Week Seven

Kichanga Tribe

Elliott had a dilemma all last week. He wanted to side with Binny he really did, but then there was the problem of getting voted out next if no one else sided with him. And even though Beckie decided to side with Binny, Elliott thus voted for Binny like everyone else in the tribe. It was a hard week for him and those he tried to convince but it was time to move on. Beckie was surprised she was still in the game. She was basically the only person in the game that didn’t have some sort of alliance. But since her tribe had been focused on keeping teamwork around, she had survived to this point. Maybe it was time to make some decisions eh? The rest of the tribe (Kyle, Lauren, Tyler and Scott) may have had a hard time voting out Binny who was essentially in the same alliance with them, but they felt it needed to be done. It had seemed to Elliott that those four were making some sort of plans, but now it was obvious. With only Elliott and Beckie to stand against the alliance, things were not looking so good.

Margani Tribe

This tribe has been filled with deceit, lying, backstabbing and flip-flopping from day one. It was time to put that to an end and Steve had an idea. It would be work, but the team decided to construct a “jungle” gym. It took the better part of an afternoon, but soon they had two swings made from wood and vines, some monkey bars tied in between two horizontal falling trees, and there was a waterfall slide nearby so they had the whole package. Not only would this be fun and team building, but it would also be some good exercise and strength building activities. So Chelsea, Greg and Dirks had a competition to see who could jump the farthest off the swings. Steve was practically a little baby otter playing in the waterfall all day with Hinton. Jill took this time to relax. It had been a stressful couple of weeks. As she surveyed her teammates, each one laughing with eachother, it was easy to forget all the tough decisions they had made over the last few weeks. They were still involved in this deeply strategic game, but today they had a break from all that.

Hartolo Tribe

Last week Hartolo had been lucky that the challenge was another physical one. The tribe had not started as one based on problem-solving, but with the elimination of Michelle, Laura and Clements their average in that category had plummeted to 4.4 while each of the other three tribes were above 5.4. Odds were, they would not be so lucky this week, so it was time to decide who needed to be voted out if they lost. Cowin, German and Pitman had realistically been the best at the challenges so far, but it was possible all that would change if the types of challenges changed. But there was still a chance that they may win, so no one wanted to panic or start thinking of who to vote out. Inevitably it was happening however. Pitman and Cait were talking a fair bit, as were Cowin and Tyla. Millar, Graham and German also spent some time apart discussing how to get eachother further in the game. Each person in the tribe had become good friends, and no one wanted to stab anyone in the back. But it is inevitable in Survivor Hamilton.

Breema Tribe

Nothing was ever certain in Breema. There were no set alliances. There were no weak links. There were no loud mouths. How were you to vote someone out in a situation like that? The answer is ‘very apprehensively’, and that is how the last few votes in Breema went. But someone would have to take charge of Breema soon, or else each week anyone could be the one going home. Silas would have liked to take charge, but his main ally, Amanda, was voted out last week. He was great in the challenges, so at least he had that going for him. Micah had lost his main ally in week one, and had not made a significant partner to this point, and for that reason he was receiving random votes against each week at Tribal Council. It seemed like Barry, Trotman and Jord had something going on, but it never looked like anything other than friendship. It didn’t seem a strong strategic alliance, so maybe it wasn’t a threat. Nathalie had started to be close in the game with mostly Jord, but also surprisingly Micah. Mandy still had not made a noteworthy alliance, but she escaped any votes against last week, and people had really begun to like her.

Immunity Challenge

This weeks challenge is, you guessed it, mainly a problem-solving challenge. There are four separate channels dug and paved into the ground. Think of the Nile River. Each tribe’s canal begins as one and branches off into many smaller channels. At the end of one of these channels is a small waterfall. The thing is that each place where the channel breaks off into two smaller ones is a lever. The tribe must run and follow the water and pick which way the water will go each time to make sure that it reaches the finish line. When the challenge begins, water will be let loose at the start of the channel and work its way pretty quickly down towards the first fork, and then to the second and so on. The two tribes to pick all the right directions and get their water to the final waterfall first will win immunity. If two don’t finish, then the two tribes to get their water the furthest win.

The attribute weightings are as follows:
Speed: 20%
Strength: 0%
Problem-Solving: 50%
Strategizing: 10%
Teamwork: 20%

Since Hartolo and Breema each have one extra member one person will have to sit out that has not already sat out. The other tribes choose to sit out Graham from Hartolo and Silas from Breema.

So let the challenge begin!!!

All four streams are set free and the tribes jog to chase the water to the first fork. All tribes can see in the distance their waterfall drop-offs, but it is still a gamble to pick one side, because there may not be a way to get it back to the other 50% of the channels. So each tribe picks the same way, and the game really begins. If enough water does not consistently go the right way, the water will not make it to the waterfall, so it is important not to make any wrong choices and lose any water. So eventually each tribe is beginning to make their own choices, making right ones and wrong ones. Dirks ran far ahead for Margani to try and see where the waterfall really was. Scott did the same thing for Kichanga, and it paid off, because those two tribes seemed to be heading in a better direction than the other two.

Breema was starting to get it right as Barry ran to the front to get a better look, but then the tribe made an obvious mistake and lost a lot of water which mostly went the wrong way. Hartolo was lost. Cowin, German and Cait were trying to work together, but Pitman, Tyla and Millar were having a hard time grasping this type of very difficult, quick thinking challenge. So Tyla was chosen to run ahead and get a better look, but it may have been too late. Margani’s stream was going very smoothly. The tribe was working as a team, and really getting the job done, each person running to the different forks so that they were ready before the water even got there. Breema was doing the same thing, but their water was running out fast. Kichanga was keeping up with Margani, but only slightly behind.

As they neared the finish line, Margani and Kichanga were the clear frontrunners with Breema in third and Hartolo in fourth. And that is the way it ended with Margani’s stream hitting the waterfall first, and Kichanga right behind. Breema’s water eventually trickled over the waterfall, but Hartolo’s didn’t even make it.

So that means that Margani and Kichanga win Immunity. It also means that Hartolo and Breema must go to Tribal Council this week.

Keys to Victory (Defeat)

Margani: They always had good problem-solving, so they were just waiting for the right challenges. The whole tribe worked as a team, as there were no weak links and no clear workhorses in the group.

Kichanga: Again, there is no point in pointing any fingers at the weak, because they tribe did a very good job and attempted to put to rest their questions of lack of teamwork. They can work together when they have to, they just don’t have to like each other. lol.

(Breema): The best people in the challenge for Breema were Jord, Mandy and Nathalie. They thought ahead and didn’t make the mistakes that lost the challenge. Trotman, Barry and Micah thought a little too quickly and pulled the levers the wrong way and fixed them after the water got there. They could have really used Silas in this challenge. Half the tribe was good, and the other half were sub-par. Though none from Breema were exceptional.

(Hartolo): Again, three pulled their weight and the other three didn’t. Cowin, German and Cait all did a pretty adequate job in this challenge, where Millar, Pitman and Tyla and their slightly lower problem-solving attributes cost their tribe the victory. Tyla’s speed still helped though, where Pitman and Millar really did not contribute anything in this challenge. They were better suited for the physical ones. Graham's speed would have been really useful.

So these are all the people who MUST vote by Wednesday at 11:59 pm.

Hartolo Tribe:
Pitman
Cowin
German
Tyla
Graham
Millar
Cait

Breema Tribe:
Silas
Mandy
Jord
Trotman
Nathalie
Micah
Barry