Coming up next week
Sunday 29 September
The Amazing Race Australia continues as six remaining celebrity teams travel to the Namib Desert in Namibia. They race through the unforgiving desert terrain, one mistake could cost a team the race.
Monday 30 September
Following a virtual pitstop, our celebrities continue the race along the mysterious Skeleton Coast. Fatigue starts to set in for some teams.
Matildas Chloe Logarzo And Emily Gielnik Eliminated From The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition.
The seventh leg of The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition ended in heartbreak when Matildas teammates Chloe and Emily were the next team to be eliminated.
Emily said, “I found the fear of failure the most challenging, the anxiety around coming first every race day. Failure, for me, was not an option. I wanted to win at all costs… that was one of the most difficult things we had to deal with from a competitive aspect. No matter how competitive you are, sometimes things just aren’t going to go your way, even if you do want to win so badly.”
Chloe said, “We are extremely competitive, and we did come into this race wanting to be two females to win The Amazing Race Australia for the first time, but the beautiful thing is, along the way we got distracted… and we got humbled a lot in South Africa. For a split second, we didn’t care about what was happening in the race and enjoyed the beautiful moments we had.”
Arriving in Namibia, teams raced around the vast, arid desert in search of their first clue. In a Detour, a choice of two challenges, teams could either scale a massive sand dune on foot or complete a 12km drive through the dunes.
Teams then drove to Pelican Point, a peninsula swarming with seals, where they had to kayak out to four floating buoys and memorise facts about sea life.
The Tillies had once again secured a strong lead but, as they were leaving Pelican Point, Emily picked up Chloe’s bumbag and unwittingly left her own behind.
The pair didn’t realise the mistake until they were driving on the way to their next challenge but, as per the rules, teams can’t complete a leg of the race unless they have all of their belongings with them. It was a mistake that cost them a lot of time and put them right at the back of the pack.
Teams had to travel to Mondesa where a Himba woman would teach them the traditional method of making Otjize, a paste made from a mixture of fat and ochre. Finally, teams received a shopping list in Damara-Nama, a language unique to the region, that they had to translate with the help of some local friends. Once they found all the items on the list, they raced to meet Beau at the Pit Stop.
Unfortunately, the bag delay was enough and Chloe and Emily were the next team eliminated from the race. Their time on the race was in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Chloe said, “I have two incredible women in my life who have both overcome breast cancer, my mother-in-law and my Nonna. If we think about the journey we’ve had in our football career, the statistics are that one or two out of every single locker room will have breast cancer or go through that experience.”
Emily added, “Although we didn’t win for our charity, I think the overall message and goal was so that more awareness is raised. As sad as it was to not win that money for the charity, we hope we’ve done justice by at least raising more awareness.”
The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition.
Continues Tomorrow At 7.30pm On 10 And 10 Play.
Ian mentioned a knee injury right at the start of last night’s episode, but it wasn’t really shown what actually happened, or did I miss that last week? When they showed a child asking him how he hurt it, he just answered that he has a sore knee but didn’t answer where or how he’d hurt it. So did something happen between episodes, eg on the plane trip to the next leg of the race?
He said he had “shin splints” and woke up and they had that got into his knee. So usually not caused by a trauma.
This week’s double leg in Namibia is unique in that it includes a virtual pit stop plus an elimination in the middle, then a non-elimination pit stop at the end.
EDIT: coming up next week - four episodes remaining
Sunday 6 October
The Dark Horses have already tasted victory, but can those teams maintain their lead as the final five continue the race in Namibia?
Monday 7 October
Only four teams remain as our race continues in the scenic location of Phang Nga, Thailand. Our teams will battle the heat and each other as they kick off in the fight for a place in the finals.
Enjoying this season so far. The challenges are so varied that any of the couples has a chance at winning. There have been some surprise first place finishes and eliminations.
The production feels like it has stepped up a notch. The quick cuts to the add breaks give it a different feel, a lot of the times I don’t see the add break coming. The non-eliminations don’t feel as often, and at the virtual pit-stops don’t feel as clunky. It doesn’t feel like there is any favouritism by the producers so far this season.
Ian Thorpe And Christian Miranda Eliminated From The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition.
The ninth leg of The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition saw Olympic legend, Ian Thorpe, and his childhood best mate, Christian Miranda, eliminated from the race.
Having battled shin splints for multiple legs of the race, Thorpie had been struggling with injury and pushing through some very difficult physical challenges.
Christian said: “As the race went on, unfortunately Ian’s injuries were becoming more limiting. Having to navigate The Dome just wasn’t something he was going to be able to accomplish, and it was at this point that we knew our time was up, as much as we would have loved to have found a way to get through it.”
Racing around Namibia, teams ventured to Omandumba to take part in the local sport of Bokdrol Spoeg – otherwise known as dung spitting. Collecting hard pellets of kudu dung from the surrounding area, each team member had to spit a piece of poop into a stone circle before they could move on.
Having checked in last in the previous leg, Thorpie and Christian also had to complete a Speed Bump challenge where they needed to fill a container with enough dung before they could begin spitting.
Teams then faced a Detour, a choice between two challenges each with its own pros and cons. In Weapons, teams had to follow a local hunter and hit a target with a bow and arrow. In Water, teams had to craft a water carrier out of an ostrich egg, using traditional tools.
From there, it was back to school for our teams as they made their way to an animal research station to work with conservationists in identifying 10 animals from video footage of the early morning.
Teams then had to race to find a clue atop the massive Dome boulder, before making their way to the Bridge where Beau was waiting at the Pit Stop.
Ian and Christian’s time on the race was in support of ReachOut Australia, a mental health organisation designed with and specifically for young people offering a wide range of support.
Christian said: “ReachOut Australia is a cause that is close to both of our hearts, having both navigated and supported one another through mental health issues over the years. To bring awareness to such an impactful charity that is making support much more accessible to today’s youth is something I was very proud to be a part of.”
The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition.
Continues Tomorrow At 7.30pm On 10 And 10 Play.
Sunday 13 October
Our celebrities race into Phuket to secure a grand final spot. They dive into the real Phuket, from its stunning natural landscapes to the bustling old town, all in a thrilling, nail-biting finish.
Season finale is Sunday, 20 October.
Pete And Bridget Helliar Eliminated From The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition.
The race was hotter than ever as our four remaining teams fought for their place in the Grand Finale. Sadly, Pete and Bridget Helliar’s time on the race came to an end after a road block dropped them from an early lead into last place.
Pete said: “We were trying to stay positive because we always reminded ourselves that weird things can happen on The Amazing Race and you’re never quite sure where you are.
“It was pretty disappointing to get so close to the grand finale. To say we got through every episode and experienced it all would have been great. With that said, we were lucky enough to survive a non-elimination. Sometimes the luck went our way, sometimes it went against us, but we had a great time.”
Arriving in Phuket, teams searched massive turtle egg sculptures at Phuket Gateway before making their way to an elephant sanctuary, treating some of the magnificent pachyderms to a spa day of a mud bath and a shower.
Then it was time to head to a school where one member from each team had to knock down a stack of 10 tin cans using a slingshot. While other teams had a difficult time with the task, Pete really struggled and was the last to leave the challenge.
From there, teams faced a detour – a choice between two challenges, each with their own pros and cons. In Frame, two teams headed to the historic Thalang Road to find and memorise photos of three windows. They then had to venture out, find the real buildings and memorise the street numbers for their next clue.
In Fame, two teams went to a nearby theatre to help a cabaret performer get dressed, matching their outfit to the one shown at random intervals on stage. With only 10 seconds to view the outfit at a time, teams needed a sharp eye for detail.
Finally, teams had to race to find Beau at the pit stop, locking in their place in the grand finale. With just minutes between them, Pete and Bridget were heartbroken to be so close to the final leg of the race, but still reflected on the amazing adventure they had, all for their chosen charity, Cure EB Foundation.
Pete said: “We got involved with Cure EB about a year and a half ago and [Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB)] is this horrific disease which is basically akin to having sunburn on the inside of your skin. There’s no government funding because it’s a pretty rare condition, so awareness and money is needed.
“We were pretty driven to try and win it for Cure EB and the kids who suffer from it, it certainly helped us in those moments when you’re thinking, ‘this is hard’, that there are kids who have to get bandaged up every day so that their pain is bearable or manageable. We were very proud to be supporting them and will continue to do work with them in the future."
The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition.
Grand Finale. Sunday, October 20 at 7pm On 10 And 10 Play.
Unless the camera angles were deceiving, it looked like they allowed Pete to move closer to the cans at the end, to be able to complete the challenge. The editing was actually quite abrupt which made me realise he’d moved positions.
See the statue to the right of the tree, on the right in this picture:
Now see where it is later in the episode (under Bridget’s umbrella). You can also see the other buckets and logs in the background, from where the other teams were standing earlier.
