Recap: The Amazing Race Australia 5, Episode 13 – “Why are you so exasperated with me all the time?”

Teams begin the lucky 13th Leg in Port Lincoln where they will fly back to Townsville to take care of some unfinished business. Upon arrival, teams must find a Campervan and drive to Big 4 campsite in Rowes Bay where they will sign-up for a departure time tomorrow morning. Teams will be released every two minutes at 5am.

Chris & Aleisha stop outside of the parking entrance and run to the sign-up board ahead of other teams. They manage to take the 4th spot.

In the morning, Ashleigh & Amanda open the clue first revealing the Road Block. Who hasn’t Faced Off? For this Road Block, teams must head back to Castle Hill and make their way down the rockface, face first. They will collect a tag beside their photo along the way from the Brains or Brawn board they chose from the first time. Because they did not exist in the Race back then, MJ & Chelsea choose Braun at the park entrance while Stan & Wayne are forced to choose Brains.

Ashleigh, Anurag and Brendon get started with the Road Block. Meanwhile, Holly & Dolor and the other teams laugh at Stan & Wayne driving onto a dirt road instead of the actual entrance to the park.

Ashleigh opens the next clue revealing the Detour: Brains or Brawn. Teams will have to make their way to Jezzine Barracks and wait for their chinook transport. The first four teams will take the first trip while the rest will have to wait 20 minutes for the next one.

On the first trip are Ashleigh & Amanda, Brendon & Jackson, Jaskirat & Anurag and Chris & Aleisha.

The Detour each team will perform will be based on what they decided all those Legs ago. In Brains, teams will simulate an artillery bombardment using information and calculations. If they are within 10mm of the target, they will get the next clue. In Brawn, teams will complete an army obstacle course alongside two army instructors before relocating army equipment. Before attempting the Detour, teams have five minutes to put on their uniforms.

While warming up for the Brawn Detour, Chris & Aleisha decide to switch to the Brains Detour. Aleisha had been sorry to Chris for having chosen Brawn on Leg 4. But they are happy the Brains Detour is more up their alley even if they have lost a bit of time. They take a couple of attempts, however. And Holly & Dolor and Stan & Wayne manage to catch up.

Chris & Aleisha finally realize their simple mistake, but all the other Brawns Detour teams have finished and left already.

After completing their army responsibilities, teams will have to face another Detour. They will drive 100km to the town of Ingham where they will choose between Lady & the Tramp and Eat Like a Champ. In Lady & the Tramp, teams will have to start eating five meters of long spaghetti from either end of a table until they meet in the middle without breaking the noodle. In Eat Like a Champ, teams must eat three mangrove worms.

All teams choose the spaghetti and it takes less than a minute.

Ashleigh & Amanda and Brendon & Jackson are in a footrace at Mungalla Station, the Pit Stop for this Leg. But it is Ashleigh & Amanda who reach the Mat to claim 1st and a trip to Fiji. Brendon & Jackson settle for 2nd. Jaskirat & Anurag take 3rd.

Skye-Blue & Jake and Chris & Aleisha finish the simple Detour. MJ & Chelsea have been lost. They see Skye-Blue & Jake and decide to follow them thinking they are on their way to the restaurant.

Skye-Blue & Jake check-in as Team #4. MJ & Chelsea are confused as they step on the Mat. Beau informs them that they have not finished the Detour so they hurry back.

Chris & Aleisha check-in as Team #5 followed by Holly & Dolor in 6th.

Thanks to Stan & Wayne’s getting a little lost again, MJ & Chelsea are able to check-in as Team #7. That means Stan & Wayne are last. But this is a Non-Elimination Leg.

Episode Thoughts

So it took nine Legs before they could pay off that Brains or Brawn choice from Leg 4. Yes, the Leg with the grass cutting. It’s a cute gimmick and all, but they really should’ve just staged this Leg on Leg 4 instead of splitting it up between Townsville and Palm Island. Considering they ran out of things to do on Palm Island in the first place, perhaps they had no choice but to include that nighttime Road Block in Townsville to fill out the Leg.

And then of course there’s the fact that teams could change Detours anyway. So what was the point? lol

There also was zero point to teams rushing to the sign-up board at the start of the Leg either.

Anyway, the Detour was great. Definitely more challenging than TARUS11’s military base Detour in Guam. And perfect for a brains vs brawn choice. It was definitely physical vs. mental. And honestly, I wouldn’t have minded seeing a U-Turn or a Limited Stations Detour here.

Yay at a two Detour Leg! But meh at the actual tasks for the second Detour. I think they should’ve just made both tasks Active Route Info tasks instead. The spaghetti literally took a minute to complete. Not a worthy Detour choice at all.

If it hadn’t been for our inexperienced Stowaway teams being directionally challenged, the last 1/3 of the episode would’ve been as predictable as TAR32.

And what is there to say about the pick and choose Non-Elimination rules. This wasn’t even a Keep on Racing Leg like The Ghan Pit Stop. So what’s the excuse for having a non-First Class/Salvage/Sabotage Non-Elimination Leg? Granted, I’m glad we get one less First Class Pass. But then, it just feels very sloppy to not have a uniform format when they could have avoided such things by not having the First Class Pass in the first place.

Oh well. The Leg itself was okay. I still think they should’ve had this one back in Leg 4 instead. Having more teams would’ve made that 2nd Detour less nonsensical. Especially if it were a Limited Stations Detour. Or even having a U-Turn.

My Subjective Team Rankings

All the remaining teams are fine. I like all of them, to varying degrees.

Chris & Aleisha turning into the outcasts of the Race is so odd. But it makes them good underdogs. Especially when they’ve been fun and likeable. Holly & Dolor are the same. They’ve really just settled into being the awkwardly funny team that aren’t horrible Racers, but aren’t doing that well either. But again, they’re adding so much to every episode, they need to survive for the next 31 Legs.

Jaskirat & Anurag, meanwhile, have settled into a consistent Race. Which definitely takes the target off them. Meanwhile, Ashleigh & Amanda have shot up to the top of the pack and are the #1 contenders at this point.

I really like Stan & Wayne actually. And while I’m happy they were saved by a Non-Elimination, I wouldn’t have been too sad if they or MJ & Chelsea had been eliminated either. Though if I were to choose, I’d pick them to stay over MJ & Chelsea only so they could get the same number of Legs Raced before they get eliminated (hopefully) before the Final Leg.

Brendon & Jackson had their best Leg in a while this episode. Skye-Blue & Jake are also settling into a consistent Race. And MJ & Chelsea showed they’re actually human and not all-powerful Racebots this Leg. So it was good to see them handling a tough situation for the first time.

Episode Quotes

Aleisha: “Why are you so exasperated with me all the time?”

Aleisha: “I would like to not kiss you please.”

Dolor: “I always wanted to shoot stuff.”