Survivor: Vanuatu

Survivor: Vanuatu
Genre	Reality television
Winner	Chris Daugherty (5–2)
No. of episodes	14
No. of days	39
No. of survivors	18
Tribes	Lopevi      Yasur      Alinta
Fans vs. Favorites	Eliza Orlins Ami Cusack
Production
Location(s)	Efate, Shefa Province, Vanuatu
Filming dates	June 28, 2004 – August 5, 2004
Broadcast
Original run	September 16, 2004 – December 12, 2004
Chronology
Preceded by	Survivor: All-Stars
Followed by	Survivor: Palau

Survivor: Vanuatu — Islands of Fire, also known as Survivor: Vanuatu, is the ninth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Filmed in Vanuatu, a chain of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, the season premiered on September 16, 2004.

Also debuting that day was Survivor Live, an hour-long Internet talk show hosted by the original Sole Survivor Richard Hatch and Entertainment Tonight correspondent Chris Booker. The talk show, airing every Thursday and Friday on the CBS website, interviews former contestants and reviews the players' gameplay. The DVD for this season was released on December 5, 2006.

At the live reunion show, Chris Daugherty defeated Twila Tanner by a vote of 5–2 to become Sole Survivor.

For the first time outside of the All Star edition that preceded it, there were eighteen contestants. In the first seven seasons, there were only sixteen contestants. This was the second season to initially divide the tribes by gender. It was also the first season to feature an amputee (Chad Crittenden, who had lost a foot to cancer) and two open lesbians (motivational speaker Scout Cloud Lee and former Playboy model Ami Cusack).

The season began like Survivor: The Amazon in that the tribes were divided by gender. The male tribe was Lopevi, after one of Vanuatu's volcanic islands; the female tribe was Yasur, after Mount Yasur. On Day 11, there was a "tribal shuffle" like in other seasons, which ended up moving two people from each tribe over to the other tribe.

On Day 20, the tribes were merged; the tribe was christened Alinta, a name proposed by Scout meaning "people of fire."

Eliza Orlins and Ami Cusack were selected from this season to return for Survivor: Micronesia as members of the Favorites tribe, where they placed 10th and 11th respectively.

Season summary

The players were brought into the game at a native gathering, with the natives dividing the group into men and women. The men were clearly revered at the ceremony, suggesting they would have the advantage in the game. After the ceremony, the men were named the Lopevi tribe, and the women the Yasur tribe, and sent to find their camps in the dark. Lopevi lost the first challenge mainly due to Chris, however, the older men of the tribe, led by Chris, conspired into an alliance and worked to vote off one of the younger men, starting with Brook. This would continue through the next two tribal councils that Lopevi took part in. In Yasur, two factions began to emerge. An alliance of Julie, Mia, Lisa, and Eliza and an alliance led by Ami, who gathered Twila, Scout, and Leann fought over Dolly's vote. However, when she refused to commit to either faction, a concerned Eliza made a temporary jump to Ami's group to vote Dolly out. On Day 7, both tribes were informed that an individual immunity challenge would take place and both tribes, regardless who won, would vote a person out that night. John K won immunity, and he was sent to spend the afternoon with Yasur to determine which woman he would give the Immunity Talisman to for the women's Tribal Council. That afternoon, an argument broke out over the workload of the tribe between Mia and Twila. Concerned over Eliza's jump to the Ami's group at the last Tribal Council, Lisa voted with the older women to vote off Mia. The Yasur tribe continued their dominance over the tribal challenges by winning the next reward and immunity challenges, bringing the men's numbers down to 6.

A tribal switch occurred on day 11, mixing the two tribes; Rory and Travis were sent to Yasur, surrounded by women, while Twila and Julie were sent to Lopevi, surrounded by men. The first Yasur loss resulted in Travis being eliminated for trying to publicly ask Lopevi to throw the immunity challenge. However, concerned over Lisa's loyalty, Ami arranged for the tribe to eliminate her at the next Tribal Council. At Lopevi, Sarge, Chad, and Chris decided to invite Twila into their alliance as a fourth member, not trusting John. However, Julie told Twila a lie that the men approached her with the same deal, in order to keep her loyalty. The next Lopevi Tribal Council resulted in John being voted off, and the five at Lopevi agreed to stick together after the merge.

On Day 19, the two tribes, now with 6 women and 4 men, merged into Alinta. While Rory made a jump back to the men, Julie and Twila broke their word and reformed the women's alliance. The men were quickly targeted over the next three tribal councils, leaving Chris as the sole male. By this time, Ami's core alliance consisted of her, Julie, and Leann, while Twila and Scout had formed a closer pairing, and Eliza seen out the outside. When Chris was unable to secure the next immunity, Twila brought Chris into a plan to vote out one of Ami's group if they could bring Eliza into their foursome. With the women deciding to change their target from Chris to Eliza, Eliza readily agreed to join their voting bloc, and they agreed to go to the Final 4. With Ami having won immunity, Leann was voted out at the next tribal council. Ami and Julie soon followed despite their last minute attempts to swing Chris. The final four was Chris, Eliza, Twila, and Scout. Chris won the last two immunity challenges, and ultimately took Twila with him into the final two. The jury saw Chris' ability to effectively stay in the game with the odds against him, both from the first challenge and as the last man standing, and voted him the Sole Survivor 5-2.

Contestants

Contestant	Original Tribe	Switched Tribe	Merged Tribe	Finish	Total Votes
Brook Geraghty 27, Winthrop, MA	Lopevi	20	20	1st Voted Out Day 3	5
Dolly Neely 25, Mercer, PA	Yasur	20	20	2nd Voted Out Day 6	5
John Palyok 31, Los Angeles, CA	Lopevi	20	20	3rd Voted Out Day 7	5
Mia Galeotalanza 29, Toms River, NJ	Yasur	20	20	4th Voted Out Day 7	5
Brady Finta 33, Huntington Beach, CA	Lopevi	20	20	5th Voted Out Day 10	6
Travis "Bubba" Sampson 33, Blountville, TN	Lopevi	Yasur	20	6th Voted Out Day 12	6
Lisa Keiffer 44, New Orleans, LA	Yasur	Yasur	20	7th Voted Out Day 15	4
John Kenney 22, Los Angeles, CA	Lopevi	Lopevi	20	8th Voted Out Day 18	5
Rory Freeman 35, Des Moines, IA	Lopevi	Yasur	Alinta	9th Voted Out Day 21	14
Lea "Sarge" Masters 40, Columbia, SC	Lopevi	Lopevi		10th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24	7
James "Chad" Crittenden 34, Oakland, CA	Lopevi	Lopevi		11th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 27	7
Leann Slaby 35, Kansasville, WI	Yasur	Yasur		12th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30	8
Ami Cusack 31, Lakewood, CO	Yasur	Yasur		13th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 33	8
Julie Berry 23, Gorham, ME	Yasur	Lopevi		14th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 36	4
Eliza Orlins 21, Syracuse, NY	Yasur	Yasur		15th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 37	9
Scout Cloud Lee 59, Stillwater, OK	Yasur	Yasur		16th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38	3
Twila Tanner 41, Marshall, MO	Yasur	Lopevi		Runner-Up	6
Chris Daugherty 33, South Vienna, OH	Lopevi	Lopevi		Sole Survivor	3

The Total Votes is the number of votes a castaway has received during Tribal Councils where the castaway is eligible to be voted out of the game. It does not include the votes received during the final Tribal Council.

The game

Episode title[1]	First air date	Challenges		Eliminated	Vote	Finish
		Reward	Immunity
"They Came at Us With Spears!"	September 16, 2004	Yasur1		Brook	5–3–1	1st Voted Out Day 3
"Burly Girls, Bowheads, Young Studs, and the Old Bunch"	September 23, 2004	Yasur	Lopevi	Dolly	5–4	2nd Voted Out Day 6
"Double Tribal, Double Trouble"	September 30, 2004	Lopevi	John K.	John P.	5–3	3rd Voted Out Day 7
			[Ami]2	Mia	5–3	4th Voted Out Day 7
"Now That's a Reward!"	October 7, 2004	Yasur	Yasur	Brady	6–1	5th Voted Out Day 10
"Earthquakes and Shake-Ups!"	October 14, 2004	Lopevi	Lopevi	Bubba	6–1	6th Voted Out Day 12
"Hog Tied"	October 21, 2004	Lopevi	Lopevi	Lisa	4–2	7th Voted Out Day 15
"Anger, Threats, Tears...and Coffee"	October 28, 2004	Yasur	Yasur	John K.	5–1	8th Voted Out Day 18
"Now the Battle Really Begins"	November 4, 2004	Lopevi	Sarge	Rory	6–4	9th Voted Out Day 21
"Gender Wars...It's Getting Ugly"	November 11, 2004	Leann, [Julie]	Ami	Sarge	7–1–1	10th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24
"Culture Shock and Violent Storms"	November 18, 2004	Ami, Chad, Chris, Eliza	Twila	Chad	6–2	11th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 27
"Surprise and...Surprise Again!"	November 25, 2004	Eliza	Ami	Leann	4–3	12th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30
"Now Who's in Charge Here?!"	December 2, 2004	Eliza, [Ami, Chris]3	Chris	Ami	4–2	13th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 33
"Eruption of Volcanic Magnitude"	December 9, 2004	Julie, [Chris]	Eliza	Julie	3–2	14th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 36
"Spirits and the Final Four"	December 12, 2004	None	Chris	Eliza	3–1	15th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 37
			Chris	Scout	1–0	16th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38
"The Reunion"	December 12, 2004	Jury Vote		Twila	5–2	Runner-Up
				Chris		Sole Survivor

In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.

^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.

^2 John K. had to spend a day with the other tribe for the point of giving immunity to one of them at tribal council that night. He chose Ami.

^3 When Eliza won the reward challenge, she received her own car, and the castaways who finished second and third in the challenge were able to join her at a spa retreat.

Episode 1: "They Came at Us With Spears"

• Reward/Immunity Challenge: The castaways would compete for both immunity and reward by going through an obstacle course. Each castaway would go beneath a mud crawl and solve a box maze. Following the box maze, they would then cross over a very narrow balance beam to light a fire in order to drop a torch. The torch would be needed to light a final wok, which would signify victory.
  • Reward: Tribal Immunity and flint

After being divided into two tribes separated by gender, with the men and women in the Lopevi and Yasur tribes respectively, the tribes headed their separate ways through the dark night in order to find their respective camps. As the Yasur tribe negotiated the dangerous rocky beach path, factions quickly developed. At the Lopevi camp, Chad stunned his tribemates by revealing his prosthetic foot, which he received when he lost his battle with cancer. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, the men made quick work of the puzzle maze and took their lead to the balance beam, where they struggled to cross it one by one. The men maintained their lead until Chris simply could not cross the balance beam. Taking advantage of this, the Yasur tribe took the lead and received immunity. After returning to camp from the crushing defeat, most of the Lopevi members deemed it a foregone conclusion that Chris would be the first one voted off because of his balance beam failure. Chris, however, built an alliance on the fly with some of the older members of Lopevi to get rid of the younger members of the tribe. At Tribal Council, Sarge's plan came to fruition, and Brook was sent home by a vote of 5–3–1.

Episode 2: "Burly Girls, Bowheads, Young Studs, and the Old Bunch"

• Reward Challenge: Eight castaways from each tribe would stand on a narrow beam over water. One at a time, the castaways would move down the beam, squeezing past their fellow tribe members. The castaway moving down the beam would not be allowed to touch more than one tribe member at a time. Any castaway to fall off would have to start over. The first tribe to get all eight members to the finish platform would win reward.
  • Reward: Pillows, blankets, and a hammock
• Immunity Challenge: The tribes would be required to assemble a series of platforms to an observation deck. Each platform would be made from puzzle pieces. Blindfolded, the castaways would need to retrieve these puzzle pieces from the land and sea with the aid of a fellow tribe member who would not be blindfolded. Once all the pieces are gathered, the tribe would then remove their blindfolds in order to put together their platform puzzles. The first tribe to piece together the puzzle pieces would win immunity.

As the tribes convened for the Reward Challenge, Jeff explained that the challenge would involve balance and teamwork, and that if Lopevi were to win, they would secure flint for their tribe. During the challenge, the women of Yasur made easy work of the competition and finished well ahead of Lopevi, winning the reward of comfort. Alliances were still forming at Yasur; the tribe was split by age with the younger and older alliances. After learning that she had been a target, Twila formed an alliance with Dolly. When the tribes started the Immunity Challenge, chaos began as the blindfolded castaways bumped into each other. Lopevi took the lead, while the Yasur women were in disarray when Scout mistakenly overlooked the final puzzle piece in the water. Lopevi made quick work of the rest of the puzzles, and they secured flint as well as Tribal Immunity. After experiencing their first defeat and returning to their camp, the Yasur women vacillated between Eliza or Leann. At Tribal Council, Dolly found herself to be the swing vote; she, however, was perceived as a threat to the rest of her tribe, and was voted out 5–4.

Episode 3: "Double Tribal, Double Trouble"

• Reward Challenge: The tribe members must work together to escape a set of three locked cages. To make their way through, they must untie planks, use grappling hooks to retrieve keys, and master a series of interlocking siderails. First tribe to escape the cages wins reward, and will go on to compete in the individual immunity challenge.
  • Reward: Fishing gear and a chance at Individual Immunity
• Individual Immunity Challenge: The castaways must dig seven ladder rungs out of the sand in order to assemble a puzzle-like ladder. Once the ladder is built, the castaways must climb to the top. First castaway to climb to the top wins Individual Immunity. In addition, the winning castaway would be able to grant immunity to a castaway on the opposing tribe.

Personalities clashed at both tribes. At Lopevi, Sarge questioned Rory's work ethic. At Yasur, Mia expressed her dislike for Twila. Julie, Lisa and Mia got concerned that Eliza may have changed her vote. At the reward challenge, Jeff shocked the castaways by announcing that both tribes would go to Tribal Council, and that the winning tribe would compete for individual immunity. Lopevi had an early lead, but they lost one of their grappling hooks, allowing Yasur to pull ahead. However, Lopevi managed to pull ahead once Yasur had trouble obtaining their final key. Lopevi won reward, as well as a chance to compete for immunity individually. At the immunity challenge, it came down to Chad and John K. Chad came up first with all seven rungs, however he had trouble assembling the puzzle-like ladder, allowing John K. to pull ahead and win immunity. At Yasur, Eliza lobbied to vote out Scout, however Mia lobbied to vote out her nemesis, Twila. At Lopevi, Brady argued to Sarge that the alliance of older men should be broken up to vote out Rory, who didn't get along with many of his tribemates. Chris had to talk to Sarge and convince him to stay loyal. In the end, Lopevi's alliance of older men held strong, and sent John P. home 5-3. At Yasur's Tribal Council, John K. granted Ami immunity as he knew she would probably be safe anyway. The alliance of younger women was broken when Lisa flipped, sending Mia home 5–3.

Episode 4: "Now That's a Reward!"

• Reward Challenge: Pairs of several Vanuatu cultural items were hidden in a group of baskets. The castaways must take turns finding matching pairs in the field of baskets. First tribe to find five pairs wins reward.
  • Reward: A Vanuatu tribesman named Dah would visit the winning tribe's camp to teach them everything they need to know about survivor in Vanuatu: fishing, hunting and shelter.
• Immunity Challenge: The tribe members must race to match a series of colored tiles according to the symbol painted on them. Each tribe must designate a member to be their "eyes". The "eyes" will stand on a perch to guide their tribe as they arrange their tiles in a grid so that no color or symbol is repeated in one row or column. First tribe to decipher the puzzle wins immunity.

After Lisa flipped alliances at the previous Tribal Council, tensions arose at Yasur and the women were unsure who to trust. The older men of Lopevi were happy to see that they were succeeding in voting out the younger men. Knowing he was on the chopping block, the younger Brady attempted to become Lopevi's provider of fish, however he brought back only a small catch. With the help of Ami, Eliza, Julie, and Leann, Yasur took an early lead at the reward challenge. Yasur won the reward. When the Vanuatu tribesman, Dah, arrived at the Yasur camp, he taught the tribe how to retrieve coconuts for milk and showed them roots, nuts, and sugarcane. The Yasur women felt that Dah's visit boosted their team morale. At Lopevi, Bubba became homesick and the feud between Sarge and Rory intensified. At the immunity challenge, Lopevi selected Rory to be their "eyes" and Yasur selected Eliza for theirs. Yasur managed to secure another victory. Knowing they were on the chopping block, Brady and John K. lobbied the older men's alliance to keep them around in order to win challenges. In the end, loyalty outweighed strength, and John K. joined the elder alliance and Brady was sent home 6–1.

Episode 5: "Earthquakes and Shake-Ups!"

• Reward Challenge: The castaways must pull themselves along an underwater rope, retrieving markers along the way. The tribe the collects the most markers in the time given wins reward.
  • Reward: A trip to the waterfalls of Vanuatu, plus beer and Pringles chips
• Immunity Challenge: The tribes must race through the jungle to retrieve paddles and parts of a canoe. Once all the pieces are gathered, the tribes must assemble their canoe and paddle out in the ocean to retrieve their flag. First tribe to bring their flag to the shore wins immunity.

After a cold night, there was a conflict at Lopevi over who gets to sleep near the fire. Bubba, who always slept near the fire, refused to consider a rotation of sleeping positions that will give all Lopevi members a chance to sleep near the fire. As morning came, both tribes were shocked to see Vanuatu tribesmen approach their shore, instructing them to choose a "chief". Lopevi chose Sarge while Yasur chose Scout. As the tribes speculated about the role of being the chief, both tribes were shaken up by an earthquake. As the tribes gathered for a reward challenge, Jeff announced that the tribes would be switched. The two chiefs, Sarge and Scout, would be the leaders of the new tribes. Scout had to assign the castaways to each tribe, while Sarge would get to choose which tribe he would lead. After the tribes were switched, the new Lopevi tribe was Chad, Chris, John K., Julia and Twila with Lea as their leader. The new Yasur tribe was Ami, Eliza, Leann, Liza, Rory and Bubba with Scout as the leader. At the reward challenge, the new Lopevi tribe fell behind as Chris lost his marker. However, they managed to pull ahead when Ami from Yasur was unable to dive that deep and returned empty-handed. Chris found the marker, and came back from underwater, winning reward for Lopevi. As they enjoyed their reward, the new Lopevi tribe bonded over their beer and Pringles. The women at Yasur welcomed new arrivals Rory and Bubba. As Jeff was explaining the immunity challenge, Ami caught Bubba trying to communicate something to Chris, who was now on the opposing tribe. During the challenge, Yasur fell behind when Rory had trouble untying a knot to release a paddle. Lopevi ended up winning immunity. As the only men on Yasur, Rory and Travis were on the chopping block, however Eliza argued that they could go on a losing streak without the men. Despite Eliza's arguments, Bubba was not trusted due to his attempt to communicate with Chris. Bubba was sent home 6–1.

Episode 6: "Hog Tied"

• Reward Challenge: The tribe members must race through a muddy pigpen in order to retrieve tribe-colored pigs. First tribe to bring ten pigs back to their tribe pen wins reward.
  • Reward: Steak and eggs
• Immunity Challenge: From a platform in the water, each tribe member must navigate obstacle course to retrieve a pieces of a tiki. The castaways must avoid both above and underwater obstacles. The tribes must then bring the pieces ashore to assemble their tiki. First tribe to assemble their tiki correctly wins immunity.

Rory was upset that the only other Yasur male, Travis, was voted out. At Lopevi, Julie and Twila made predictions of who Yasur voted out. After receiving Tree Mail, the Yasur tribe gathered to hear a speech from Rory about fairness. At the reward challenge, Lea placed the final pig into the pen, winning reward for Lopevi. While Lopevi enjoyed their steaks, the Yasur tribe discussed Eliza's poor performance in the reward challenge. At Lopevi, Lea and Twila discussed their alliances. Without Rory and Travis, the older men welcomed Twila into their alliance. At the immunity challenge, Ami and Chris collapsed on the beach. Rory gave Yasur a lead, however Leann had trouble underwater, allowing Lopevi to win immunity once again. After Yasur lost immunity, Leann blamed herself for the loss of the challenge. Eliza, Leann and Rory were on the chopping block. However, Ami decided that Lisa couldn't be trusted and convinced Eliza, Leann and Rory to vote for Lisa. In the end, Ami's plan came into fruition, and Lisa was sent home by a vote of 4–2.

Episode 7: "Anger, Threats, Tears...and Coffee"

• Reward Challenge: One tribe member at a time must open coconuts, then they must race through an obstacle course with the coconut juice, and fill up their tribe's receiving jar. Once the jar is full, the final tribe member must carry it to the finish line. First tribe to get their full jar across the finish line wins reward.
  • Reward: A trip to a café to enjoy coffee, juice, treats, and love from home
• Immunity Challenge: The tribe members must take turns using a slingshot to fire marbles at tiles. First tribe to break all twenty of their tiles wins immunity.

At Lopevi, John K. decided to slack off from work, which irritated some of his tribemates. At Yasur, since being the only man left , Rory was feeling vulnerable. At the reward challenge, Leann almost lost the challenge for Yasur when she tripped. However, she managed to bring the full jar across the finish line, winning reward for Yasur. At the café the Yasur tribe enjoyed their treats and tearfully read letters from home. At the immunity challenge, Rory hit his tribe's final tile, winning immunity for Yasur. After returning to camp, the men of Lopevi worried that keeping the women around could be fatal mistake, as they could easily pick off the men one by one with a 6-4 advantage. Knowing that he was on the chopping block, John K. lobbied Chris and Twila to vote out Chad because of his position as a sympathy threat. In the end, the alliance of older men stuck to their original plan, and John K. was sent home 5–1.

Episode 8: "Now the Battle Really Begins"

• Reward Challenge: One tribe member must race into the ocean to fill a bucket with water. Then they must bring it back and toss it to a tribemate. The bucket must be tossed twice more, and the final tribe member must catch the water itself in another bucket, and use it to fill a jar. The tribes must repeat this until they have enough weight in their jar to lower it to the ground, sending a lit flame up to a fire tower. First tribe to light their fire wins reward.
  • Reward: Cookies, milk, and chocolate cake
• Immunity Challenge: The castaways were divided into two groups. The castaways must race to a series of tall wooden towers in the water and climb to the top. Then they must navigate across a balance beam, retrieve a flag, and jump off the tower and race to the beach. First two players from each group to bring three flags to the beach moves on to the final round. The final round would be the same challenge. First person to collect all three of their flags wins immunity.

Knowing she would probably be next on the chopping block, Julie flirted with Sarge. At Yasur, Rory and Scout seemed to be doing most of the work. Being the only man on Yasur, Rory's patience was dwindling. At the reward challenge, both tribes had trouble getting the water into their final castaway's bucket. However, Chris managed to catch water more easily by getting low to the ground, allowing Lopevi to take the lead and win reward. While enjoying their reward, Chris formed an alliance with Chad. As the tribes gathered for the immunity challenge, Jeff shocked the castaways when he announced the merge, and explained that they would be playing for individual immunity. Immunity was won by Sarge. As the castaways returned to the old Lopevi camp, they were excited to see their merge feast. They chose to name the new tribe "Alinta", which means "people of the fire". Sarge got nervous when he saw how close Ami and Julie were, which threated his Lopevi alliance. With the Lopevi men's alliance and the Yasur women's alliance, Julie and Twila were the swing votes. They could either vote with their former Lopevi tribemates, or vote with the other women to eliminate the men, starting with Rory. In the end, Julie and Twila stuck with the other women, sending Rory home 6–4.

Episode 9: "Gender Wars...It's Getting Ugly"

• Reward Challenge: Each castaway is assigned three skulls. The castaways must take turns answering questions about Vanuatu history and culture. Each time a castaway answers a question correctly, they must set another player's skull on fire. The person with the last skull left wins reward.
  • Reward: The winner would enjoy a helicopter ride to the inland gorge of Vanuatu. They will enjoy a picnic of chicken wings and champagne in the mouth of an inactive volcano
• Immunity Challenge: Each castaway must stand behind a podium containing a mosaic puzzle. Each piece of the mosaic puzzle has multiple sides, with each side a different color. The castaways would then be shown a picture showing a mosaic with a specific color scheme. The castaways will have one minute to replicate what they saw on their picture, with those making a mistake eliminated from the challenge. The puzzles will gradually become more difficult and the castaways will have less time. Last castaway standing wins immunity.

After Julie and Twila broke their alliance with the Lopevi men, it became clear that a gender war was taking place. Being the leader amongst the men, Lea became worried. At the reward challenge, all three men were quickly eliminated as the women burned all of their skulls. Leann won reward, and chose Julie to join her. As Julie and Leann enjoyed their picnic, they formed a final two alliance. Back at camp, the men tried to figure out how to break the female alliance. They decided to take advantage of the rift between Eliza and Scout, and use that to convince the women that Eliza should be voted out. At the immunity challenge, the first puzzle eliminated all three men. In the end, it came down to Ami, Julie and Leann. Immunity was won by Ami. After returning to camp, the men continued to try and break the women's alliance. Sarge convinced Twila that she was lied to by Julie and not by the Lopevi alliance. Chad suddenly realized that instead of their stupid plan to have Eliza voted out, the men should try and convince her to abandon the women's alliance that didn't really like her and join forces with them. In the end, however, the women stuck together, and Sarge was voted out 7–1–1, becoming the first member of the jury.

Episode 10: "Culture Shock and Violent Storms"

• Reward Challenge: The castaways will be split into two teams of four. One player from each team will be deemed the "sacrificial lamb". The "sacrificial lamb" must wear a harness with their hands tied. The other three team members must guide the "sacrificial lamb" through an obstacle course. First team to get their "sacrificial lamb" to the finish line wins reward.
  • Reward: A trip to another island, where a Vanuatu village will host a night of ritual, spiritual union, and food
• Immunity Challenge: The castaways must hang onto a pole as long as they can. The last person left hanging without touching the ground wins immunity.

As morning rose, Scout formed an alliance with Chad and Chris. Her plan was to eliminate Eliza, then Ami. The team of Ami, Chad, Chris, and Eliza won reward. Back at camp, Scout revealed her plan to eliminate Eliza before the men. Leann had doubts, however Julie and Twila considered it. After the winning team returned to camp, Scout clarified her plan to the men. At the immunity challenge, it came down to Chad and Twila. Twila outlasted Chad, winning immunity. After returning to camp, Scout immediately lobbied to have Eliza eliminated before the men. However, Ami still wanted to stick with their original plan. Twila ended up being the swing vote. She could vote for Eliza, with Chad, Chris and Scout and cause a tie between Chad and Eliza, or vote for Chad with Ami, Eliza, Julie and Leann, sending Chad home. However, the women ended up sticking to their original plan, and Chad was voted out 6–2, becoming the second member of the jury.

Episode 11: "Surprise and...Surprise Again!"

• Reward Challenge: The challenge would be a memory test about what has played out in the previous challenges of this season. The castaways will be asked a series of questions. The player who answers the most questions correctly wins reward.
  • Reward: The winner's loved one will spend a night that the Alinta camp
• Immunity Challenge: Both the castaways and the loved ones will participate in the challenge. The castaways must sit on towers and verbally guide their blindfolded loved ones through a series of obstacles in order to retrieve bags of puzzle pieces. Once all the bags are retrieved, the castaways and their loved one must work together to assemble the puzzle. First castaway to complete the puzzle wins immunity. This challenge is from Survivor: Thailand.

Knowing he was on the chopping block, Chris, the last man left, attempted to break the female alliance. He told the women that Scout and Twila had conspired to align with Chad and Chris. As the castaways gathered for the reward challenge, Jeff shocked the castaways by announcing that the winner would get to communicate with their loved one for one hour using a computer satellite hook-up. The castaways were given a one-minute taste of the contact before the challenge started. The challenge came down to Eliza and Julie. Eliza ended up winning reward. Jeff shocked Eliza by telling her that she would actually spend a whole night with her mother. Jeff invited the loved ones for a tearful reunion with the castaways. While Eliza spent time with her mother, Ami and Leann asked Scout and Twila where their loyalties lay. They both assured Ami and Leann that they were sticking to their original plan. However, Leann revealed that she had since promised Julie a spot in the Final Four, meaning that the original plan (Leann, Ami, Scout and Twila in the Final Four) was no longer applicable. As the castaways gathered for the immunity challenge, Jeff shocked the castaways by announcing that the loved ones would participate in the challenge. It came down to Ami and her girlfriend, and Chris and his fiancée. Ami and her girlfriend completed the puzzle before Chris and his fiancée, and Chris sadly told her his fate in the game was sealed. After returning to camp, the women discussed who they would vote out next. Julie and Leeann decided that Eliza didn't deserve to stay in the game any longer, which Ami then signed off on. However, Julie told Chris about Eliza's looming vote-out, and then Chris brought the information to Twila. Twila told Chris that he's been spared and he could turn the game around by talking to one person; after some back and forth, Chris realized she meant Eliza, and he went to Eliza and pleaded with her to take the chance and side with him, Scout and Twila against her former allies, which was hard for Eliza due to her dislike of Scout and Twila. Scout and Twila formed an alliance with Chris and Eliza and targeted Leann, since Ami had immunity. In the end, the new alliance of four's plan came into fruition, and Leann was blindsided 4–3, becoming the third member of the jury.

Episode 12: "Now Who's in Charge Here?!"

• Reward Challenge: The castaways must race across a floating obstacle course in order to retrieve flags. First person to bring three flags back to shore wins reward.
  • Reward: The winner will receive a brand new Pontiac G6. The second and third placed castaways would join the winner on a road trip to a resort, where they will enjoy a night with food and a hot shower.
• Immunity Challenge: The challenge was a version of Shuffleboard. Each castaway will be given six metal discs. On the board there will be a map of the Vanuatu islands. The castaways must try to get their discs on the islands. The castaway with the most discs on the islands wins immunity.

After returning from Tribal Council in which Leann was voted out, Ami was furious at Twila for betraying her, but Twila bluntly told Ami she'd paid the price for being cocky and making it clear who was NOT in her Final 3 and Final 4 alliances. As the castaways gathered for the reward challenge, Jeff drove up in a brand new Pontiac G6, and explained that the winner would win the car. It came down to Ami and Eliza as they both got their three flags. However, as they were running up to place their flags in their posts, Ami fell in the water, allowing Eliza to win the car. Being in second and third place, Ami and Chris joined Eliza on the road trip, with Chris making a critical move to outrun Julie for the reward share so that she and Ami wouldn't have their former alliance-mate/recent vote target Eliza alone to possibly re-recruit. At the reward, Ami apologized to Eliza for voting for her at the previous Tribal Council, but annoyed Eliza by claiming (falsely) that Ami and her alliance had repeatedly saved Eliza from being voted out in the past. Back at camp, Twila got worried that Ami would use the reward time to recruit Eliza into her alliance. At the reward, Ami lobbied Chris and Eliza to break their alliance with Scout and Twila. Chris explained to Eliza that strategically, it would be better to stick with Scout and Twila. Meanwhile, Ami urged Eliza to consider how many times Ami had saved her from being eliminated. Eliza thought it would be hard to write down Ami's name. At the immunity challenge, it came down to Ami and Chris. Ami hit one of her own discs off an island, reducing her score by one, giving Chris immunity. After returning to camp, Ami and Julie knew they were on the chopping block. Chris, Scout and Twila got worried that Eliza would flip to the Ami's side. In the end, Eliza stuck with the new F4 alliance, and Ami was voted out 4–2, becoming the fourth member of the jury.

Episode 13: "Eruption of Volcanic Magnitude"

• Reward Challenge: This challenge incorporated elements from previous challenges this season. First the castaways must navigate through a mud crawl, with the last to complete the crawl being eliminated from the challenge. Then the four remaining castaways must catch a pig to bring it into their pen, with the last one to do so being eliminated from the challenge. Then the three remaining castaways must solve a tiki puzzle, with two moving on. The final two castaways must race across a balance beam, then use a slingshot to break three tiles. First castaway to break three tiles wins reward.
  • Reward: A trip to Mount Yasur where the winner will enjoy a picnic of hot dogs, hot chocolate, and beer
• Immunity Challenge: Jeff will start by telling the story of Roy Mata. After he finishes the story, the castaways must race to different stations to answer questions about the story. Each time a castaway answers correctly, they would receive a white pig tusk, which they must must attach to a necklace. First player to attach all five of their tusks wins immunity.

After Eliza reminded Twila of a previous broken promise at Tribal Council, Twila got furious at Eliza and her tribe. Julie took advantage of the rift between Eliza and Twila and lobbied to vote out Twila next. Eliza told her that she would consider it if Chris was on board. At the reward challenge, it came down to Julie and Twila. Julie ended up winning reward, and chose Chris to join her hoping that she could convince him to eliminate Twila. At the reward, Julie told Chris that Eliza had put the decision about whether or not they were going to break their alliance with Scout and Twila in his hands. After Chris and Julie returned to camp, Chris assured Scout and Twila that he was still on board with them. Immunity was won by Eliza. After returning from the challenge, Chris knew he was the swing vote. Chris could vote with Scout and Twila to eliminate Julie, or he could vote with Eliza and Julie to eliminate Twila. He told both Julie and Twila that he needed to vote the other off. In the end, Chris voted with Scout and Twila, eliminating Julie 3–2. Julie became the fifth member of the jury.

Episode 14: "Spirits and the Final Four"

• Immunity Challenge: The castaways must race through an eight-level vertical maze in order to retrieve ten colored tiles. Once they have all their tiles, they must untie the tiles to reveal letters for a word scramble. First castaway to form the correct two-word phrase (which turned out to be "Final Three") wins immunity.

After returning from Tribal Council, Eliza was angry at some of the things said about her. At the immunity challenge, Chris spelled out the winning phrase, "Final Three" correctly, winning immunity. After he won immunity, Chris celebrated with Scout and Twila. Chris tried to get Twila to give Eliza a hard time before Tribal Council, however Twila realized that he was trying to get more jury votes should they make it to the final two. Eliza was voted out 3–1, becoming the sixth member of the jury.

• Immunity Challenge: The castaways must stand on platform holding a bow and arrow in a warrior pose. Any castaway who falls off the platform or releases their arrow will be eliminated from the challenge. Last castaway standing wins immunity.

The final three were awakened early by Jeff, who instructed them to paddle to chief Roy Mata's resting place to pay their respects to the fallen castaways. The final three passed all the torches and reminisced about the 38 days they had spent at Vanuatu. At the final immunity challenge, Scout fell out first. After an hour, Twila lost balance, giving Chris immunity once again. After winning the final immunity challenge, Chris thought about whom to take to the final two. He felt that Twila was not as well liked as Scout, therefore he felt he could beat Twila more easily. In the end, Chris voted out Scout, who he felt was more liked by the jury. Scout became the seventh and final member of the jury.

At the final Tribal Council, Chris defended his actions as part of the game and said that he often didn't know who he was going to vote for until he was in the booth. Twila apologized for swearing on her son's name, and said that she worked hard and did what she needed to stay true to herself. In the end, Chris beat Twila to become the Sole Survivor in a 5–2 vote.

Voting history

	Original Tribes					Mixed Tribes			Merged Tribe
Episode #:	1	2	3		4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Eliminated:	Brook 5/9 votes	Dolly 5/9 votes	John P. 5/8 votes	Mia 5/8 votes	Brady 6/7 votes	Bubba 6/7 votes	Lisa 4/6 votes	John K. 5/6 votes	Rory 6/10 votes	Sarge 7/9 votes	Chad 6/8 votes	Leann 4/7 votes	Ami 4/6 votes	Julie 3/5 votes	Eliza 3/4 votes	Scout 1 vote
Voter	Vote
Chris	Brook		John P.		Brady			John K.	Ami	Sarge	Eliza	Leann	Ami	Julie	Eliza	Scout
Twila		Dolly		Mia				John K.	Rory	Sarge	Chad	Leann	Ami	Julie	Eliza
Scout		Dolly		Mia		Bubba	Rory		Rory	Sarge	Chad	Leann	Ami	Julie	Eliza
Eliza		Dolly		Twila		Bubba	Lisa		Rory	Sarge	Chad	Leann	Ami	Twila	Twila
Julie		Leann		Twila				John K.	Rory	Sarge	Chad	Eliza	Scout	Twila
Ami		Dolly		Mia		Bubba	Lisa		Rory	Sarge	Chad	Eliza	Scout
Leann		Dolly		Mia		Bubba	Lisa		Rory	Sarge	Chad	Eliza
Chad	Brook		John P.		Brady			John K.	Ami	Julie	Eliza
Sarge	Brook		John P.		Brady			John K.	Ami	Eliza
Rory	Brook		John P.		Brady	Bubba	Lisa		Ami
John K.	Chris		Rory		Brady			Chad
Lisa		Leann		Mia		Bubba	Rory
Bubba	Brook		John P.		Brady	Rory
Brady	Rory		Rory		Rory
Mia		Leann		Twila
John P.	Chris		Rory
Dolly		Leann
Brook	Chris

Jury Vote
Finalist:	Twila 2/7 votes	Chris 5/7 votes
Juror	Vote
Scout	Twila
Eliza		Chris
Julie		Chris
Ami	Twila
Leann		Chris
Chad		Chris
Sarge		Chris

References

1. ^ "Survivor: Vanuatu---Islands of Fire Episodes". TV Guide. December 12, 2004. http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/survivor-vanuatu--islands/episodes/100428. Retrieved April 6, 2010. 

External links

• Official CBS Survivor Vanuatu Website