"Survivor 3" Location Revealed
Credit: "Unknown"
It's a national park reserve in Kenya where the film "Born Free" was shot. Two-thirds of the semi-arid reserve, which is located 140 miles north of Nairobi, has been closed for production of the reality-based series. The reserve is owned and operated by Isiolo County, which earns about $615,000 a year from the land. The money is used to pay for schools, hospitals and other programs County Clerk Adnan Racho told the AP.
Racho says he signed a confidentiality agreement with the show and therefore can't reveal how much the county was paid by CBS for the four-month lease, although a local newspaper estimates the cost at $192,000. "They are very concerned about secrecy," Racho adds.
The reserve's senior game warden Abdi Boru was surprised to find out that a game show was being filmed in the park. He says he was told that a film crew called Mwandiga, a Swahili word meaning "to leave one behind," had leased the area.
Kenyans involved in the newest "Survivor" also signed confidentiality agreements that prevents them from discussing the show with the press, but word of mouth, dubbed the "bush telegraph," has it that crew members soon will be flown in from California and Australia to begin filming.
In addition, some Nairobi residents say they were asked to take part in a test run at the Shaba location in place of the 16 contestants, who have yet to arrive. Some of the Kenyans say they were chosen for their appearance (young, fit and white), bringing to mind executive producer Mark Burnett's previous admission that he has used body doubles and stand-ins for filler shots.
In this case, the extras are being used to test the immunity and reward challenges that producers are preparing, says CBS spokesman Chris Ender. They will not be involved in filming the series.
The show's producers have said the contestants will build and live in traditional mud-and-dung huts like those of the Samburu people and walk alongside reticulated giraffes and Grevy's zebras, an endangered species. The cast members will also have to watch out for leopards and lions, both indigenous to the area.
While locals are hopeful the series will bring tourists into the area, thus improving the country's slowing economy, environmentalists are concerned with protecting the land. Ender says Burnett has always been committed to working with respect for the environment. Meanwhile, workers on the reserve say two buildings and a temporary swimming pool have been built.
"Mark has learned through trial and error how to return the land to the same condition, and in some cases better condition, than it was when he started," says Ender.
