Chapter two of Australia’s greatest grudge match kicked off as a hungry new tribe of Contenders showed the Champions they came to settle the score.
Arriving in the wilds of tropical Savusavu, 24 determined competitors traversed jungle and rivers to meet their rivals at the year’s first challenge.
Greeted by Jonathan LaPaglia, The Contenders Tribe were openly unphased by their Champion adversaries on first impression. However, their early confidence was to be short-lived.
Fighting it out for the reward of a camp starter-kit, the Survivors faced off in pairs, wrestling through the sand. The Contenders started out strong with two of its team members taking down the Champs straight out of the gate, but Champions Abbey and Anastasia instigated a comeback which saw the challenge come down to a huge decider.
Fought over two hard rounds, ad exec Andy from the Contenders faced off against NRL legend Andrew (ET). With both men exhausted in the final moments, ET’s experience and determination eventually saw him drag his side to victory.
The Champions triumph buoyed their spirits and made their first night at camp a lot more comfortable with fire and warm dinners. However, the Contenders faced a very different first night of survival with no fire and a broken structure.
Tired, sore and hungry, the Contenders came to the Immunity Challenge ready for a fight. Both tribes came out strong using teamwork to traverse massive wooden structures and scale a steep tower, but it was the Champions who reached the final stage first.
Determined not to let victory slip through their fingers a second time, Contenders Shaun and Andy pegged back the Champs at the final stage, throwing axes at a target with incredible accuracy. In a nail biter, the Contenders took out the first immunity challenge for 2019.
The unexpected loss at the challenge sent the Champions into a spiral when they made it back to camp. With two strong alliances splitting the tribe, the castaways were divided on who should be the first Champion to leave the island.
Despite the names of leading actor Pia and marathon swimmer Susie being thrown about as early options to go, it was ultimately memory champion Anastasia who was voted out at the season’s first Tribal Council.
