The Amazing Race 13 – Episode 4
Aired 10-19-08
We got to travel to Phil’s home, New Zealand, with the racers and even met Phil’s dad in this episode!
We began at Pit Stop 3: La Paz, Bolivia. More Kelly & Christy and Nick & Starr drama ensued. Christy confronted Starr about trying to convince Aja & Ty to U-Turn them. Starr said that she tried to mend things with Kelly & Christy but it just made it worse.
Separated couple Ken & Tina, who have come in first for two Pit Stops in a row, were the first to depart La Paz at 12:33AM. The teams had to fly 6900 miles to Auckland, New Zealand and then drive themselves to Gulf Harbor where they had to untie a Gordian knot. To me it looked like a rope version of a cat’s ball of string. When they got the knot untied they would find the next clue inside. Ken & Tina have been bickering quite a bit on the race. Ken stated that he felt that he and Tina turned a corner in their relationship during the last leg. They are starting to become better care-takers of one another.
Mother and son team, Toni & Dallas, were the second to depart at 12:59AM. Dallas thinks his mom is starting to see him more as an adult capable of making good decisions. So far they have definitely been one of the more likable teams. Newly dating couple, Terence & Sarah, departed at 1:04AM and were followed closely by Marisa & Brooke (1:05AM), Aja & Ty (1:06AM), Nick & Starr (1:07AM) and Andrew & Dan at 1:08AM. Sarah thinks things have been going better for her and Terence. They haven’t been together that long and needed some time to adjust to each other’s style. Marisa & Brooke (pictured above) were gaining a bit of confidence after finally not being in last place. In this episode’s promo, we saw that there would be tension between Aja and her boyfriend Ty and it started right away. Aja explained that, because they date long distance, they are not used to spending every minute of every day together. They are trying to walk the fine line between pushing each other and hurting each other’s feelings. This was immediately followed by Ty explaining the troubles they had during the last leg and Aja saying back to him, “I swear, if you say ‘bit us in the butt’ one more time, I’m just gonna jump off a cliff.” There still needs to be some work locating that line. Starr informed us that she and brother Nick are not taking anything personally on the race and they’ve been able to grow as adults and have an adult relationship. Dan indicted that he is starting to recognize his tendency to run all over his fellow frat buddy Andrew (actually, he described it as a tendency to “take over as the leader”) and forgets that he has an equal partner on the race. It is frustrating Andrew and he added, “This isn’t the Dan show. It’s Andrew & Dan on The Amazing Race.” The last to depart La Paz were divorcee friends Kelly & Christy who left at 1:20AM. Kelly pointed out that they like all the other teams on the race, except Nick & Starr whom they really want to go home.
Ken & Tina were the first to arrive at the airport and headed immediately for the internet cafe knowing that everything else would be closed. Terence & Sarah arrived next and quickly found a man, who looked to be just another traveler, using a laptop and asked if they could borrow it for a minute. Andrew & Dan also arrived and found someone who lent them a laptop. Marisa & Brooke spotted them and cozied up for some help. The boys said in an interview segment that Marisa & Brooke are the team they have bonded with the most on the race. They didn’t mind helping a team they considered weak – and cute.
Kelly & Christy were the last to arrive and headed to the internet cafe where they found Nick & Starr, Ken & Tina, Toni & Dallas and Aja & Ty sorting through flights. Kelly & Christy just hung back and copied what the others did. The teams were all coming to the same conclusion that a flight arriving in New Zealand at 3:55AM was the best bet – except for Aja & Ty. Aja wanted to go stand in line (she never explained where or why) and was getting frustrated at Ty for doing what everyone else was doing. Ty got annoyed with how Aja’s frustration makes her moody. Their bickering finally led to Ty declaring that he was just going to start calling her Fidel. As in Castro. Aja had a level of self-awareness and said, in an interview segment, that she knew her attitude was part of what started their arguments. They did end up making up (and being rather cute about it) and everyone got on the same flight to New Zealand.
Once they arrived at the airport in New Zealand, Terence & Sarah quickly got to the cars and left in first place. They were immediately followed by Andrew & Dan and Ken & Tina. Poor Marisa & Brooke were in last place again. They were all racing down the freeway on their way to Gulf Harbor when Ty & Aja had a tire blowout. Unfortunately this also restarted the bickering between them. Aja tried to get someone to pull over and help and some nice man did eventually stop and change the tire with Ty. I’m sure he had to be wondering why these two were so desperate for help when they had two camera men with giant lights standing right there. I suppose Ty explained it while they were working. I wish the show would occasionally show us some of these interactions. I know they try to edit the show to make us forget that the two camera people are there but I think it would add some fun to the show.
Anyway, Ken & Tina, Andrew & Dan and Terence & Sarah got to the marina at Gulf Harbor first and started working on the knots. The clue read, “Drive yourself to the summit of Mount Eden” which is a dormant volcano. There was also a “Fast Forward” attached. A “Fast Forward” lets one team bypass all the other clues in that leg of the race and go straight to the Pit Stop. This one required the team to go to the Auckland Skytower (the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere) and use the maintenance ladder to climb from the skydeck to the very top and pick up a “friend”. Ken & Tina and Andrew & Dan got the clue first and headed to the Skytower. Terence & Sarah knew that’s where the other two teams were headed so they just went with the Mount Eden clue. Ken & Tina got to the Skytower first and, when Andrew & Dan saw their car in the parking lot, they realized it was too late and headed to Mount Eden with the other teams. Meanwhile, despite their flat tire, Aja & Ty still made it to the marina ahead of Marisa & Brooke.
Terence & Sarah were the first to arrive at Mount Eden and found a roadblock.
Roadblock
A roadblock is a task that only one team member can perform. That person had to pick a traditional Maori tattoo design and then walk among a group of Maori warriors to find the one with the same tattoo on his face. If they made a mistake, they would have to start over again with a new design. It was still dark when Terence began the roadblock and I’m sure the shadows from the lights made the search harder. He was wrong on his first guess but did get it the second time. They had the clue and were on their way before the next team arrived. The clue took them to downtown Auckland to the City Life Hotel. Once there, they would have to get to the rooftop and find the next cluebox.
For some reason, when Kelly & Christy arrived at Mount Eden they became convinced that you couldn’t drive to the top so they started walking. This allowed Toni & Dallas to get to the Roadblock ahead of them. Toni did the challenge and got it right the first time. She also seemed to genuinely enjoy the task and declared the warriors to be “very, very cool.”
By this time, Terence & Sarah had already made it to the hotel and found the cluebox. From the rooftop they had to use binoculars to scan the area for a Travelocity Gnome doing New Zealand wish list activities like bicycling and kayaking. Once they spotted a Gnome, they had to get to its location and retrieve it and the next clue.
Meanwhile, over at the Fast Forward, Tina was getting very nervous about the climb because of her “massive” fear of heights. Once she learned that the final part of the climb was on the outside of the tower it got worse. On top of that, she got on the tower and discovered that it swayed in the wind. I give her major points for not having burst into tears. I would have.
Poor Marisa & Brooke. They were only just reaching the marina and looking for the knot.
Andrew & Dan passed a jogging Kelly & Christy on the way up Mount Eden and asked why they weren’t driving when that’s what the clue said to do. They just answered back that they “decided” to walk. The two teams ended up arriving at the Roadblock at the same time and Andrew and Christy started the search for the tattoo. Christy got her’s right the first time and the girls made a mad dash down the hill for their car.
Terence & Sarah and Toni & Dallas ended up finding and retrieving their Gnomes at about the same time. The next clue told them to drive to a landmark called Kiwi 360⁰ in the town of Te Puke.
At the Skytower, Tina got to the very top first but chose to let Ken, who was climbing behind her, grab the “friend” at the top while she clung to the tower for dear life. The friend was another Travelocity Gnome with a clue telling them to take a helicopter ride to the next Pit Stop at a place called Summerhill. Ken seemed very proud of what Tina had accomplished despite being scared.
As rain started to fall on Auckland, Andrew & Dan found their Gnome and Starr completed the roadblock. She and brother Nick arrived at the City Life Hotel rooftop where Kelly & Christy were still searching for a Gnome. Nick & Starr found one right away and delighted in surging ahead of them. Trailing way behind, Aja and Brooke worked on the Roadblock for their teams.
For the third straight week, Ken & Tina came in first at the Pit Stop. They were greeted by host Phil Keoghan and his dad! Dad welcomed them to New Zealand and Phil informed them that they had won a 7 day trip to Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. With the trips they are winning, Ken & Tina should have plenty of time together to work on their marriage.
At the Kiwi 360⁰, Terence & Sarah found a Detour.
Detour
This Detour was a choice between a “Matter of Time” and a “Matter of Skill”. In “Matter of Time” a team had to drive to a kiwi orchard and use their bare feet to crush enough kiwis to make 12 quarts of juice. They then had to each drink a glass of the juice to get the next clue. In “Matter of Skill” the team would have to drive to Blo-kart Heaven and each assemble a blo-kart from a kit. A blo-kart is like a go-cart with a sail. Once the kart was built, they would have to do three laps of the track to get the clue. Terence & Sarah and, close behind them, Toni & Dallas opted to crush some kiwis.
The kiwi stomping turned out to be harder than expected. There were sharp rocks at the bottom of the container, to help with the crushing, but it was painful for everyone’s feet. Toni commented that it all looked like much more fun when Lucy and Ethel did it. Terence & Sarah finished first and were given the final clue to drive to Summerhill (a sheep farm) for the Pit Stop. Phil informed us that the last team to arrive may be eliminated.
Dallas was getting very frustrated with the kiwi challenge and convinced his mom to abandon it and head to the blo-karts. They left at the same time Andrew & Dan arrived. Nick & Starr and Kelly & Christy also opted for the kiwis.
Terence & Sarah arrived at the Pit Stop in 2nd place.
Back at the kiwis, Dan started his annoying whining again. This time it was about how sharp the rocks were and how messy his clothes were getting. I began to hope we’d get a scene of Andrew finally losing it and decking Dan while we all cheered from home. Eventually they, and Nick & Starr, abandoned the kiwi challenge and headed to the karts. On their way out, Nick actually stopped to help Kelly & Christy find the kiwis. When Starr asked him why he helped, Nick laughed and said it was so they could jump in and get all cut up from the rocks. In actuality, Kelly & Christy seemed to enjoy stomping on the kiwis. They finished pretty quickly and were off to the Pit Stop. Toni & Dallas made easy work of the blo-karts and also were on their way.
Kelly & Christy arrived in 3rd place.
Toni & Dallas arrived in 4th.
Dan proved to be useless at assembling the blo-karts so Andrew took the whole thing over. Nick & Starr built their karts quickly but Starr had a hard time steering. She ended up crashing and started crying saying that she thought she’d broken her arm. A couple of guys helped her to set the kart back up and she got back in insisting that she had to finish. They did finish all three laps and headed off to the Pit Stop with Starr still in tears. For some inexplicable reason, she was the one driving. Nick did finally take over but you have to wonder how bad a driver they thought he was that his wounded and crying sister was their first choice!
Nick & Starr arrived at the Pit Stop in 5th place.
Andrew & Dan had built their karts and were finishing their laps as Aja & Ty arrived after also giving up on the kiwi stomping. As they drove to the Pit Stop, Andrew said that he thought Dan finally realized that he needs him on this trip and Andrew doesn’t intend to let Dan run his mouth as much going forward.
Andrew & Dan arrived in 6th place and Dan was ecstatic saying it was their best finish yet.
As the sun began setting, Marisa & Brooke started crushing kiwis and Aja & Ty built blo-karts. The show made it look like a neck and neck race to the Pit Stop but it was Aja & Ty who arrived in 7th place. A crying Marisa & Brooke came in last and Phil informed them that they had been eliminated from the race. Phil’s dad felt bad about it and gave the girls a hug.
They weren’t the sharpest team in the race but Marisa & Brooke were very sweet and I liked how kind they always were to each other.
Next time: Terence gets pulled over by the police and Kelly & Christy start getting on Dallas’ nerves.
Bonus clips can be found at CBS’ website here:
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