Centurion-born Viktor Kuhn (49) has conquered the jungles of Guyana to emerge as the first South African to win the hit survival show Naked and Afraid competition.

Kuhn braved the unforgiving rainforest with his American companion, Janis Holcombe and the two formed a unique friendship.

A paramedic by trade, Kuhn worked behind the scenes on the show for a number of seasons before the producers asked him to take part.

“I worked in these remote places for many years as a remote site medic, so I knew what it was like to work alone in the middle of nowhere and that’s what they were looking for,” Kuhn told Pretoria Rekord from his clinic in Iraq.

“At first I thought they were joking when they said they would like to put me in front of the cameras and I soon received a phone call saying I would be in the next season of the show.”

Just getting to Guyana was a challenge in itself.

Kuhn travelled for five days straight from Iraq, which included an overnight stay in Istanbul en route to Bogota, Panama City then a short stay in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, before taking a chartered flight to the town of Lethem, where the show was filmed.

“During that time a lot of thoughts went through my mind, and I was especially scared of being alone in that rainforest,” said Kuhn.

However, after meeting Holcombe soon after his plane touched down, all of his fears dissipated and he knew that he wouldn’t have to endure all 21 days alone in the forest.

“I was overcome with joy when I first saw her and she gave me a big hug and we had an immediate connection.”

Holcombe is a trained paramedic herself who, just like Kuhn, had worked on the show and was familiar with how it all worked.

Kuhn knew what he and Holcombe were in for before the show started.

Having worked for months on end in the rainforests of the Congo, Kuhn knew the challenges that they would face, however this time he would have no equipment to make his life any easier.

“When I was in the Congo I had a tent, I had supplies, mosquito repellent and luxuries like coffee and cigarettes but this time I was going in with absolutely nothing,” he said.

“I knew it was going to be difficult and unpleasant, we will be soaking wet from the rain and the bugs will constantly be biting us. But I would choose this over a cold place anytime, I don’t fare well in cold places.”

Kuhn said the first days were not all that bad until the hunger hits you.

“Your blood sugar levels fall through the floor and you just feel awful. The first challenge is to get through this period and just tough it out and your liver starts to release glucose and you can get back to normal again.”

The first challenge was to settle into their new way of life.

Seeking out a safe place to sleep at night and a steady supply of clean drinking water was Kuhn and Holcombe’s first port of call, then they could focus on finding wood for a fire.

Fortunately, Kuhn was able to find a sizable cave where the two could sleep and make fire in relative safety.

“The first week is the most difficult as you have to change your whole mindset and get over the shock of your circumstances. Once you get over that and just push through, you can start thinking about your day to day needs.”

One of Kuhn’s biggest challenges was finding dry wood to keep the fire in their cave going.

“I had to walk deep into the forest to where I found trees that had been struck by lightning. They were very dry but it was only wood I could use there.”

The two would then walk around and dig up any food they could find.

Kuhn said one of the highlights was finding and cooking a large frog he found.

“I remember it as one of the most delicious things I have eaten in my whole life.”

The two also found a turtle which he also found to be very tasty.

After the 21 days, the two were finally given the opportunity to shower and eat a proper meal, but their ordeal wasn’t over yet.

“A big flood was coming and so we didn’t have time to wait. We drove for 12 hours to the nearest town so we didn’t have any time really to rest.”

Their convoy of 4x4s came to a halt at a river they couldn’t cross in the middle of the night.

Kuhn said he and Holcombe along with the crew and producers stood by the river in the rain for hours waiting for people to come and fetch them in boats.

“We had a bottle of rum and a few beers and some sausages. There was a tree where we found some respite from the rain but we were still soaking wet. We just stood there and laughed and passed the bottle along to each other,” he said.

“We were joined by some locals who rolled cigarettes for us and we just stood there for a couple of hours, not caring about our ordeal and for me that was the real highlight of my time on the show.”

Kuhn said in retrospect he really enjoyed his time on the show and is willing to do it again.

“The show really changed the way I view life.

“It made me realise how easy we really have it with all our luxuries and comforts.”