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TRIBES MERGE: JEFF VARNER BECOMES FIRST CASUALTY
March 8, 2001
 And then there were nine. After a tie between Kucha's Jeff Varner and Ogakor's Colby Donaldson, it was Jeff's previous votes, compared to Colby's none, that tipped the scales in Colby's favor. Jeff Varner became the first person to be voted out of the newly formed Barramundi Tribe. The 34-year-old Internet Project Manager from Greensboro, North Carolina, who had planned to "eat the [Ogakor tribe] up and spit them out," accepted his fate honorably: "I am going home having had an awesome time," he said. "This has been the most amazing experience I have ever had in my life."
Nighttime Strategy
After eighteen days of competition between the Ogakor and Kucha tribes, the remaining five members from each tribe prepared to merge into one. Although the two tribes were becoming one, it was clear that former tribal lines ran deep.
 At Kucha, Mike Skupin's unfortunate accident had only strengthened the tribe's bond even more. Vowing that the Kuchas would stay together, Elisabeth Filarski had this to say about the other tribe: "We don't even know them. We have zero loyalties to them." (  Elisabeth on Kucha bonding. ) Alicia Calaway predicted, "This is going to get real ugly if we want this to work." But Jeff had a feeling that the Ogakor tribe might be gunning for him: "They know I have a vote against me," he shared with his tribemates.
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