In a nutshell- Climb a bridge. Eat a meat pie and
get a free pass to sit and wait. Go to a place so hot that only metal
trees can survive. Play golf in a way that is even more annoying
than normal, or become a miner. If you want to get eliminated, theres
always the option of doing both. Boomerangs are not as easy as they
look. Camp out with some Aboriginies.
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| Oswald and Danny | 8:26 PM | First Place |
| Chris and Alex | 9:10 PM | 44 minutes behind |
| Gary and Dave | 9:19 PM | 53 minutes behind |
| Tara and Wil | 9:59 PM | 1 hour 33 minutes behind |
| Blake and Paige | 10:06 PM | 1 hour 40 minutes behind |
Well, we jump ahead to twelve hours later as Oswald/Danny, the first team to arrive, recieve the next route information packet. The next clue tells them they must climb the Bridge over Sydney Harbor. To do so, they will have to sign up with the Sydney Bridge Climbing Co. Only one team can climb at a time and it will be first-come, first-serve.
Oswald/Danny make their way to the company,
as Chris/Alex take off. They have decided to pursue the Fast Foward
pass.
On this leg, they'll have to find their way to Harry's Cafe de Wheels.
Once there, each team member will have to eat one of their famous meat
pies.
Well, Oswald/Danny discover there is a sign-up sheet at the climbing company. They sign up. Gary/Dave arrie and sign up. Tara/Wil arrive and sign up. Blake/Paige, on the other hand, have also decided to go for the fast forward. Chris/Alex reveal that they told Blake/Paige they were going for the fast forward pass so that they wouldn't be competing with them. Well, Paige explains that they think Chris/Alex are probably lying, so they're going to try anyway. Some may say this is a bad plan, but, they had nothing to lose. They were already going to be the last team to sign up at the Bridge, so they might as well try the fast forward anyway.
Chris/Alex finish their meat pies and get the clue. The pit stop for this leg is an Aboriginal Camp just outside of Coober Pedy, deep in the Australian Outback. They head to the airport as the other teams make sleeping arrangements for the night. Oswald/Danny go to a luxury hotel and, as Oswald explains, "We lied a little bit." They tell the concierge that they have just checked out of the hotel and they are waiting for their car to come pick them up. They spend the night sleeping on a sofa in the lobby. Tara/Wil book a cheap hotel room. Blake/Paige, after learning they are too late for the fast forward, head to the Climbing company and decide to sleep on the sidewalk. Of course, it starts to rain. They take cover the best that they can and bear it out. Gary/Dave, on the other hand, sieze the opportunity to beg for money. They wander around and apparently manage to make a good bit of money. They also decide to spend the night on a sidewalk.
Meanwhile, at the airport, Chris/Alex have booked a flight that night to
Melbourne. From there, they will get a flight to Adelaide in the
morning. They spend their night in the airport in Melbourne.
Its morning. Oswald/Danny walk out of their hotel with just minutes to spare, fully refreshed. Tara/Wil are amazed that they spent the night in the luxury hotel. Oswald/Danny strap on their gear and make it to the top of the bridge. At the top, an employee flashes them the next clue. They are to find a metal tree in Coober Pedy and are told they will get additional route information once they get off of the bridge. Oswald/Danny take off for the airport. They book a flight immediately and take off on a direct flight to Adelaide. Gary/Dave and Tara/Wil climb the bridge. Wil looks pretty funny climbing the bridge. He's apparently very afraid of heights. But, he manages, and Tara kids him a little about the expression on his face while he climbed. Blake/Paige also climb and all three teams rush to the airport. At the airport, Gary/Dave and Tara/Wil get a flight leaving at 8:10. Blake/Paige, however, could only get on standby. They wait anxiously to see if they will get on the flight.
Meanwhile, Chris/Alex have made it to Adelaide. They rush to the National Jet Systems Terminal where they will be booking a charter flight to Coober Pedy. They are discouraged to find out that they must wait until 1:00 that afternoon to fly out. Determined not to see their fast forward advantage slip away, they spend their time finding out as much information as they can about Coober Pedy. Oswald/Danny arrive to Adelaide next and are the 2nd team to make the 1:00 flight.
Blake/Paige are happy to hear "Mycoskie" over the loudspeaker. They learn they have made it onto the same flight as Gary/Dave and Tara/Wil. As they fly, we learn that it will be a mad dash to the National Jet Systems Terminal because only two teams can book the 1:15 flight. The final team will be stuck with a 1:30 departure time. As the plane lands, Blake/Paige grab a taxi and immediately take off. Gary/Dave and Tara/Wil, on the other hand, are a little bit confused. They believe that they can book the flight to Coober Pedy from the airport terminal. They soon realize they must go to the other Terminal. They both grab taxis and take off.
Blake/Paige, who got off to an early lead,
appear to be lost. They go in one building and are told it is not
the correct
building.
As they fumble, Tara/Wil arrive and claim the 1st seat on the 1:15 flight.
Blake/Paige and Gary/Dave arrive in the parking lot at almost the exact
same time. Blake/Paige manage to beat them inside and claim the 2nd
1:15 seat. Gary/Dave will be 15 minutes behind once they arrive in
Coober Pedy.
All the teams spend their time waiting by calling the tourist information center and gathering as much information about Coober Pedy as they can. They learn that once in Coober Pedy, the metal tree can be found because is nearby "The Big Winch," a well-known landmark.
Oswald/Danny and Chris/Alex take off on the first flight. The second flight leaves and then Gary/Dave's flight leaves. As the first flight lands, both teams are amazed at how hot it is. Phil explains that the temperatures in Coober Pedy are around 130 degrees. Oswald/Danny take off while Chris/Alex take their time and head directly to the pit stop. Oswald/Danny are the first team to arrive at the metal tree where they get the detour. This leg, the options are Cool Down and Heat up. The Cool Down option requires teams to head to an underground mind where they must dig and find a real opal. This will be a difficult task, but it allows teams to cool off. The Heat Up option requires teams to play 3 holes of golf correctly on the "dryest golf course in the world." This will also be difficult because it is very hot and the course is confusing and not marked very well.
Oswald/Danny decide to go mining. They find the mine and head down.
They quickly discover that this is not going to be an easy task.
They wander around the confusing mine looking for the digging equipment.
Meanwhile, Tara/Wil and Blake/Paige have arrived at the detour clue.
Tara/Wil decide to dig, while Blake/Paige, who have considerable experience
playing golf, decide to go golfing.
Oswald/Danny finally find the digging equipment at just about the same time Tara/Wil arrive. Tara/Wil find the equipment pretty quickly and both teams dig side-by-side. They both find something they think is an opal, and they exit the mine to ask the expert if they have found an opal. He tells Danny/Oswald that they do not have an opal. They ask, "Well what is it then?" He says "Its a rock," Only, he says it with a great accent to where it sounds like "Its a raw-k." Ha, these are the moments that make me love the Amazing Race. Tara/Wil also discover that they have not found an opal, so both teams head back to the mine. At about the same time, Gary/Dave arrive, who have also decided to mine. Only, instead of digging through the provided dirt pile as the other teams are doing, they decide to half-heartedly dig into the wall. Gary immediately begins trying to convince Dave to go play golf. After about 5 more minutes of digging, Dave gives in. They take off and go back to the metal tree to grab a bag of clubs.
Meanwhile, while all of this has been going
on, Blake/Paige have been having a tough time at the golf course.
Phil wasn't
kidding
when he said the course was confusing. As Blake/Paige putt their
first tee shot into the hole, the referee tells them they have not completed
a hole succesfully yet. They go back to the same tee and try it again,
but they have again putted into the wrong hole. Finally, on the third
try, they get the right hole. The have completed one hole.
Oswald/Danny think they have an opal again. They are sure of it this time. They ask the expert who tells calls it a "Beauty." Relieved, they take the route info and head out. They are headed to Lookout 2 of Breakaways National Park. Blake/Paige, with the help of an excellent drive made by Paige, finish their 3 holes. They too take off for the Park.
Wil is stressed and thinks it could take forever to find an opal. But, just as he finishes saying this, Tara finds one. They ask the expert, who says "Banzai." He is definitely one of my favorite characters we've met so far. He gives Tara/Wil the route packet and they take off.
Well, as all three of the other teams take are on their way to the park, Gary/Dave are just starting their 3 holes of golf. And it could take a while too, because neither of them have ever played golf, and it definitely shows.
Oswald/Danny arrive at the park and recieve the road block. This
week, they'll have to get a quick lesson on how to throw a boomerang.
Then, they'll have to throw a boomerang outside of a circle so that it
lands back inside the circle. When they have successfully done this,
they will get the route info. Oswald decides to do it, and begins
throwing. It quickly becomes apparent that this could take forever.
Phil informs us that once other teams arrive, they will alternate turns
taking throws. Blake/Paige arrive before Oswald has finished.
Paige decides to do it for them, and she get the lesson. They start
taking turns as Tara joins in.
As they throw and throw and throw some more, Gary/Dave finish their three holes. They take off for the park. The camera returns to the road block, and, despite some close calls, no one has finished yet. Finally, Paige throws one that lands on the very edge of the circle. The boomerang man has pity on her and gives her the benefit of the doubt. They recieve the route info which tells them to follow the marked path to the nearby Aboriginal Camp, the pit stop for this week. Tara finally gets one to land inside and he gets the clue. The editing makes us wonder if Gary/Dave will arrive before Oswald has finished. But Oswald finally finishes just as Gary/Dave are arriving. Gary/Dave, knowing they are eliminated, have a sad look on their faces. Gary also apparently spends a long time throwing, but he eventually has a successful throw. They make their way up the path to their elimination.
Gary gives a semi-touching, semi-disturbing speech. He does seem genuinely sad that they were eliminated, but rather than letting it show, he covers it up with a futile attempt at humor. Such is the story of the team Gary and Dave.