‘Australian Survivor: Blood V Water’ episode 7 recap: Did Sandra survive the Day 16 curse?

The seventh episode of “Australian Survivor: Blood V Water” began with 19 players still left in the game: nine on the Red (Blood) tribe (after Jay Bruno was blindsided) and 10 on the Blue (Water) tribe. So who became the next castaway to have their torch snuffed by host Jonathan LaPaglia? Below, read our “Australian Survivor: Blood V Water” Episode 7 recap, which aired February 13, 2022 on Network 10 and 10play on demand. (Also check out our recaps for Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5 and Episode 6.)

1. Drop your buffs.
At the Blue camp, Alanna “Nina” Twine calls her tribe “very easy going.” She feels like she is in a good position and can make it to the end, just like her mother Sandra Diaz-Twine did twice on the American version. When the tribes arrive for the reward challenge, Sophie Cachia says she’s not surprised at all to see Jay gone, and that she’s happy some faces are still in the game. Jonathan tells the players to “drop your buffs” in the season’s first tribe swap. The reshuffled tribes are as follows: Red = Amy Ong, David Goodchild, Shayelle “Shay” Lajoie, Jordie Hansen, Melissa “Mel” Chiang, Nina, Sandra, Jordan Schmidt and Josh Millgate. Blue = Michelle Chiang, Jesse Hansen, Khanh Ong, Ben Watson, Samantha “Sam” Gash, Sophie, Kate “KJ” Austin, Christina “Chrissy” Zaremba and Michael “Croc” Crocker. The only person not to pull a colored buff is Mark Wales, which means he gets to choose his tribe. He joins the Blue group, which notably angers his wife Sam.

2. Reward challenge.
In their first challenge as new tribes, the players square off in teams of four to see who can row their boat the fastest. The catch is that the two boats are connected together, and whoever reaches their flag first wins. Amy sits out. The winning group will earn hot dogs with all the fixins and sodas to wash it all down. The first point goes to Blue, followed by Red, then Blue, and finally Blue. Thus, the new Blue tribe earns their first victory.

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3. Hot doggin’ it.
Back at the Blue camp, the players celebrate by eating their hot dogs. Sam calls Mark’s decision an “elephant in the room,” with her new friends saying they were surprised by his choice not to join her team. Sophie and Sam have a conversation about Sophie’s ouster several episodes ago, with Sam saying Sophie is still on her “hit list” to go home first. Chrissy notices a rolled-up clue on the hot dog cart and she stealthily retrieves it and puts it in her pants. She shares the clue with Croc, who then follows the hints to a tree that extends into the water. He finds the idol!

4. Invisible game.
At the new Red camp, Jordie says he likes how many strong males there are now, but that he has his eyes on Sandra. Mark explains that it would have been “counter-intuitive” to have joined up with Sam, as that would have made them both less safe. But when the merge comes, he expects to bring both of their alliances together and dominate the game. Sandra wants to play an “invisible game,” telling David she’s willing to have a “restart” after he and Amy voted for her last time. She’s proud of Nina’s social game and wants to use that to her advantage. Nina can’t believe her luck with the tribe swap, as she’s still with her alliance and has joined up with her mother.

SEE Everything to know about ‘Australian Survivor: Blood V Water’

5. Immunity challenge.
It’s Day 16 as the groups arrive for the immunity challenge. Jonathan jokes that “Survivor” brought Mark and Sam together, and he would hate for it to split them apart. The players have to chop through a rope that releases a cargo net, giving them access to a wooden ramp and a balance beam. They then have to grab boxes along the beam, with Michelle being the only person to fall off. Finally, the teams have to smash the boxes to find a ball, and then maneuver the ball on an enormous table maze. Thanks in part to Khanh’s calling abilities, the Blue team wins immunity. Nina, the caller on the Red tribe, is noticeably ticked off.

6. Day 16 curse.
Sandra reminds viewers that the last two times she played, she was eliminated on Day 16. “I am not happy that I lost,” she declares. She hopes Nina’s alliance will look out for her. The alpha males want to keep the tribe strong by voting out Mel. But Jordie doesn’t want to go with the easy vote — he wants to get out the Queen. The guys decide not to tell Nina because they don’t want to complicate the plan.

7. Tribal council.
Sandra tells Jonathan she “feels good” about this tribe, but that there are still 31 days to go. Mel says no one should be “sitting comfy” tonight. The Queen warns the group that “the weak always outnumber the strong,” and her speech seems to have an influence on Shay. Sandra then admits she wouldn’t be surprised if she got a couple of votes her way, but when Nina refuses to look at her, she starts getting a bad feeling. The players all vote and, amazingly, Nina votes for her mother. Shay stands up and plays her idol for herself. The votes are read: David, Sandra, Sandra, Sandra, Sandra, Sandra, Sandra. The Queen is eliminated. “I’m not even mad,” she says as she thanks the Australians for inviting her on the show.