Survivor Holiday - Mana Island Resort
Day Two, in which we avoid getting our torches snuffed
My partner Cat and I went on holiday to Fiji and, in particular, Mana Island Resort, the island where a good chunk of the television show Survivor is shot. Here’s what we found.
Previously on Survivor Holiday - Mana Island Resort: Dan and Cat formed a final two alliance. A pack of resort dogs failed to help around camp. And a source of cocktails was located.
Day Two
After the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet reward feast (the reward was for winning the ‘waking up in time for breakfast’ challenge), Cat and I head off to explore the jungle in search of idols and/or the challenge locations shown on Google Maps.
We swiftly locate the remains of one of those multi-level challenges where you have to climb up and down like an idiot, usually while moving a hoop over a tangled rope of some kind. We are without hoop or rope or the enthusiasm to climb, so we settle for taking photos in front of it.
We explore further and discover a massive cleared out area on which a challenge has clearly been run, no doubt requiring a swim and the untethering of buoys before sprinting back towards the next member of your tribe so that they can take a turn. Probably a puzzle at the end too.
There’s also this, which looks like the kind of area in which members of the crew or medical team might loiter while those damn fool contestants are running around in the heat.
Since we choose not to compete in today’s hypothetical immunity challenge, preferring instead to relax alongside imaginary members of production, that means it’s time for us to go to Tribal Council. Or, at the very least, the location that Google Maps claims to be where the Tribal Council set is usually built.
Is it still intact? No, it is not. Although a clearing of approximately the right size is suggestive. As is this nearby overgrown area that is maybe the remnants of the walk of shame that one must walk down after one’s torch is (shamefully) snuffed.
The lack of a walkable surface prevents us from taking the walk of shame and, ergo, from being voted out. Could some divine force have saved us from an early exit?
Very possibly. Because nearby, there’s a church. And not just any church. An air-conditioned church. Much like Coach’s Upolu tribe on Survivor: South Pacific we are willing to praise the Lord and his accompanying cooling system.
Alas, before we can explore any further, the humidity of the day sees our water supply run out. So we head back to camp, first along the beach, where we spot maybe a leftover puzzle piece washed ashore from a challenge? Or maybe just a blue piece of wood with weird notches cut into the side of it.
We then take a shortcut alongside the air strip, where we pass some barrels of goodness knows what, protected from the sun by what look suspiciously like repurposed challenge platforms.
We have not yet completed our exploration of this side of the island, however, and having luckily escaped being voted out by the lack of both a) a functioning Tribal Council set or b) Jeff, we vow to search the rest of that half of the island tomorrow.
First though, it’s time for dinner. Let us see what the other members of our tribe have provided. A bowl of rice? A couple of coconuts? Berries of some kind? Ahhh… the sirloin steak. That will do nicely. Medium rare, thanks.
Oh, also at dinner? We are told that production will be arriving in the next couple of days. And Jeff himself on Sunday! Annoying, because Sunday is the day we leave. (Also, it turns out later that none of this is true - both production and Jeff are due imminently, just not quite that imminently.)
Next: Day Three - Final five challenges, the Sanctuary and hidden immunity idols
