Have any of the Top Six thrown a challenge? Photo / TVNZ
Have any of the Top Six thrown a challenge? Photo / TVNZ
Review by Karl Puschmann
Karl Puschmann is Culture and entertainment writer for the New Zealand Herald. His fascination lies in finding out what drives and inspires creative people.
The breakfast menu on the first day of Celebrity Treasure Island’s final week includes pastries, coffee and shocking revelations.
Alongside all the delicious goodies inside the breakfast hamper is a questionnaire for the Top Six to answer. One of the questions is, “Have you ever thrown a challenge?”
Dunkedon Garner sheepishly raises his hand. “I have,” he says, detailing his and Aidee Walker’s failed attempt to end team Wētā's winning streak and set up team captain Wairangi Koopu for elimination.
“I’m taken aback by that,” his former Wētā teammate James Rolleston says. “It’s a slap in the face. It p***ed me off.”
Pastries, coffee and shocking revelations for breakfast. Photo / TVNZ
Millen Baird and Christian Cullen also decide honesty is the best policy and confess their mutinous plot to remove Suzanne Paul from the Aihe captaincy, and the competition.
“We threw the Sudoku challenge,” Cullen smiles, as footage of him feigning an injury plays.
“No, you didn’t!” Dunkedon Garner gasps. “You hammed it up.”
“I feel really bad about it,” Baird says, grinning wildly and failing to stifle a laugh.
The arrival of host Bree Tomasel and co-host Lance Savali signifies something for the group to actually feel bad about. They had prepared to play the Face-Off challenge in pairs. Savali reveals that this is not the case.
“You won’t be playing with your pair,” he shouts. “You will be playing against them.”
Having won the power to select the pairs, Dunkedon Garner names his picks. He will face Bubbah, Baird will battle Rolleston and Cullen will clash with JP Foliaki.
“It’s pretty even,” he reckons. “There’s no certainties amongst any of these pairs.”
This episode's challenge sees the Top Six in cages. Photo / TVNZ
The challenge sees them locked in cages. They must fashion a long pole out of bamboo pieces or wooden sticks to reach across the sand and retrieve three keys attached to a pole. These unlock the cage. Once free, they must run into the ocean, and lug a large, heavy bag to the shore and across the finish line. The first of each pair across is safe. The three losers go into a double elimination.
They all employ different strategies, but Bubbah realises the bamboo pieces easily slot together. She assembles her pole and pokes at her first key. It drops to the sand.
Her rival Dunkedon Garner is more cautious with his bamboo pole. He gingerly hooks his key and retrieves it. Undeterred, Bubbah hooks a key and brings it home.
While he unlocks his first lock, Bubbah grabs her second key. Now she just has to fish her first key out of the sand, which she quickly does. She gets to work on the locks. Garner is right behind her.
The other two groups are still crafting their poles out of sticks and rope. As Garner escapes his cage they can only look on, mystified at how he’s done it. They’re flabbergasted when, a second later, Bubbah races out after him.
Bubbah is safe. Photo / TVNZ
The pair plunge into the ocean and race to grab their bags. They start rushing to shore. They are confused when everyone starts shouting, “Green!” at them. In their haste, they grabbed the wrong coloured bags. Bubbah was trailing but now, being much closer to the correct bag, she finds herself in the lead. She swaps bags as Dunkedon Garner drops an F-bomb and starts trudging back to get the right colour. She runs past him and across the finish line. She is safe.
The other four are still locked up. Cullen pivots to bamboo. He nabs the first key but drops the other two into the sand, giving Foliaki a chance to catch up. But Foliaki can’t capitalise on the mistake and Cullen is soon free, retrieving his bag from the water and crossing the finish line.
Meanwhile, both Baird and Rolleston have stuck with wood and rope and have crafted some rackety foolishness. Baird is completely bamboozled by the task, so while Rolleston’s pole looks dubious it eventually gets the job done. He is safe.
The three must dangle between two ropes above the tide with arms on one rope, legs on another. Photo / TVNZ
Later on, Baird, Foliaki and Dunkedon Garner head glumly to the double elimination. It is an endurance challenge. Garner describes it as his “worst nightmare”. They must dangle between two ropes above the tide with arms on one rope, legs on another. Sporadically they must climb up the rope. Last man hanging wins.
“It feels like the only strategy is hang on for dear life,” Baird correctly assumes.
As evening descends the trio gently bob up and down in the cold water. They find ways to deal with the pain; Baird imagines his wife’s face in the clouds, Foliaki pictures himself in the warm waters of Tonga and Garner silently sings Māori songs.
Savali instructs them to climb a rung. Garner’s song comes to an end as he is dunked for the final time.
“Aw, no!” Savali shouts as Dunkedon Garner splashes into the ocean. “That man fought well in this game.”
Garner’s journey comes to an end. Photo / TVNZ
“I wasn’t in great shape coming here,” Duncan Garner reflects. “This has plucked me from the edge of the cliff and rescued me in many ways.”
After 18 painful minutes, Baird and Foliaki are still holding on, gently rocking in the rising tide that’s lapping at their chins.
“Find comfort in being uncomfortable,” Savali shouts as he instructs them to climb another level.
The cold of the water and the heat from their burning arms is an awful combo. As Foliaki’s mind escapes into a Tongan hymn, Baird’s arms begin to wobble. His fingers begin to slip.
“Millsy drops and is out of this game!” Savali shouts. “JP is safe and joins the Final Four!”
The Final Four. Friends tonight. Foes tomorrow. Photo / TVNZ
“I put everything into it but the body couldn’t take it any more,” Baird reflects. “On this show, I really found out who I am. I’ve learned to love all my flaws and all my strengths. It’s a cliche but it’s true, I’ll come away from this more of a complete person.”
Foliaki is the sole survivor. He plods alone, wet, cold and in the dark back to camp.
“You look cold,” Cullen smiles, before hugging him.
“Oh, mate,” Foliaki shivers. “That was something else.”
