Survivor Otter Creek was designed to give young Ontarians the chance of a lifetime: to play a full-fledged game of Survivor for four days with their peers.  It would be videotaped and edited into fourteen half-hour episodes.  For four days in July 2004, sixteen stranded teens participated in intense mental and physical challenges, slept under the stars, and voted each other out of the game.

Pre-Production

November 2003: After a successful production of Survivor Weekend, it seemed only logical to do it again, but better!  The idea was to produce the same great event, but this time somewhere actually remote (no outhouses, cars, or barns in sight), with a full complement of sixteen players, and for four days instead of three.

Survivors hailed from a variety of Eastern Ontario high schools and colleges.  The sixteen places quickly filled, and remained filled due to a new rule: if you need to drop out before the game, you must find a replacement survivor.  If less than sixteen people were present, the event would be cancelled.  Fortunately, we had a full complement of enthusiastic players!

Survivors and parents attended cast meetings before the event, to be briefed on rules and important details.  They were each given a copy of the Survivor Handbook.  The manual was prepared to explain the rules for all aspects of Survivor Otter Creek.

June 2004: Backpacks to be handed in.  Everything the survivors intended to bring or wear into the competition had to be inside.  This gave the producers plenty of time to inspect for anything stowed away that shouldn't have been.  Survivors were given their bags and changed into their survivor clothes the morning of Day 1.

The Location

Otter Creek is located south of Highway 7 and North of Belleville on Highway 37, near the town of Tweed.  The plot of land we had graciously lent to us spanned about a thousand acres.  The creek itself runs through the property.  There is one house on the property which, through extension cords, supplied electricity to the crew camp.  The property is covered in a variety of fields, treed areas, rock faces and marshes.

The Tribes

The tribe names were derived from Mohawk names for bear and eagle.

Attonyon - The Attonyon camp was located in a low forest area.

Okwari - The Okwari camp was located at the top of a grassy hill, opposite the Attonyon tribe.

The survivors were given a camp location with a fire pit, a tribe flag, and a first aid kit with cell phone.