Nature-loving Qieän describes herself as highly empathetic, kind and fiercely loyal. Survivor certainly put all those qualities to the test but sadly her time in the game came to an end just before the most anticipated twist – tribal merge.
We chatted to Qieän as she looked back on her weeks on the Wild Coast.
How did you feel watching your last few moments at tribal council?
Definitely nostalgic. I wished that a tribe swap screw didn’t happen. I had huge FOMO on the individual immunity challenges that are about to come!
Did you realise that eating your stash of snacks in front of your tribe was getting under their skins?
My mind was so preoccupied with the thought of needing energy to contribute to the tribal immunity challenge at that time. It completely slipped my mind that Santoni and Wardah hadn’t been eating. I was 100% guilty now looking back at it. They were also snacks I reserved from previous rewards that I did not eat, intending to save them for when I needed them most. If I have to be honest there weren’t that much left of it and it wasn’t the reason why I went home.
What do you feel you could have done to strengthen your alliances with the Vuna members of your tribe?
I did all that I could. I showed my loyalty to them, I committed to playing with them post-merge, sticking to Vuna 2.0 strong and bringing in Wardah. I presented a strong case as to why it wouldn’t make sense to keep “double agent” Santoni to the merge. That would give Zamba 2.0 opportunities to pick Vuna 2.0 off one by one, making them the majority with Anela’s Immunity Island advantages.
There was a very special bonding moment between Wardah and Santoni during the last tribal immunity challenge which changed the game. Despite the fact that Santoni and Wardah were arch enemies, Wardah could put those differences aside in order to further her game. Big applause to her for doing that and I hope they made the right decision. I hope to see them go far.
If Anela wasn’t sent to Immunity Island, do you feel you would still be in the game?
Definitely. My money was always going to be on individual immunity challenges to shine in the game. I was laying low, reserving energy to go hard post-merge. I had built a strong enough social game in Vuna 2.0 that I wasn’t the target to go home at the double tribal council. My oopsie I made didn’t make a difference. Coming from where I was supposed to be the next to go in Zamba 1.0 that was a climb up the ladders.
How do you feel leaving so close to merge?
Did you really have to ask this question? Haha, literally pouring salt on my wound. Bitter sweet is all I can say. I was lucky I wasn’t the first boot, but pre-merge boot wasn’t exactly a milestone I was aiming for. I was truly looking forward to the individual immunity challenges. Afrokaans gave me a taste of how brilliant the challenges are with every challenge I had been to and to miss out on them is a crying shame.
My torch may have been snuffed, but as all wildland fire firefighters know, “If there is smoke smoldering, a fire may just emerge on the other side.”
Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island is produced by Afrokaans. Catch all the action every Thursday at 19:30 on M-Net (DStv Channel 101). Visit the M-Net Website for exclusive show content and join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, using #SurvivorSA and #mnet101.