With the shock exit of Rohan MacLaren during the last tribal council, Saanapu continued their physical domination in challenges while Vavau had to regroup.
Self-proclaimed “strong puzzle presence” Andrew told his original alliance to stay loyal and take out Kat while Craig, after a fruitless search for the hidden immunity idol, asked Kate whether Andrew should go. Kat tried to re-friend Phoebe but bad-mouthing her ousted ally Rohan quietly rubbed Pheebs the wrong way.
Yet Phoebe wasn’t about to dismiss Kat entirely. After Phoebe found, based on hunches, the idol that eluded Craig, she shared that info to Kat and Kristie and told them to vote for Andrew. But at tribal council, after Kat overshared her loyalty to Vavau and not Aganoa, Phoebe read the room and voted out her out.
Who spoke to Kat Dumont, a Perth-based, 26-year-old marketing manager, about becoming the eighth person to leave Australian Survivor.
Q: You’ve been a fan of Survivor since you were a child. How did the real deal compare with what you’ve seen?
A: It was more amazing than I ever could have imagined. Going in, I knew it was going to be tough, but I didn’t realise how much you needed emotionally, physically and socially to survive, but what I got out of it was more than I thought I could get out of it.
Q: You made quite clear your dislike for Rohan. Why do you think you had it out for him the way you did?
A: He’s just not someone I would have dealt with in the real world and obviously when you’re forced to live with somebody and forced to work with someone and be part of a team with him, every little thing they do, which is annoying, is amplified in that situation, so he might do things in his normal life that probably wouldn’t bother me but in the game, every little thing that he would do would literally drive me insane. So it was hard and it was hard to live with people you literally cannot stand and unfortunately our personalities clashed and we had little common ground, which also made it hard to have those conversations and have a relationship.
Q: Rohan told us he has no hard feelings for the way you played the game. Could you see yourself trading Survivor stories with him at some point in the future?
A: Yeah! The game’s a game and that’s what people need to realise. Like, who knows? I could end up being best friends with Des! But with Rohan being on the East Coast and my being in the WA, we haven’t had that chance to catch up. I definitely wouldn’t rule it out. You never know. At the end of the day, I’m very much aware that the game is a game. Who knows what will happen in the real world.
Q: Host Jonathan LaPaglia seemed to pull more information from you at each tribal council than you wanted to share. True?
A: Jonathan is very good at getting information and I knew there were a few times where I was like, ‘Jonathan, you’re throwing me under the bus here!’ But that’s what makes great TV. Watching tribal was such a pinnacle in the US seasons that for me, I had all these aspirations of, ‘Oh my God, imagine experiencing a tribal!’ It got to the point where I had experienced so bloody many, it became something I absolutely feared. I don’t think the tension comes through on TV but it’s definitely a very intense situation.
Q: What do you think of Phoebe’s game now, who would you like to see win and who did you befriend on the island?
A: I could have said to the tribe when I left that Phoebe had the idol, but power to her. She is a very smart woman and I just said to her, ‘Use it well.’ I’m excited to see what she does with it. Being a fan, I appreciate good game play and she’s a really good player. But Kristie, who was the only one who didn’t backstab or betray me and was my friend from Day 1, I obviously would love to see her go far. We just got on like a house on fire. Even El and Lee and Sue — I think so highly of these individuals that I got to play the game with that I can see them in my life for many years to come.
Q: OK, so we have to know — where is your leopard print kaftan now?
A: It’s hanging in my wardrobe! It survived; it made the trip home, that and the hat. Unfortunately, the gold choker did not fare so well in the Samoan jungle. It’s rusted and broken but I’ve got it as a memento for sure.
Q: You quit your job to be on Survivor. What did your old co-workers think, and what are you doing now?
A: It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I would do anything to get me there. They thought it was hilarious. Obviously they didn’t know what I was doing when I quit. They just thought I was going travelling, so it was a nice surprise when they actually saw me on the show. Now I’m sort of freelancing at the moment in Perth and really enjoying it. The show made me realise you don’t need to have this amazing, successful career, you don’t need to earn the big bucks to be happy. You can take a step back, take it slow and start enjoying life that way. That’s definitely one of the epiphanies I had on the island.
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