Rumors that Survivor may return to Africa for its 17th season have reached a fever pitch online. The rumored location for [URL="http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_17/2008_Apr_14_hd"]the first season to be shot in HD[/URL] is Gabon, or the Gabonese Republic, which is located in western Africa on the Atlantic Ocean and borders the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon. Other locations mentioned, however, have included New Zealand and Madagascar.
The [URL="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gb.html"]CIA's World Factbook describes[/URL] Gabon's geography as "arrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south," and says there is a "pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity." Survivor Africa, [URL="http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_africa/"]the show's third season[/URL], was the last season to be filmed in a non-tropical location, and although the game play was interesting, watching contestants drink muddy water out of ********** ponds didn't exactly thrill everyone.
Tracing vague, unsourced reports from the bowels of message boards is difficult, especially since some people [URL="http://community.realitytvworld.com/boards/DCForumID2/6922.shtml"]can't be bothered to even spell the country's name correctly[/URL], but the Gabon reports seem to have originated from [URL="http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/topic,14554.0.html"]a Reality Fan Forum poster[/URL], who wrote on Feb. 18 that the 17th season "will start filming in Gabon, Africa May 11, 2008." The date, at least, is wrong and essentially impossible, as Survivor Micronesia's live finale will air on that day. Earlier, in January, there was [URL="http://survivorsucks.yuku.com/topic/2924?page=4"]discussion on Survivor Sucks[/URL] about the possibility the show would return to Africa.
Now, though, that seems to be the conclusion most people have reached, and there's a [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMrClT_dXUQ"]fake opening sequence on YouTube[/URL]. Even the shockingly ignorant people [URL="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080329152416AApLemQ"]who incorrectly answer one another's questions on Yahoo[/URL] are convinced that Gabon is the show's next location. If that's not confirmation, I don't know what is.
[URL="http://feeds.feedburner.com/%7Er/realityblurred/%7E3/274828218/2008_Apr_21_gabon_africa"][ via RealityBlurred ][/URL]
