Former “Survivor” star Andrea Boehlke, who appeared in three seasons of the reality television series, has revealed just how far away the challenges are from the camp where the contestants spend most of their time. Boehlke discussed the distances between the challenges and how players are transported to them while appearing on a recent podcast.
Andrea Boehlke Discusses Challenge Distances and How Players Get to Them
During an appearance on Chris Johnson’s podcast “Passion Pod,” the discussion turned to where the challenges take place on the “Survivor” island and how players get to the locations.
Johnson specifically asked exactly how far away the challenge areas are, noting that “it is always portrayed like you have a long walk back to camp” after the challenges are over.
Boehlke then delved into what the process is like for those taking part in the show. Noting that the challenge areas are in different places, she revealed that the filming of this particular part of the show is perhaps the most inauthentic part of the whole production, as players have to do multiple takes so that the crew can get the shots they need.
“Yeah, well that’s the one thing that is very TV,” Boehlke explains. “First they tell you lockdown, and it means no talking, and then you walk out to the challenge. Then you go back and walk out again and then maybe a third time for the helicopter. And you can’t talk.”
She continued, “Then you get on — depending on the season because in Nicaragua it was a blacked out van so you couldn’t see anything but in other seasons it was a boat — so you all get on and you can’t talk to each other and you just sit in this boat.”
The former player conceded that it is difficult to estimate how far away the challenge areas are from the camp because the contestants have almost no frames of reference. She said, “It’s hard to know for how long because you don’t have watches or phones so it is difficult to tell how long you are actually going there. But it would feel like, at least, an hour.”
Andrea Boehlke Reveals How Much She Was Paid for her ‘Survivor’ Appearances
In the same podcast, Boehlke also explained how much she was paid for appearing on “Survivor.”
While acknowledging that her information might be out of date, the former player laid out that those taking part in each season are paid on a sliding scale. That means that those who are eliminated sooner receive the least monetary reward.
She then goes on to say that “On my first season I finished 5th place and was maybe paid like $60,000. The IRS came after me and I was audited because I went from no income to like $60,000 or $70,000 or whatever it was. My poor mom had to deal with the audit.”
That gives viewers some extra insight into what players get paid and expands on what was previously public knowledge about how “Survivor” winners get $1 million and the runner up is awarded $100,000.
