Source : the age
After 45 days in the Samoan jungle, a brutal four-hour and seven-minute endurance challenge, and a shock Tribal Council backstab, Caleb Beeby was voted winner of Australian Survivor: Redemption. The 29-year-old truck driver from South Gippsland in Victoria tells national TV editor Louise Rugendyke about his beef with fellow contestant Jackson Goonrey, the maggots in camp, and how he’s spending his $500,000 prize money.
Congratulations Caleb! How did it feel to finally hear host David Genat read out your name in the live finale?
Look, it was a sigh of relief to get some closure. At that point, I had waited for six months for an answer [filming in Samoa finished in September last year], and I was at the point where I was ready to get told yes or no. Obviously, everybody wants yes, but being in this suspended animation of not knowing or not trusting what you’ve been told is so hard.
What did they say to you in Samoa, “OK, pitch to the jury and we’ll see you in six months”?
Basically, yeah. And I mean, when I say, “what I’ve been told” is from the other cast members because some people were like, flat out, “No, I’m not going to tell you where I voted”, but other people were like, “Yeah, I might have voted for you.” You can’t believe what anyone says.
Has Survivor given you trust issues, Caleb?
I already had a lot of trust issues going into the game. And that was like a bit of a superpower. Because someone who has a lot of trust in people will hear information come to them, and they’ll believe it, and they’ll be blinded by the truth. Whereas I went in there expecting the absolute worst – the worst conditions, the worst kind of people – and I found that to be a little bit opposite. So when you go in expecting everyone’s lying to you, you’re surprised when you start getting truth nuggets coming your way. And that’s why Loz was such a golden nugget to me, because I could tell she was giving me the truth, and I was telling her the truth, and it was such a breath of fresh air. That’s a really strong key to winning in the game, having that person that you can fall back on.
But then you stabbed Loz in the back by not taking her to the final vote! How hard was that?
Look, it was [hard], but I saw a change in her that day. In Survivor, anything can come out of that mouth, but it’s the eye contact, it’s the body language that you gotta read the most. And that last day, we had a rough day with doing interviews and a lot of slow-motion shots, and I was constantly trying to test the waters with her – giving her looks – and she wasn’t looking me in the eye. There was something really off.
Now, we’ve spoken about it, and she said she was just in her head that day. But I started getting in my head, thinking there’s something going on between us, she’s not going to take me to the final two, this is a huge blindside on me [laughing]. And that, and a combination of, “Do I want to fight and not give her 500 grand at the end, when I’ve been so close with her?” And then I remembered Brooke in my ear one day saying the jury will always vote emotionally. I have a house, and I’m not a single mum with two kids [like Loz], right? And I was just like, “Why would they ever give it to me over that?”
I made all these decisions while standing on pegs, doing the hardest thing in my life. So, yeah, it was a weird, weird time. And look, at the end of the day, the jury respected the game, so they respected that move as well.
Was part of you also keen to just face off with Jackson against the jury? Was the beef between the two of you manufactured for TV or was it real?
Look, it was so real. I had no idea why he kept coming at me the whole game. I thought he saw me at the start of the game as a bit of a loudmouth larrikin, and he could make me look like an idiot, right? And it just never happened. Because he almost made a bit of a villain out of me, I was so hell-bent on getting him. I didn’t ever want him having a little inkling that he could have beaten me. I wanted to beat him in every single possible way. That’s why I took him to final two.
Caleb, you seem completely built for TV because you’ve got such a big personality. Did you just want to be on TV or were you a Survivor fan?
I have always wanted to be on TV. I always wanted to make a mark, it doesn’t matter what it is. And it just so happens that nature and animals and being outdoors and being able to be a little bit feral, it fell into the Survivor category. But, at the end of the day, I could pretty much flip it and rip it any style anyone wants me to do. And, like, I can’t believe it took me that long to go on Survivor.
As a young kid, I was given a video camera and started filming anything and everything, which led to doing dumb stuff on camera and having a lot of fun. So, I’ve always been comfortable in being in front of a camera, and I’ve liked writing poetry, so I’ve articulated my sentences in certain ways. So it all came naturally.
What was the hardest challenge? Because that final immunity challenge, where you stood on pegs for four hours, that looked like torture.
Look, that is Caleb Beeby in every aspect of the word – mental endurance, physical endurance and being a showman – that’s truly what I am all about. I was just hoping I could get there. So that, for me, is a highlight, not a downlight, right? And that’s another reason I felt like I had to take Jackson to the final two, because I saw a warrior out there. I haven’t seen someone fight that hard since I was a kid.
Jackson collapsed and had to be seen by a medic when he got off those pegs, but you just hopped off and walked away. That’s crazy.
I don’t think I had many laps left in the tank, but I probably could have gone another hour. I was ready for those pegs to go through my feet, I was gonna ride until the wheels fell off.
Who was your favourite returnee?
Obviously, Mark. I’m going to call Mark my coach for the rest of my Survivor legacy because I learnt everything from him, down to if you’re having a conversation with someone, don’t go and shake their hand or fist pump them because it’s sign language that someone can see from afar.
You fished a lot – even biting the head off one small fish when you pulled it straight from the water – were great at making fire, and even built a raft at the end. Is Alone Australia next? You would fit right in.
I don’t know [laughing]. I think being in Samoa and doing Survivor showed me how far behind I am before I could do Alone. Alone would be a real shock to the system. I take my hat off to those guys that can do that because that’s a pretty serious show.
How gross were the maggots? They were crawling on your face.
No, that was Brooke’s face. This is the thing about Australian Survivor, they just focus on the game and not how hard the living conditions truly are.
That night that we had that wet Tribal Council, we literally were soaking for days after that because we had to go back to a cold, wet, dark shelter. There is no getting dry. And I think the humidity and the dampness [contributed to] the maggot infestation. You would pick up any bit of clothes that had been sitting on the floor for more than half an hour, and there was maggots under there. We had maggots in the food, maggots in our rations. It’s like the Pilgrims eating in the dark, don’t look at your food, because if you do, you’re not gonna want to eat it.
Have you eaten rice and beans or coconut since you got home?
I like coconut. I haven’t touched rice and beans. I think I’ve been scarred for life.
Have you been watching yourself? Are you happy with your edit?
I have. I mean, they have only focused on the “Caleb chaos”, which is because it’s 90 per cent of my personality. I’ve also got a very soft approach as well, and I’ve got a big heart, and I hope the public can see that as well. Because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have made it as far as I did.
So, big question, what are you going to spend your $500,000 on?
I have always had a dream, right? And I’ve never been able to achieve it, and that’s to climb some serious mountains. I know that Everest costs $100,000. And it’s always called me – “Caleb!” – and I’ve never been able to answer it, because who has 100 grand to play with? I might need to do some training. I might need to go to New Zealand and summit a few peaks to find my mountain legs. But that’s certainly in my mind.
Australian Survivor is now streaming on 10Play.
