Survivor: Cook Islands · Season 13
In the Arena
Every challenge Survivor: Cook Islands staged — who took immunity, who won reward, week by week.
22 challenges ran this season — 14 with immunity on the line and 10 for reward.
- Episode1
- Immunity + Reward
Lock, Load and Light
The tribes must run up and over two sand mounds, assemble a puzzle boat using unique braces to hold it together, row out to a cauldron, light a torch, row back, remove the braces, and take them to the starting line. Two players will use 16 puzzle pieces to assemble blocks representing compass directions, after which the entire tribe must then fit the blocks and braces into a climbing wall, and climb up to light a fire bale. The first three tribes to do so would win reward and immunity.
Reward: Flint for the first three tribes to finish. In addition, the first-placing tribe would win a crate full of fire-making essentials (firewood, husks, kerosene, etc.)Winners (in order of finish): Puka Puka, Aitutaki, and Rarotonga (Manihiki exiled Jonathan Penner)
Aitutaki & Puka Puka & Rarotonga win
- Episode2
- Immunity + Reward
Tow the Line
The format: Witch Hunt
Each tribe must remember a historical story of Captain James Cook. Tied together as a group, the tribe must make their way over and under logs and through a field of poles, gathering seven answer flags. Once they cross a two-line rope bridge over a pit of water, they must use the seven answer flags collected to solve five questions about the story. The first tribe to answer the five questions correctly wins immunity and two large tarps as a reward. The first three tribes to finish win immunity. If a tribe misses a part of the story, they can go back to the starting line, where a copy of the story was placed there.
Reward: The tribe in first place wins two tarps, while the two runners-up only win immunity.Winners (in order of finish): Puka Puka & Rarotonga (tied for first thus will take one tarp each) and Manihiki (Aitutaki exiled Yul Kwon)
Manihiki & Puka Puka & Rarotonga win
- Episode3
- Immunity
Steeple Chase
The format: Hot Pursuit
While harnessed together, the two tribes must wade around an oval course while carrying a fifteen-pound backpack each. Players can drop out of the challenge at will, but they must give their pack to someone before unclipping themselves from the rope. The first tribe to catch the opponent and tackle one of their members wins.
Rarotonga wins
- Episode4
- Reward
Sacrificial Lamb
Two players are harnessed to a rope winding through several obstacles. The rest of their tribe helps them move along up and over an A-frame, under a thick log on the sand, around a long hitching post, and around a giant boxlike structure to the end of the rope. Then, one player swims to a buoy and dives down to retrieve a decoder wheel before coming back, where the entire tribe uses it to work out a six-word phrase.
Reward: Three blankets, two pillows, and one hammock.
Aitutaki wins
- Immunity
Mayday
The format: Rescue Mission
Four players untie and assemble a wooden puzzle stretcher, lock it in place with metal braces, then run to the beach. One swims out to a mast and climbs a rope ladder to free a hostage, then they both swim back holding a life ring. The victim gets on the stretcher and is carried back. Finally, the three remaining tribe members must make a fire large enough to burn through a rope, lowering the tribe flag. The first tribe to do so wins immunity.
Aitutaki wins
- Episode5
- Reward
Never Tear Us Apart
Three pairs stand on individual platforms, harnessed together at the waist and with each member holding a hook in the air. In two-minute intervals, the remaining members of the other tribe load up one pair with a five-pound weight on each hook. If a pair drops a hook, they are out. The last pair standing wins for their tribe.
Reward: Spices, wine, and other efficient supplies.
Rarotonga wins
- Immunity
United We Stand
The two tribes must assemble interlocking pieces to form two poles with small podiums on top, then use them to transfer two tribe members from one platform to another. Finally, all eight tribe members must swim out to a much smaller platform and stand on top.
Aitutaki wins
- Episode6
- Reward
Kicking and Screaming
One pair at a time, two players try to remove a member of the opposing tribe from a pole they're holding onto and drag them across the finishing line. The first tribe to get all three opposing tribe members across wins.
Reward: A feast of lamb, bread, and apple cider while listening in on the other tribe's Tribal Council, and also kidnap one member from the opposing tribe.
Aitutaki wins
- Episode8
- Reward
One at a time, three players grab a club, swim out to a platform, climb it, smash a plaster box while jumping off to release a key, grab it, and swim back to shore. Once six keys have been retrieved (each swimmer must get at least one), two others use them to open a chest, grab the eight puzzle pieces from inside, and use them to assemble a 'map of the world'.
Reward: (for Aitutaki) Potatoes and peanut butter; (for Rarotonga) Bread and peanut butter.
Aitutaki wins
- Immunity
Stairway to Heaven
The tribes must place twelve poles of varying lengths into their holders to form a staircase, and then run up it. One at a time, three ride a zipline to a pontoon, grab a bag of puzzle pieces, and swim back, then all three climb a ladder back to the platform, where the final three solve the puzzle, a timeline.
Rarotonga wins
- Episode9
- Reward
Barrel of Monkeys
Two players sit in a barrel, and the other two push them down a track, running down a net alongside to the bottom, where one of them grabs two buoys, before rolling them over a row of logs and to a mat on the beach to grab the final two buoys, before rolling it into the water, where the buoys are clipped on, making it float, then they swim it to a larger buoy, dive down to get four flags, and to the other side of the lagoon, where all four arrange the flags in the right order on a flagpole, dig for a buried axe, and use it to chop a rope and raise them.
Reward: A trip to a relaxing environment where the winning tribe will have muffins, coffee, and danishes while reading letters from home.
Aitutaki wins
- Immunity
Depth Charge
The two tribes must paddle a glass-bottomed boat to three underwater targets, dropping a cannon into each to release buoys, then return to shore and arrange them to form the answer to a provided clue. The first to finish wins.
Aitutaki wins
- Episode10
- Reward
Make Your Point
The format: Puzzle Dig
Two players run up the beach to a compass rose and dig in the position told to them (with a real compass to help) for a treasure chest. They then take the chest back to the start, where the other two read the directions painted on top and grab the next chest, and so on. Once all four have been grabbed, the tribe must untie them, take seven placards showing nautical flags (translations provided with Tree Mail) from inside, and place them on a board to correctly spell 'VICTORY'.
Reward: A flight to an island where they will take part in a local feast, including pork and fruit.
Aitutaki wins
- Immunity
South Pacific
The format: Dive Masters
One at a time, the tribe members must swim to a floating pontoon, dive down to unclip a bundle of placards, and swim back, with each subsequent person swimming to a crate closer to shore. Then, the four members will head to an answer table showing a map of the southern half of the Pacific Ocean (like one given with Tree Mail to memorize). The first tribe to correctly name the ten island clusters wins.
Aitutaki wins
- Episode11
- Immunity
The nine castaways must hang on to a pole for as long as possible using grooves in the pole and rope coils around it to help. When they're on the ground, they're out of the challenge. The last one left wins.
Won by Ozzy
- Episode12
- Immunity
Recollection
The contestants must answer four questions about the season with numerical answers, then use them to solve a mathematical problem and work out which of ten boxes to untie. They will then find a key, and open a lock to raise their flag. The first three move on. In the final round, they will solve three more questions, unlock and crawl through a timber tunnel, and cross a line of small pontoons to raise a flag.
Won by Adam
- Episode13
- Reward
Pass the Bucket
The format: Fire Fighter
Blindfolded, the castaways will retrieve seawater in a bucket and throw the water to their guiding loved one, who pours it into a barrel, which will eventually lower and raise a flag.
Reward: A trip to another island with the winner's loved one, where the locals will take them to a sacred cave, where they will have a picnic including fried chicken, meatloaf, and apple pie.
Won by Parvati
- Immunity
Floatsam and Jetsam
The format: Troubled Water
The contestants must swim to a pontoon and cross over a group of outrigger canoes, balance beams, and pontoons to reach the other end of the course. They will then jump into the water, swim to the buoys, untying two bundles of sticks from buoys at the end of the course instead of diving for flags, then using the sticks and rope to build a long pole and retrieve two rings.
Won by Ozzy
- Episode14
- Reward
Mud Run
The format: Mud Pack
Castaways are to maneuver past a hitching post to a mud pit and back, dumping the mud into a bucket. The three players with the heaviest buckets of mud after ten minutes all win.
Reward: A trip to a spa where they would have a massage, wash their clothes, go to a pool, spend the night on a bed, and have plenty of food and drinks.
Won by Parvati
- Immunity
Cannonball Run
The castaways must carry four groups of puzzle pieces across a three-level balance beam, assemble them to form a table maze, and maneuver two cannonballs along it into holes in the far corners.
Won by Ozzy
- Episode15
- Immunity
Compass Ropes
The format: Out on a Limb
One at a time, the final five must collect eight bags from eight obstacles (mesh tunnel, mesh bridge, disc walk, V tunnel, swing steps, knotted rope bridge, rope swing, and an overhead cargo net), then use the puzzle pieces inside them to build a three-dimensional compass rose puzzle.
Won by Ozzy
- Immunity
Self-Destruction
The format: Perch
The final four will have to stand barefoot on a small, individually-proportioned perch above the water for as long as possible. Every 15 minutes for the first hour, they will pull a rope and release a section of the perch, making it fall. After one hour, a section 'less than half the size of a postcard' will remain.
Won by Ozzy
A record set here
2h 15m
the longest grip on the pole
In Cook Islands, Ozzy hung from the immunity pole for over two hours — the benchmark hold for the brutal “Get a Grip” endurance test.