Alliances and loyalty are seldom, if ever, to be trusted without reservation in a game of skill, cunning and tactics such as Survivor.
That’s the hard lesson estate agent Paul Smulders (54) learnt at this week’s Tribal Council on "Survivor SA: Island of Secrets".
Paul got the boot despite sharing his Hidden Immunity Clue with his tribe mates last week and giving Rob the Immunity Idol to save him from leaving the Tribe. To top it off, he was voted out while last week’s target, bossy Seipei, was still around and when Nathan was struggling with an injury that he said caused "excruciating pain”.
We spoke to Paul to find out what happen.
Did you have any clue they were gunning you?
It was a total blindside. A total shock. I wanted to play a longer game but unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity too.
How long where you on the island and what did you learn from your experience?
I learned that it's always better to sit in the back row, LOL. On a serious note, I am a genuinely nice guy, but to play this game you need to change the person you are. It's a game that you play for yourself right from the start because the nature of the game changes every five minutes.
What was your strategy going into Survivor SA?
I wanted to remain low key and bring out my strengths as and when I progressed in the game. This completely changed from the first day I got there and had to go to the Island of Secrets. I had to play a completely different strategy and did what I thought would help me to form alliances and stronger bonds with my tribe.
At the start your team was perceived to be "strong", but ended up losing the challenges. Is being strong enough in a game like this?
The tribes need to be balanced with both, physical and mental strength. We had strength and that was not enough.
Will you enter again?
I feel like I still have a good few years left in me, so why not. I really had a lot more to add to the show.