of one less ring to retrieve and land back in the water, Zamba did not take the honours at the Immunity Challenge. Vuna elected to send Amy to Immunity Island where she lost the puzzle challenge and therefore, gave rights to Zamba to raid her tribe’s camp where three key items may be lost.

Luckily, this only gets revealed to tribemates in the next episode, but places Amy at great risk, given that her immunity expired at this week’s Tribal Council.

Meanwhile, shuffling and hustling at Zamba isolated Mike quickly and despite his Hollywood-like attempt at rallying former Vuna teammates before the vote, his slick sales pitch did not save him from the slippery slope ro the exit.

At Tribal Council, the voting was close, with Anela seemingly on some folks’ radar, too. But it was Mike who, despite the confident glint in his eye after his pitch, took the walk of shame.

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Interestingly the Tribal Council manifested a lot of underlying tension between the original and new members of Zamba, but it also seems that old alliances were starting to crumble quickly without any real direction forward.

Mike was an easy target, a common enemy so to speak, but it is in the next few episodes where new friendships and alliances will really be forged. And good luck to Amy, whose loss on Immunity Island may see leave her very exposed next week.

Survivor SA, Immunity Island is broadcast on M-Net every Thursday night at 7.30pm.