Nadia Nakai on the emotional toll of Tropika Island exit

Nadia Nakai has opened up about her time on “Tropika Island of Treasure”, saying the show was far tougher than it looks from the couch. The rapper’s run ended on Réunion Island, according to IOL.

She competed as Team Green Apple with Andile Khuluse. The pair survived three elimination rounds, but their exit came after contestants who had already been voted out returned to the game. Around the same time, a new Team Orange arrived, made up of Caster Semenya and Ashay Sewlall.

Pressure and self-doubt

Nadia said she had assumed the challenges would be easy because they seem simple on screen. Doing them under pressure, she explained, felt daunting.

The repeated elimination rounds wore her down. She described how disheartening it was to win a Safe Token and then lose it again. Each survival gave the pair a reason to carry on, but the constant uncertainty hurt her confidence. “It does take a knock on your self-esteem and confidence,” she said.

She described herself as competitive. In music, she said, that drive usually works in her favour. On the island it left her feeling more vulnerable, mainly because she did not want to let her partner down. She also said some of the group dynamics took her back to her school days, a feeling she had not expected to revisit on a television show.

Leaning on her partner

Nadia credited Andile with pulling her back whenever she felt like quitting, calling him an incredible motivator. She said they balanced each other: she handled more of the planning, while he kept her going. “He gave me the tenacity to keep going,” she said.

There were highlights too. She felt proud that the pair finished first in the puzzle challenge. The water challenge, in which contestants swim underwater to collect balls and then drop them into a hoop, was among the hardest tasks she faced.

Away from the games, she enjoyed Réunion Island and compared it with Cape Town for its beaches, food and scenery. She was surprised by how close it is to South Africa and enjoyed learning about its French links.

Nadia did not win the R1 million grand prize. She said she leaves with a better grasp of her strengths and weaknesses, and with a firmer sense of how to manage emotions when the stakes are high.

Where to watch

“Tropika Island of Treasure” airs on Wednesdays at 9pm on SABC 1. A repeat follows on Thursdays at 6pm on S3.

This story is based on reporting by IOL.