Previously on Survivor NZ: The starving Chani tribe was on a losing streak that saw them sent to tribal council, while Khangkhaw rode high. Physical threat Jose was the first Survivor voted out by Chani. Read the episode 1 recap here.
Episode two begins with the fallout from the first tribal council at the losing Chani tribe, with those blind-sided by the votes for Jose coming to terms with her loss.
"I feel pretty shocked, I was not expecting that to go down at tribal council, Jose was our strongest female player so I don’t know," tour guide Liam says back at Chani’s camp.
Liam has seemed a bit naïve to the tactical nature of the game and this first blind-side could be the wake-up call he needs to play harder.
On the flip side, health portfolio manager JT reveals he was the mastermind behind the vote to oust Jose as he looks to take out threats to his alliance, definitely a player to watch out for there.
There is one upside for Chani after tribal council, as they finally have a flint to make fire and can eat a small portion of rice, proving it's the little things that make you happy on Survivor NZ.
"That is so mean bro," clinical pharmacist Dave says as he chows down his rice off a leaf, easy man to please.
Over at winning tribe Khangkhaw it looks like retail manager Dylan and chartered accountant Josh are on a crash course for a good old Survivor power struggle, with both of them forming rival alliances within the tribe early on.
Gutter and spouting specialist Adam is on team Josh and lets his feelings known about Dylan when he says: "He's such a d*ck!" Tell us how you really feel Adam...
Medics at the ready during gruelling challenge
The reward challenge is up next and it's a relay-style race for a huge platter of fresh tropical fruit. On a side note I immediately craved pineapple when Matt Chisholm unveiled the fruit, anyway back to the action.
Chani races away to a big lead and there's drama as social worker Kaysha from Khangkhaw collapses with exhaustion after swimming back to shore from her leg of the race.
"Medic, medic!" Chisholm yells as she lays on the ground breathing hard.
The medics attend Kaysha and she gives the thumbs up, meanwhile Matt from Khangkhaw puts in a huge effort to get his tribe back in contention. His pants can't handle the pace though, nearly coming off and making for a 'cheeky' reveal.
The faux-paus is all worth it in the end though, as Khangkhaw snatch a massive come from behind victory to pour even more hurt on the Chani tribe who are yet to win a challenge.
"We're still a force to be reckoned with," Chani’s Karla says, but judging from the confused faces it doesn't look like anyone is buying it.
Just as the tribes are about to leave the reward challenge area Adam from Khangkhaw pukes his guts out and the medics are called back to help. They're definitely earning their coin on tonight's episode.
Turns out it really is a case of better in than out, with Adam perking up after evacuating the meagre contents of his stomach. A ploy to fit in more fruit from the platter they just earned perhaps?
Survivor Outpost sees two rival tribemates clash for glory
A twist sees one member from each tribe having to go to the Survivor Outpost. JT nominates himself from Chani, while Khangkhaw draw sticks to see who should go, with admin assistant Tess drawing the short one.
This angers Dylan who thinks Tess "doesn’t know much about Survivor". Ouch, she'll need to soothe that burn under some cold water.
The outpost sees Tess and JT face off in a classic fire building challenge for an unnamed reward, not surprisingly Khangkhaw's Tess wins easily, inflicting yet another defeat on the hapless Chani tribe who just can't catch a break.
The reward is a clue to the hidden immunity idol, the tricky JT gets Tess to share the clue with him, a dumb move she immediately regrets. Now the tough part, will Tess tell her tribemates what went down at the Outpost?
Nope, she decides to make up an elaborate lie about went down attempting to mis-direct her tribe and claim the idol on the sly. Not everyone buys her story though with Dylan guessing straight away that she has a hidden immunity idol clue.
The idol is hidden at the next immunity challenge and now it will be a race between JT and Tess to get there first without being spotted by the members of their tribe who aren't in their alliances.
Back at Chani the medics are back at it again with journalist Franky going down ill. This gives Karla a glimmer of hope if they go to tribal council again; she isn't against targeting the weak to get closer to the $250,000.
Test of physical endurance exposes a tribe's weakness
Right, immunity challenge time and that all important idol which JT and Tess both know is hidden under a mat somewhere at the trial.
Surprisingly it's Brad who finds the idol under Khangkhaw's team map, he smoothly bends down and retrieves it, slipping the package into his pocket unnoticed.
A brave effort from Arun for Chani in the endurance trial, but it's not enough and they lose their fifth straight challenge in a row sending them back to tribal council again.
Physical powerhouse Jose probably would have come in handy for Chani on this challenge if they hadn’t voted her out last week…
Librarian Lisa breaks down in tears as she receives the immunity idol for Khangkhaw off Chisholm. She's a Survivor super-fan and getting the idol off the host is one to tick off her bucket list. Hopefully she survives the show and lives to tick off a few more.
At camp Brad lets his tight-five alliance know he found the immunity idol to further cement their power. The tight-five at Khangkhaw is Brad, Josh, Matt, Adam and Tess.
Let the scrambling commence!
Time for the scrambling to begin at Chani before tribal, JT announces he thinks Brad found the hidden idol at the trial leading me to believe that JT is either psychic or somehow has an in with a camera-man on the show… seriously though, this guy has Survivor smarts!
A straightforward vote at tribal council sees Karla the second person to leave Chani. She dodged a bullet last week but can't make it two in a row as the losing tribe looks to try and keep physically strong for challenges.
Can Chani finally turn it around next week? We will have to wait and see.
Watch all episodes of Survivor NZ on TVNZ OnDemand.
List of Survivor's and vote status:
Adam, 28, Self-Employed, Auckland
Arun, 30, Dairy Farmer, Waikato
Brad, 27, School Teacher, Nelson
Dave, 26, Clinical Pharmacist, Auckland
Dylan, 26, Retail Manager, Whangarei
Eve, 26, Hiking Guide, Auckland
Franky, 24, Journalist, Auckland – The ZM Wildcard
Josefien, 23, Audio Post Producer, Blenheim (voted out episode 1)
Josh, 28, Chartered Accountant, New Plymouth
JT, 32, Project Manager, Manawatu
Karla, 37, Reporter, Palmerston North (voted out episode 2)
Kaysha, 24, Social Worker, Horowhenua – The Hits Wildcard
Liam, 23, Videographer, Tauranga
Lisa, 38, School Librarian, Christchurch
Matt, 25, Rocket Technician, Auckland
Renee, 28, Real Estate Agent, Auckland
Tara, 44, Full-time Mum, Hamilton
Tess, 24, Office Manager, Christchurch
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