Recap: The Amazing Race Australia 4, Episode 5 – “You can always teach an old dog new tricks.”


Teams fly to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (via Shenzhen and Beijing) for the 5th Leg of the Race armed with US$165 on their Bankwest Halos. Upon arrival in the capital, teams must make their way up 300 steps to the Ziasan War Memorial.

Jasmin & Jerome arrive first and open the next clue telling teams to make their way to Janraisig Temple in Gandan Monastery. Here surrounding the largest indoor statue of Buddha, teams must spin and count 287 prayer wheels to receive their next clue.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap

Sid & Ash go into a 7-Eleven to have them call a cab. But Hayley & Mikayla take it instead when it arrives.

Jasmin & Jerome maintain their lead and must now catch one of three buses that will take them into the Mongolian desert.

Back at the temple, 2nd to last team Hayley & Mikayla get told the answer by Tom & Tyler which annoys Sid & Ash even more. A frustrated Chris & Adrienne, meanwhile, fall to last at the temple.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap

On the first bus are Jasmin & Jerome, Viv & Joey and Femi & Nick. Tom & Tyler and Hayley & Mikayla are on the second bus while Tim & Rod, Sid & Ash and Chris & Adrienne end up on the third bus.

Upon arrival at the Mongol Els, the first bus teams head into a ger where they will take part in a traditional nomad welcome ceremony which includes drinking fermented horse milk.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap

The milk isn’t going down easy for the teams, particularly Jasmin who is apologetic when she repeatedly gags on the milk while sitting in front of the couple welcoming them.

After enjoying the milk, teams encounter the Detour: Milk the Best or Herd the Rest. In Milk the Best, teams must milk goats. In Herd the Rest, teams must catch four goats or sheep in the traditional way and then mark them with their team colors.

Jasmin & Jerome choose the milking. Femi & Nick and Viv & Joey choose the herding as do Tom & Tyler and Hayley & Mikayla.

The third bus arrives as Femi & Nick mark their four goats.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap

Teams must now hop on a camel and use a compass to search for Beau in the sand dunes for the Pit Stop.

Femi & Nick get going, but in the wrong direction. Tom & Tyler and Viv & Joey also finish herding. Jasmin & Jerome, who have been milking for 60 minutes, decide to switch Detours.

Tom & Tyler realize Femi & Nick have gone the wrong direction. The nurses look back and see no one is behind them. They recheck the compass and realize their mistake.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap

Jasmin & Jerome are able to get a fast camel. When Femi & Nick head back where they came, their camel also begins to run. Both are catching up to Tom & Tyler.

It’s a three-way Race for the win. But Femi falls and that allows Tom & Tyler and Jasmin & Jerome to get ahead.

It’s a photo finish as Jasmin & Jerome get all four feet on the Mat first and they claim their win. Tom & Tyler settle for 2nd while Femi & Nick take 3rd.

Viv & Joey, who finished the Detour 3rd, have gotten lost.

Hayley & Mikayla finish the Detour while Chris & Adrienne are able to tackle enough goats and hop on a camel next. Tim & Rod are right behind them with Sid & Ash in last.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap

But Tim & Rod and Sid & Ash get fast camels and are able to pass Chris & Adrienne. Suddenly, the camel throws Chris off. Adrienne assumes he is just winded, but she starts to think it’s more serious when Chris begins making worrisome noises.

Sid & Ash are able to pass Hayley & Mikayla and they take a satisfying 4th. Tim & Rod step on the Mat as Team #5. Hayley & Mikayla settle for 6th.

Viv & Joey finally find their way and are surprised when they step on the Mat as Team #7.

Race medics come out to check on Chris who thinks he’s broken his ribs.

Beau goes to visit Chris & Adrienne who are resting in a ger. While Chris is going to go get checked out more thoroughly, Beau breaks the news to them that because they did not check in, they are eliminated.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 5 Recap

Episode Thoughts

It’s definitely great to see Mongolia on an Amazing Race after such a long time. I’ve been waiting for TARUS to return to Mongolia. So it’s great TARAu has decided to this time.

This Leg could’ve been a little better though. It was a little too barebones, especially for such a stunning location as Mongolia.

The climbing up the steps to the top for a clue to start the Leg was fine, especially with the altitude.

But another counting task after having one in Seoul just feels very uncreative and lazy. It would’ve been much better if they swapped out the counting in Seoul for something more “Korean” to do instead. The counting prayer wheels here in Mongolia is a much better task than the counting water spouts in a big metropolitan city.

The milk drinking was a fine extra Route Marker. But it doesn’t make up for not having a real, actual task.

The Detour was good as it allowed all teams to be in the same area at the same time. The milking side of the Detour turned out to be pretty difficult apparently. 60 minutes and not having enough milk yet?! That’s crazy!

But were teams allowed to just tackle the goats/sheeps? Adrienne tackled one. That’s shouldn’t have been allowed. But TARAu seems to be a little loose with the rules this season.

The camels to the Pit Stop was fun. Especially with the compass aspect of it. It’s also crazy to think how much a compass can give people trouble. I must be lucky enough to have learned how to use a compass when I was really young.

Overall, it was an okay episode with a stunning location that really should’ve had at least one more actual task. Though the slight shifts in placements definitely helped it a little as well.

My Subjective Team Rankings

The Amazing Race Australia 4 Jasmin Jerome The Amazing Race Australia 4 Viv Joey The Amazing Race Australia 4 Tom Tyler The Amazing Race Australia 4 Chris Adrienne The Amazing Race Australia 4 Femi Nick The Amazing Race Australia 4 Sid Ash The Amazing Race Australia 4 Tim Rod The Amazing Race Australia 4 Hayley Mikayla

A great win for Jasmin & Jerome this Leg. I think they ran a great Leg, even if they had initially chosen the wrong Detour. You really couldn’t have predicted the milking would take that long. But they definitely get bonus points for being the team to finally break Tom & Tyler’s streak.

Tom & Tyler‘s domination hasn’t been too annoying. But it was certainly getting a little boring. So it’s great to see them finally getting knocked down a small peg. Even if that close. Still, they’ve got the right mix of skill and luck that continues to make them the biggest threats and contenders.

Viv & Joey were doing well until the camel. It’s really an example of how one wrong turn can cost you the Race. If it weren’t for Chris’s injury, then Viv & Joey would’ve gone from one of the top teams to eliminated in Leg 5. Their Racing these last two Legs is definitely not the same as the elite team we saw blasting through earlier on.

Chris & Adrienne have been fun to watch. But unfortunately, it did seem like it was time for them to go. Even before Chris getting thrown off the camel. They’ve been fighting hard (on the Race and with each other or other teams lol), but sadly you could see it would get tougher for them to keep up moving forward. Still, it was great to watch them Race as long as they did.

It was also great seeing Femi & Nick doing much better this Leg. Of course, they made a big mistake at the end with the compass. But it was refreshing to see them step it up this time and could bode well moving forward if they can keep it up.

I don’t have sympathy for Sid & Ash complaining about other teams not playing cleanly considering things they’ve done. But at the same time, I hate answer sharing. So that’s a few points off for me for Hayley & Mikayla. The taxi situation was not a big deal. But the answer sharing? Not a fan. And knowing that they can Race well on their own, it was disappointing. I am looking forward to see if Sid & Ash can finally back up their cockiness with good Racing in the next Leg

Tim & Rod again felt very invisible this Leg. They got probably the least amount of airtime and really weren’t much of a presence this Leg.

Episode Quotes

Femi: “Running is what I do.”

Chris: “You can always teach an old dog new tricks.”

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