Location(s) Santa Carolina, Mozambique Original release 20 January – 21 April 2010 Preceded by Survivor South Africa: Malaysia Followed by Survivor South Africa: Maldives | ||
Survivor South Africa: Santa Carolina is the third season of the South African reality game show Survivor South Africa. The season was filmed in late 2009 and aired weekly between January and April 2010 on Wednesdays nights on M-Net with the ninety-minute live season finale airing on the 21, April 2010. M-Net also commissioned a 15th episode that had a look at the whole series with retrospective views from all the contestants. Hosted by Nico Panagio (replacing previous host Mark Bayly), the program featured 18 celebrity castaways competing for 27 days. The grand prize was a R500,000 donation to the winner's chosen charity and an additional R500,000 for the winner.
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The season was filmed on the small island of Santa Carolina, a member of the Bazaruto Archipelago off the southern coast of Mozambique. The castaways lived amongst white sand beaches, coral reefs and buildings left abandoned by the Mozambican Civil War, including a prison and a luxury hotel.
This season also introduced Exile Island, Tribal Kidnapping and the Hidden Immunity Idol twists, which were imported from the American edition of the show. The Hidden Immunity Idol twist was much like the first iteration of the twist (as seen in Survivor: Guatemala) in which the idol had to be played prior to the voting process.
On Day 1, the 18 contestants faced a schoolyard pick by Craig and Kaseran, who were chosen initially exiled in a twist. The two original tribes were named Chibudu and Timbila, after local Chopi words for "harmony" and "togetherness". On Day 13, one member of each tribe was swapped to the other tribe. On Day 15, the 10 remaining contestants merged into the Kululama (meaning "strength"). The eight players voted out of the Kululama tribe formed Tribal Council Jury who along with the South African public (who held the 9th jury vote) ultimately decided who of the Final 2 should be the "Ultimate Survivor".
On 21 April, in was revealed that exotic dancer and club owner Perle "GiGi" van Schalkwyk was crowned the Ultimate Survivor in a 6-3 decision over television presenter Ashley Hayden, winning R500,000 for herself and another R500,000 for her charity, a Hospice in Johannesburg.