It's still much too early to really tell what's going to happen with challenges in S5, but I was doing some reading up on the location on Tarutao Island and came up with some ideas of possible challenges that may take place.

Please feel free to submit here other challenges you may hear about in the time leading up to the show or any other ideas for challenges.

From: http://www.survivorfever.net/kayaking-caves.html

It looks like there's a chance we could have a cliff-diving challenge similar to the one done in S2. Another possibility is to have a kayak relay race as a challenge -- think John and Robert performing their Dumb and Dumber routine with the canoe in S4. Kayaking in some of these caves might be a little dangerous but perhaps they'll find a more gentle route for the survivors to compete in...

I've enclosed an article found on Survivorfever.net and highlighted some parts that may be of interest in relation to challenge ideas. I've put one particular picture on here -- but click on the link to see more spectacular pictures of the caves.

Kayaking the Limestone Caves of Tarutao
Article and Photos By John "Caveman" Gray

South Thailand is a paddler's paradise. From November to May, the waters from Koh Tarutao to Koh Surin are as calm as they are blue, and the islands are stunning masterpieces of limestone, granite and coral, often packed with wildlife. Somehow, Tarutao National Park has escaped poachers, chainsaws and dynamite fishermen. The hardwood forests and mangrove swamps harbor bountiful wildlife. On one recent one-week trip, we saw mouse deer, macaques, two-meter sea eagles, pythons, jumping sailfish and porpoise, water monitor lizards and Bramany kites.

There's more - rock gardens so much fun they eat up the days. Whenever there's a scattering of rocks sticking out of the sea, there's a lot of fun in a kayak. Add a surge to this natural obstacle course and there's extra fun, although the skill level also rises. The top two rock gardens I've found in 20 years of sea kayak exploring are near Tarutao. Of course, when we tire of breathing, its time to grab masks and snorkels, jump in the kayaks and explore the nearest coral reef.

Off-season, the Andaman gets rough. Half the days are "Tradewind" calm, breezy with whitecaps. However, the Andaman gets downright nasty, with short frequency overhead troughs that make navigation a survival experience - fun for experienced sea kayakers, but downright dangerous for the typical family outing.

Low season has an undeserved reputation. Locals love the cooler weather that's better than High Season Hawai'i, and we've found an odd bonus. Rainy season is when the rivers run in the South, so we developed a program that combines protected coastlines and inland rivers. There's even one river that runs through a mountain. Cave river running is something we picked up in Lao, where we paddle a nine-mile cave.

Many caves are merely entrances to inland tidal lagoons. In tropical Asia, spring tides change as much as two feet an hour - an inch every two minutes. Large volumes of water funnel through the caves, "boiling" over submerged rocks and forming mid-stream whirlpools. The current moves as fast as a mountain stream, complete with sound effects echoing off the cave walls. I body surf Waimea Bay, but I could not swim in many of these caves.

Because the caves are so small, time inside the lagoons can be measured in minutes, and only at precise tidal levels. Until a paddler learns a cave, the kayak frequently bounces off submerged, irregular oyster encrusted rocks. A stock inflatable is ribbons, hard-shells roll and a swimmer is hamburger in these fast, dark rivers.

Some giant caverns have tiny "windows of opportunity", exact points on the tide chart when a kayak can pass. In many cases, the kayak barely squeezes through. We lean far to either side, or lay flat on our backs in the floor of the Sea Explorers.

Like a mechanic on a "creeper", the Sea Canoe Team inches our way through these windows, often with the roof mere inches over our noses.

We can see the rocks just above our eyes, but we feel our way into the unknown, squeezing our reinforced bows into every small hole we can squeeze into. This is no place to discuss the fine points of paddling rotation.

The body language is worth the effort. Beyond these small "windows", caverns can be three-dimensional, with fifty meters ceilings, formed by chimney-like "swallets", rainfall drainage tubes that run from the top of the island.

Frequently, a second "upstairs" cave parallels the sea cave. These "over-under" caves formed a few thousand years ago when the sea was 3-5 meters higher. Frequently, the roof between the caves collapses. Stalactites from one inch to thirty meters appear deep inside these sponge-like islands, forming columns of crystallized sparkle in your flashlight beam. It's a mystical wonderland.

Any reader of Mark Twain knows what happened to Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher in a Missouri limestone cave. It isn't any different in Asia. Once on a deep cave exploration, I took the sweep, giving staff the chance to lead us through an especially long cave. Paddling mud-lined channels, we came to a Y-junction. Surrounded by hundreds of sparkling columns, I knew stalactite navigation was hopeless, so I settled on a strange shaped rock as my landmark.

On our way out, Murphy's law guaranteed our new lead guides took us down the wrong channel. Last in line, I watched as we passed my funny landmark rock. Since we were exploring, I decided not to say anything - who needs a navigational debate several kilometers inside a mountain. As expected, after a few minutes, we literally came to a stone wall. Thanks to my landmark rock, we weren't lost for days. After years of cave exploration, I know to look for overhead oysters. I can judge a cave's access level at a glance; know what to use for landmarks; and when to back off for another day. Sea caving, either in surf beaten North America or Asia's tidal limestone labyrinths, is a specialized and dangerous science. At Sea Canoe, we know what to look for, and we don't take any chances, we always know there is another day, even if we are thousands of miles from home. It might take a year and a half to return, but when we do come back, it is on one piece and with well-researched confidence. Fortunately, once we access a sea cave in Polynesia or Asia, it's all clockwork from then on.

However, unless you understand the subtle nuances of sea caving by kayak, it is better to be safe than sorry. Please, if you do enter caves, stay well within your limits. The surprises are rapid. The consequences can be very uncomfortable. However, if you enter sea caves with someone who knows them, you see a mystically different and rewarding world. Just don't take any chances.

Elsewhere on Survivorfever.net, they talk about cultural backgrounds and local information that may be incorporated into final episode rituals or Jiffy's Storytime Challenge.

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