Mud, Mozzies & Mistrust Why Arun Dug Deep For Survivor

The backing of his family is all the dairy farmer needs in life.

- Amy Prebble

There’s a lot you miss out on when you’re stranded in the middle of the Thai jungle for weeks on end.

But for Survivor New Zealand contestant Arun Bola, it wasn’t the lack of food or creature comforts that got to him the most – it was missing his wee son Ekam’s third birthday.

“It was tough,” he admits. “We’re a very tight family. Being on a dairy farm, you’re always coming and going around home. The kids are a huge part of your life.”

Arun is a third-generation dairy farmer from the Waikato. His grandparents emigrated from Punjab in the north of India in the 1970s and worked in a dairy factory until they had put aside enough to buy the family farm.

While Arun (30) took on Survivor, his parents, Daljit and Satvir, jumped on board to keep an eye on the farm while Arun’s wife Dani (29) looked after Ekam and 10-month-old Poppy.

“I’ve told quite a few people that I was playing Survivor out in Thailand, but my wife was the true survivor back at home,” tells Arun. “I have a really supportive wife. When I was talking about applying for the show, she was like, ‘Yeah, go for it!’”