Race To Survive: New Zealand

[Quilt Fairy]

Confirmation it was a weka: https://www.thedailybeast.com/race-for-survival-star-spencer-corry-jones-eats-endangered-weka-bird?ref=home

[bosawks]

I hope there is another season because I'd like to see what changes they make.

I preferred the first but I like a show that will mix things up.

[PaperTree]

16 hours ago, Red Bridey said:

I guess God was lying to Nik all along 🤔😉

Poor baby.  His "visions" were wrong.  I had a grandmother with serious mental health problems and she had all sorts of "visions".  Like the "Communists"  were tapping her phone, everybody was out to get her, she was having sex with the mailman, and even told Mom (her daughter) she was banging my Dad.  (and Dad despised her).

State mental hospitals, I witnessed "The Cuckoo's Nest" back in the late '60s.  Scary for a kid, but left me with a lot of compassion, because, you just never know.

Seems like the editors set Nik up.  

And how were they "starving" after eating that whole sheep?

Good on Ethan & Tyrie, glad they won.

[tv echo]

Reality TV contestant apologises for killing and eating protected New Zealand bird
Helen Sullivan   Jul 24, 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/24/race-to-survive-new-zealand-spencer-jones-protected-weka-bird-killed-eaten-contestant-disqualified 

Quote

The weka, a large, brown and protected bird species, is both flightless and curious: two qualities that don’t get an animal far in the real world. They mate for life.

Officials from the New Zealand Department of Conservation have sent a written warning to the show’s producers over the killing of the bird. Dylan Swain, who led the department’s investigation into the killing, told the Guardian the show’s production company was “on notice”.
*  *  *
The New Zealand Department of Conservation website describes weka as “usually heard, not seen, although some birds, usually those living near farms or tramping huts, get a reputation for pilfering crops, food and other small objects”.

“They will take the objects to the nearest cover to investigate them. For this reason it is best not to chase weka but to simply watch where the weka goes and retrieve the objects a little later.”

The penalty for killing protected wildlife is up to two years in prison or a fine of NZ$100,000, according to the DOC.

In this instance, “the unique set of circumstances – cast members were fatigued and suffering from significant hunger, in an unusual group dynamic situation – meant we felt a warning letter was prudent,” the DOC investigator said.

Edited July 24 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Ethan and Kennedy did not participate in these post-finale interviews because Ethan was literally fighting a fire in Oregon and Kennedy had a last-minute work emergency...

Race to Survive Winners "Could Have Kept Racing": Finale Interview
By Tara Bennett   Jul 23, 2024
https://www.usanetwork.com/usa-insider/race-to-survive-new-zealand-tyrie-mann-merrill-ethan-greenberg-winner-interview 

EXCLUSIVE: Race to Survive: New Zealand Winner Tyrie Mann Merril Shares Plans for Lifechanging Grand Prize
BY JUSTIN SMITH   JULY 23, 2024
https://www.realitytea.com/2024/07/23/exclusive-race-to-survive-new-zealand-winner-tyrie-mann-merril-shares-plans-lifechanging-grand-prize/ 

EXCLUSIVE: Race to Survive: New Zealand Finalists, Creighton Baird and Paulina Peña, Discuss Divorce, Hedgehogs, and Second Place
BY JUSTIN SMITH   JULY 23, 2024
https://www.realitytea.com/2024/07/23/exclusive-race-to-survive-new-zealand-finalists-creighton-baird-paulina-pena/ 

EXCLUSIVE: Race to Survive: New Zealand’s Nik Milutinovic Explains Why He Lost His ‘Soul’ During Brutal Finale
BY JUSTIN SMITH   JULY 23, 2024
https://www.realitytea.com/2024/07/23/exclusive-race-to-survive-new-zealand-nik-milutinovic-explains-lost-his-soul-during-brutal-finale/ 

Edited July 24 by tv echo

[iMonrey]

This was a long, slow march to the inevitable. It was obvious early on it would either be the smoke jumpers or the river guides, and once the river guides were out they might as well have cut straight to the finish. 

The scenery was breathtaking but the race itself was a slog that wasn't terrible interesting and completely lacked suspense. 

If they do another season they really need to figure out how to level the playing field. I don't know if that means all teams must be co-ed or just what, but there was never any real question who was going to win this season, and from what I gather that was the case with the first season too.

[kickingnames]

The steady team with the least bickering won. May not make for great television, but I’m happy for them regardless.

I could do without ever seeing a sheep or eel slaughtered on television ever again, though. Hope they find some way to make the survival aspect more interesting and less gruesome.

Edited July 25 by kickingnames
Homonyms

[Quilt Fairy]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

there was never any real question who was going to win this season, and from what I gather that was the case with the first season too.

Actually, the finale of the first season was thrilling, and any of the final 3 teams could have won it.

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Actually, the finale of the first season was thrilling, and any of the final 3 teams could have won it.

I remember it being pretty cut and dried from early on in season 1, but it's been a long while so I could be wrong.

[meep.meep]

This left me with bad feelings because of the race design.  Yeah for the winners and runners up.

Nobody should be stuck at camp with no food waiting days for the next leg to start.  If there's a follow up race and it is designed that way, I won't watch.  I want to see racing, not grubbing for food in front of a bunch of camera people who are getting 3 squares.

And I still don't see why Kennedy and Nik were not penalized for stealing and slaughtering someone's sheep.  If production can pay off a farmer, they can provide beans or oatmeal or something for everyone to eat.

[ChristmasJones]

I like this show in general. I do not enjoy seeing innocent animals being killed because they happen to cross paths with a reality tv show.   A quick but cursory google search tells me there are feral sheep in NZ and there is no seasonal restriction on hunting them.  

I would like to see more equality among the teams - make them all m/f in my opinion. 

In terms of the winners, I would have been ok with the sheep killing team or the smoke jumpers.  I feel good knowing that someone who works in a dangerous field to protect others and property, but doesn't get rich off it, won the final reward.  I hope they invest it wisely.

[Quilt Fairy]

Now it's a plot against them by the other teams because of how well they were doing: https://www.thedailybeast.com/race-to-survive-star-who-ate-rare-bird-claimed-hes-just-the-fall-guy?ref=home

Cry me a river, guys.

 

[kickingnames]

If you did the illegal thing, then it doesn’t really matter who told on you. If you didn’t do it, you wouldn’t be in a position to get cut from the race for it. I understand desperation, but don’t blame another team for potentially telling on you for the illegal thing that you in fact did do.

[bosawks]

10 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Now it's a plot against them by the other teams because of how well they were doing: https://www.thedailybeast.com/race-to-survive-star-who-ate-rare-bird-claimed-hes-just-the-fall-guy?ref=home

Cry me a river, guys.

 

He's mad because they ate a protected bird and believes a team, that was under the same restrictions and rules as themselves and didn't eat a protected animal, told on them.

"You might sacrifice some of your values to get that money.", this guy is unbelievable.

[Quilt Fairy]

He also ignores the fact that they were all being filmed.  

And, if I am not mistaken, this happened at the same camp where they arrived first and had a f*cking charcuterie board to eat. 

Edited July 29 by Quilt Fairy

[Irlandesa]

6 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

He also ignores the fact that they were all being filmed. 

From what I've read elsewhere, a lot of the filming was done by the contestants themselves via GoPro cameras so it's unlikely this was caught on film.  I know they showed something that looked like the kill on TV but I suspect that was either from another hunt or they asked him to recreate the kill.

[ChristmasJones]

Another random factoid about sheep in NZ -  I was browsing tv channels yesterday and the film The Endless Summer (1966) was on.  Its a documentary about these guys going surfing all around the world. Anyway, at one point they are in New Zealand and the guy says there are 2 million people in NZ, and there are 10 million sheep!  

A quick google search pulled up this article which appears to confirm this insane people-to-sheep ratio in NZ

 

Quote

New Zealand’s ratio of sheep to people has dropped below five to one for the first time since national population records began in the late 1850s....

The country once had enough sheep to provide a small flock for every person, with the ratio peaking at 22 sheep for every human in the early 1980s. But with international wool markets in long decline, and forestry emerging as a more lucrative use of the land, sheep numbers in New Zealand have been dropping.

 

National data released this week showed the national flock was 25.3m at June 2022 – a drop of 400,000, or 2% compared with the year before. With New Zealand’s estimated human population at 5.15 million, it was the lowest ratio of sheep to people since the 1850s, when national sheep numbers were first recorded, said Jason Attewell, Stats NZ general manager of economic and environment insights.

He noted that New Zealand remained ahead of Australia in maintaining its sheep-to-person crown. “Australia currently has three times as many sheep as New Zealand, though their ratio is only around three sheep to every Aussie,” Attewell said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/23/new-zealand-ratio-of-sheep-to-humans-lowest-point-170-years

[Ilovepie]

Finally finished this season, and yeah, they need to have teams that are on a more equal playing field because in two seasons only three teams have ever come in first place, and I suspect that the smokejumpers should thank their lucky stars that the river guides were DQ'd or they would have been looking at second place.

I am with everyone that is not into the killing. I guess they really leaned into the "Survive" part of the show instead of the "Race" part. Just gross.

I know I am in the minority, but I actually liked Creighton and Paulina and was totally invested in their "story".  I am fascinated by how they started the race vs. how they finished. Came in bitter and angry and left supportive and friends. In some weird way it was therapeutic for them. I actually felt for Creighton when they were waiting for their turn in the cave and he cried thinking about it being their last time together. It's like they mourned the demise of their marriage and came out the other side better. I hope they can be friends and move on in their lives in a healthier, happier place.

I liked this season more than season one. The scenery was breathtaking, and I liked these teams a little more overall. Plus, the AK boys were so dominating Season one it was just boring. I hope they keep the food cache next season, but not the hunting.