TAR: Crazy Kiwis

Amazing Race
I Wonder If They Like Blondes in New Zealand?

The divorced ladies were all about causing more drama before this leg even began. They confronted the siblings about how they asked Aja and Ty to U-Turn them. It cracks me up that teams take it personally when another teams U-Turns them or in this case, asks someone else to do it. Starr said she tried to make it better, but the divorced ladies were having none of it. More blah blah blabbitty blah ending with divorced ladies still hating the siblings.

Order the teams left the pit stop:

  • Ken & Tina (Team S&M) – 12:33am
  • Toni & Dallas (mom/son) – 12:59 am
  • Terrence & Sarah (Team Emo) – 1:04 am
  • Marisa & Brooke (blondes) – 1:05 am
  • Aja & Ty (long-distance dating) – 1:06 am
  • Nick & Starr (siblings) – 1:07 am
  • Andrew & Dan – (frat boys) – 1:08 am
  • Kelly & Christy (divorced ladies) – 1:20 am

Clue: Fly to Auckland, New Zealand. Drive themselves to Gulf Harbor and untie a Gordian Knot to get their next clue inside.

Airport Fun Times

Around the time that Team Emo was leaving the pit stop, Team S&M had arrived at the airport. Since they couldn’t purchase tickets from anyone because it was the middle of the night, they did find an internet area and looked up that the earliest flight leaving was at 3:55 am. While driving to the airport, one of the blondes asked if they had blondes in New Zealand. The other said, she was sure they did since it wasn’t like blondes were something rare. Oh boy.

When Team Emo arrive at the airport, they went up to a random guy sitting and waiting for a plane to ask if they can use his laptop. He actually lets them! When everyone else arrived at the airport, they all tried to get into the same internet place where Team S&M were, probably looking for a magical earlier flight. The frat boys asked someone else to use their laptop and the blondes see what they were doing and headed over to get their information. The frat boys said they didn’t mind helping the blondes by giving them flight information since they didn’t view them as a strong team and it didn’t hurt that they were cute.

The divorced ladies were the last to arrive. They loved that everyone was doing the work for them. They just sat right outside the internet cafe and saw what everyone was searching and could hear them a bit. Team S&M and the siblings were talking about how they would be pissed if the other teams copied them, but surprise surprise, everyone ended up on the same flight since everyone found the exact same information. It isn’t like it was super secret and only people with certain skills can search for flights. Team S&M were upset that they had a lead on everyone else, but everyone ended up on the same flight. If they had ever watched the show, they know this happens all the time. Just deal with it. They have already been first three times. So greedy!

Aja & Ty found the same flight as everyone else. Aja wanted to go wait in line to make sure they got tickets before everyone else. Ty wanted to keep looking to make sure it was the earliest flight. They started bickering and Ty ended up calling her Fidel Castro since they disagreed. I have no idea how that makes sense. She wasn’t saying they had to do it her way. She was saying what she wanted to do and was grumpy about it, but so was he.

Auckland, New Zealand

Team Emo were the first ones off the plane. They found the marked cars right as the frat boys were making their way out of the terminal. Team S&M were the third team coming out of the terminal as Team Emo was in their car and taking off. The divorced ladies were in fourth place with the siblings right behind them. Aja and Ty were in sixth place with Toni & Dallas right after them. The blondes were in last place leaving the airport. Mr. Emo needed some love while he was driving. He wanted Ms. Emo to just touch and play with his hair while driving. What is wrong with him? Team S&M passed the frat boys so they were second place behind Team Emo. The siblings got lost, so they had to pull over and ask for directions. Aja & Ty passed Toni & Dallas when Dallas started driving on the wrong side of the road. The siblings finally got their directions, but they had been passed by Aja & Ty and Toni & Dallas already. The blondes needed to ask directions too.

When getting close to Gulf Harbor, Ms. Emo said that they needed to go to the right since it said Marina. He said they needed to go straight, even though the Gulf Harbor sign looked like it was pointing to the right. Team S&M and frat boys passed them since they followed the signs correctly. Team Emo had to turn around to head the right way. While driving, Aja & Ty got a flat tire. They pulled over, but neither one of them knew how to change it. They were passed by Toni & Dallas and the siblings. Aja worked on flagging someone down while Ty looked at the tire in confusion. They finally got someone to pull over to help them.

Gulf Harbor

Meanwhile, the first three teams showed up at Gulf Harbor and found the knots sitting on the pier in the dark. Team S&M and the frat boys untied their knot first and were able to get the clue. The clue also contained a Fast Forward. There are only two on the entire race. The first team that completes a Fast Forward gets to skip all other tasks and go right to the pit stop.

Clue: Drive to the summit of Mount Eden. It is a dormant volcano and the highest natural point in New Zealand.

Fast Forward: Teams had to go to the Auckland Sky Tower, the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere, and climb from the sky desk to the very top using the maintenance ladder to pick up a friend.

The frat boys and Team S&M were racing to their  cars. They both decided to head to the fast forward. Tina said she is afraid of heights, but she just said to do it. The first one there gets to do it. If another team arrives, they can wait and see if the first team fails or they can just go to next clue and not risk wasting valuable time. Team Emo finished untying their knot. They decided to not risk the Fast Forward and just go to the next clue. When they were leaving, the divorced ladies showed up at the pier. The divorced ladies were done and out of there, deciding to skip the Fast Forward, before Toni & Dallas arrived. The siblings, Aja & Ty and the blones were still headed to the pier. Toni & Dallas were done when the siblings showed up. I was amazed that even with a flat tire, Aja & Ty were still ahead of the blondes. How did they get so far behind?  Team S&M arrived at the fast forward first and were getting suited up when the frat boys realized another team’s car was there. They decided to not wait around and just head to Mount Eden.

Team Emo arrived at Mount Eden when Aja & Ty arrived at the pier. The siblings were just finishing up untying the knot. The blondes were still driving, I guess! Aja and Ty could not find the knot. There weren’t many left since they were one of the last teams, but it was a big knot in the middle of a pier. Team S&M were getting suited up for the fast forward. Aja & Ty finally found a knot and started working on it. They thought they were last, but the blondes were still driving!

Mount Eden

Meanwhile, Team Emo arrived at the next clue box to find a Road Block. One team member had to take a picture of a traditional Maori Tattoo and try to match it up to the Maori Warriors that were dancing around on top of the mountain. If they were wrong, the warrior would take the picture and run away. Run away! If they were right, he would give them their next clue.

Those who performed the road block:

  • Terrence
  • Toni
  • Christy
  • Andrew
  • Starr
  • Aja
  • Brooke

Mr. Emo seemed a bit frightened when he tried to grab one of the tattoo panels to compare to a warrior. It probably didn’t help that there was a guy right there being scary. He had some trepidation when he was going around trying to compare his card to the warrior faces. They kept yelling and making loud noises while he was running in between them. He gave it to one guy who ran off with the panel so that wasn’t right! He told Ms. Emo that the task was extremely hard while he went to go grab another tattoo card. Aja & Ty had just finished untying a knot and were leaving to Mount Eden. Where were the blondes? Who knows! Team S&M were all suited up and starting to climb up the tower. Mr. Emo finally finished the task and was given the next clue.

Clue: Drive to downtown Auckland to the City Life Hotel and make their way to the rooftop for the next clue.

They were leaving Mount Eden and no one else was around. Mr. Emo said it was the hardest thing he had ever done. He really does love to exaggerate. Team S&M were still climbing. Tina was getting a little scared, but she was holding it together and not complaining. The divorced ladies found the summit, but couldn’t find a way to drive up it, so they just parked and started walking up the summit. Maybe drive around it again? They felt good about their decision since they didn’t see anyone behind them. Of course, if everyone else could find the way to drive up, then no, they would not be behind you on the walking path. Dallas was getting directions on how to get to the top of the summit. The frat boys were getting close to the summit coming from the Fast Forward area. Toni & Dallas were at the top.  Toni didn’t seem alarmed at all. She was very calm looking at all their faces while Dallas was worried they were going to eat her. She got it right on the first try and told the warrior he was beautiful. Off they went to the City Life Hotel.

City Life Hotel

Team Emo arrived at the City Life Hotel to get the next clue.

Clue: They had to look from the rooftop with binoculars and try to spot a gnome in random areas. Then they had to figure out where the gnome was so they could go grab it and find their next clue.

Ms. Emo wanted to scan the area in a systematic way, but Mr. Emo wanted to be spazzy by jumping from one spot to another trying to see if he could find a gnome. Team S&M were getting very close to the top of the tower. Tina was getting concerned with the swaying that was taking place so far up.

Oh god, I had forgotten about the blondes! They were finally arriving at Gulf Harbor. I still don’t know why they were so far behind. They could not find the last remaining knot, even though they kept walking by it. They finally found it! The frat boys passed by the divorced ladies who were now walking on the roadway. They asked them why they were running since the clue told them to drive. They said they decided to walk. Oh, just admit that you couldn’t find the way! The frat boys told them okay and the giggled to themselves when they drove away. Team S&M were at the top of the tower. Their friend was the Travelocity gnome! Tina grabbed it and they started to head back down. Ken was very proud of Tina. They are totally ruining my team name by continuing to get along. The frat boys took too long reading the clue so the divorced ladies got there at the same time. Christy said she thought she would have nightmares about the guys. Dan was harrassing Andrew for walking while studying the tattoos. Christy got it first and Andrew was still looking.

The siblings, Aja & Ty and the blondes were all looking for the summit. Andrew finally got the clue. When the guys gave people the clue, they would touch their forehead and noses to the other person. Andrew was so frightened when the guy did it, like he was afraid he was going to kiss him. Calm down, dude. Team Emo finally found the gnome they had been looking for the entire time. It was on top of another building.  They took off while Toni & Dallas went up. Toni found it almost immediately and went looking for their gnome in another hotel sitting on a balcony. Team S&M were finally back down at the bottom of the tower getting their next clue that told them they would be taking a helicopter to the next pit stop, which was Summerhill.

Team Emo were going up in the building that they thought was right while Toni & Dallas were heading up in an elevator of a different building. Team Emo went to the top, but it wasn’t where the gnome was located. They were getting frustrated, but they found a ladder that took them up even farther and found it. Their gnome was about to go hang gliding off the roof. Toni & Dallas were stuck coming out in a parking garage and not inside a building. They finally found their way inside the building and into the room that had the gnome on the balcony sipping some wine. Toni said to not stop to drink the wine and just get the baby. The baby! I find Toni cute. The next clue was at the bottom of the gnome.

Clue: Drive themselves to the town of Te Puke (pronounced tay pookee, but awesome spelling!) and find the local landmark Kiwi 360.

The siblings finally got to the summit and Starr started the road block. She went really fast and got the wrong guy. He took off with her tattoo card. She started to chase him before realizing she had to just go get a new one. The frat boys were on the top of the hotel looking for the gnome. They must have beat the divorced ladies who were still driving there. The frat guys spotted their gnome on a bench near a bike. They were heading down and passed the divorced ladies. It had started to rain when they were looking.  Starr finally got her clue and there was a pretty rainbow behind her! The siblings took off while Aja & Ty arrived at the summit. Aja decided to do it. The blondes were still driving to the summit. The frat guys had picked up their gnome and were on their way to Kiwi 360. The siblings arrived to the top of the City Life building and started looking for a gnome. The divorced ladies saw the siblings were there and got all agitated that they were nearby. Oh, just concentrate on yourselves! In a few seconds, Nick found the gnome kayaking in a kiddie pool in a park. Off they went while the divorced ladies were still looking.

Back on the summit, Aja had no problem looking carefully at each guy. She would move their hats if they were covering their tattoos and got it right on the first ty. They went off to the City Life building, probably still thinking they were in last place. Team S&M were in the helicopter flying to Summerhill.  The blondes finally showed up at the summit! Brooke had a hard time trying to get a tattoo card out of the box since the guy trying to distract her kept scaring her.

Back in downtown Auckland, the siblings were picking up their gnome out of the kiddie pool while the divorced ladies were still looking for a gnome. While driving away, Nick was laughing that they got to the building after the divorced ladies and left before them. He knew that would frustrate them to death. Kelly finally found a gnome hanging from a tree in a park, so they went to go get it. Brooke was still looking for the tattoo and did not seem as scared of the warriors any longer. They were heading to downtown Auckland while Aja & Ty were on the roof finding a gnome. The divorced ladies were getting their tree gnome when Ty found a gnome on top of a building in a hot air balloon.

Team S&M were at the pit stop which also had Phil’s dad with him. They won a trip to Rio de Janiero, Brazil during Carnival. The blondes starting looking for a gnome when Aja & Ty were getting theirs and heading to Kiwi 360.

Kiwi 360

Team Emo arrived at the landmark, but when Sarah tried to open up the clue, Terrence took it from her saying she couldn’t open up the envelope since she is bad at it. WAT! He’s an ass.  It was a detour.

Detour: They had to choose between Matter of Time and Matter of Skill. In Matter of Time, they would drive to a Kiwi orchard and make 12 quarts of juice by crushing kiwi fruit with their bare feet. Once they were done, they had to pour the juice into two glasses and drink it. In Matter of Skill, they had to drive to a Blokart Heaven and put together two blokarts from a kit. Once they were done, they had to sail the blokarts around the track three times.

Team Emo decided to go with smashing kiwis, even though Sarah said that 12 quarts were a lot. Toni & Dallas decided on kiwis as well. When Team Emo arrived at the kiwi orchard, they jumped right in. Then they realized there were jagged rocks at the bottom to help smoosh and break open the kiwis. Toni & Dallas showed up. Dallas asked if it was tiring and Terrence said it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. I’m surprised he didn’t say it was the hardest thing he ever had to do. Team Emo were happy with their steady flow of juice after Sarah checked to make sure nothing was blocking the spout. Dallas was complaining it was cutting up his feet pretty badly. The blondes finally found their gnome from the roof and had to go get it.

The frat boys arrived at Kiwi 360 and headed to the kiwi orchard. Team Emo noticed that it was getting easier to fill the bucket, the more they had pulverized the kiwis. Dallas was thinking that something was clogging the tube, but he was checking the outside of the tub instead of the inside where the kiwis would go into the tube. The blondes were picking up their gnome and heading to Kiwi 360.  Aja & Ty were still driving to Kiwi 360 but were afraid they were lost. Toni said that it looked more fun when Lucy and Ethel were doing it. Team Emo were done filling up the bucket and were able to drink their kiwi juice. They received their clue that told them to go to the pit stop. Toni & Dallas couldn’t believe that Team Emo already finished, but they didn’t seem to take into account how long Team Emo had already been at the orchard when they showed up. Dallas said he would rather switch tasks. Their bucket looked about half full.  The frat boys arrived as Toni & Dallas were getting out of their tub getting ready to switch. Frat boys asked how it was and Toni said it was so much fun. The siblings decided to go with the kiwis. Nick said he was ready to get some aggression out on some fruit. The divorced ladies were excited about the kiwi challenge since they loved kiwi fruit. The frat boys were working away when the siblings showed up. Dan warned them that there were rocks on the bottom, which Starr immediately started complaining about when she got in the tub.

Toni & Dallas arrived at the Blokart Heaven race track. Andrew was saying his feet hurt. Dan was loudly complaining about rocks at the bottom of the tub and wondering why he wore pants. I would think if you knew you were heading to a place to stomp fruit with your feet, why didn’t you change in the car? The divorced ladies arrived at the orchard, the same time the siblings decided to switch to the other task. The frat boys decided the same thing. They left when the divorced ladies were getting into the tubs. While everyone else had been complaining, the divorced ladies thought the kiwis were great at exfoliating their legs and the fruit was like tension-relieving balls under their feet.

When the siblings got to the track, Toni & Dallas were almost done putting their karts together. The divorced ladies were cruising with the fruit. Toni & Dallas were done building and got out on the race track. Dallas didn’t seem to have a problem, but Toni almost lost her balance a few times. The frat boys arrived at the kart place. Dan said he was mechanically challeged. The siblings said they couldn’t believe the divorced ladies were still smooshing fruit. They were done smooshing fruit and headed to the pit stop! Toni & Dallas were finished and heading off to the pit stop. The siblings and frat boys couldn’t believe they were already done.

Aja & Ty arrived at Kiwi 360 and decided on the fruit. As they headed off, the siblings were getting their karts on the track. Dan wasn’t helping at all, but frustated by how he wasn’t helping while Andrew did everything. I don’t know why Dan couldn’t try to help. It is just following directions.  Before the siblings started, the kart guy said do not put your hands out. Oh, foreshadowing! While cruising around the cart, Starr kept falling over. Aja & Ty arrived at the orchard and Aja started screeching about something. The blondes finally got to Kiwi 360 and picked the kiwi detour too. Off they went!

Pit Stop

Team S&M arrived at the pit stop around the time that Team Emo was showing up at the orchard. Team Emo showed up at the pit stop in second place well after Team S&M showed up earlier due to the Fast Forward. A good time later, the divorced ladies showed up in third place at the pit stop.

Back at the detour, Dan started trying to help Andrew put the kart together and Andrew told him to shush. Starr fell over again and then was crying saying she broke her arm. I’m sure she hurt it very badly, but she was still able to bend it, so it did not look like it was broken. She whined for a bit, but then she got back up and finished the task.

Toni & Dallas arrived in fourth place soon after the crash. Andrew was asking Dan to hold up the sails as he was trying to put the kart together since it was trying to blow over. Aja & Ty were still smooshing fruit and the siblings finished the kart racing.  What I didn’t get is that Starr’s arm hurt, but she got in to drive. Why wasn’t Nick driving? It made no sense. Then they finally realized it and swapped. The frat boys finally got their karts on the track and started racing. Aja & Ty were getting more and more frustrated in the orchards. The blondes were still driving in the orchards. Aja & Ty decided to switch tasks. The frat boys started heading to the pit stop. The siblings arrived at the pit stop around the time Aja & Ty arrived at the kart track. The frat boys checked in and thought they were in last place so they hugged Phil’s dad a lot. The blondes got to the orchard around the time that the Aja & Ty thought they had finished building the kart, but the guy said they put it together wrong. They finally got it right and started on the track while the blondes were still smooshing fruit and actually sticking to it unlike other teams. The blondes finally finished with the kiwi detour around the time that Aja & Ty finished going around the track. They were both headed to the pit stop at the same time. Aja and Ty came in 7th place and were shocked they were not last. The blondes arrived in last place and were eliminated. Phil’s dad was so sad he gave them a hug first.

The final rankings:

  1. Team S&M (Ken & Tina)
  2. Team Emo (Terrence & Sarah)
  3. Divorced Ladies (Kelly & Christy)
  4. Mom & Son (Toni & Dallas)
  5. Siblings (Nick & Starr)
  6. Frat Boys (Andrew & Dan)
  7. Aja & Ty
  8. Blondes (Marisa & Brooke)

I’m still wondering what put the blondes so much farther behind. Were they horrible with directions or just slow? No idea! It didn’t seem like any particular task slowed them down. I’m curious how Starr will get on with her hurt arm.

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