The Amazing Race Episode 13.04 I Wonder If They Like Blondes in New Zealand?

THE RIFT CONTINUES

During the rest period at the Pit Stop, divorcees Kelly & Christy confronted siblings Nick & Starr about their urging of Aja & Ty to U-turn them in the last leg. Starr's attempts at mending the situation failed completely as Christy said, "If you want to play the game like that, we are not going to be nice to you, so don't try to fix it." She later added, "You don't even know what you just opened."

FIGHT THE POWER

Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 12:33am, separated couple Ken & Tina opened their clue instructing them to fly over 6,900 miles to Auckland, New Zealand and then drive to Gulf Harbor. Once there, they had to successfully untie a Gordian Knot to retrieve the clue from inside.

Even though it became apparent that all teams would be on the same LAN Airlines flight landing in Auckland at 3:55am, Ty wanted to keep researching flights on the Internet, while his girlfriend Aja wanted to wait in line to purchase tickets. When Ty said that he thought Aja gave up on things too quickly, she became more agitated replying, "I just want us to do our own thing. Period." Not liking her attitude, Ty retorted, "Okay leader. Okay Fidel. I'm gonna start calling you Fidel Castro."

The long distance dating couple continued their argument as they waited in the airport to get tickets. Ty said, "You get in your moods too quickly." Aja denied this, but Ty insisted, "Every time something don't go your way you get an attitude. It's not cool." Later, Aja confessed that she needed to work on her attitude because it does cause arguments between her and Ty. The pair kissed and made up but, when Aja demanded that Ty hug her, Ty again joked with her saying, "I should've got a shirt that says 'I'm with Fidel.'"

BLOW OUT

Landing in Auckland, New Zealand under the darkness of night, newly dating couple Terence & Sarah led the charge out of the airport as teams drove cars on foreign soil for the first time in the race. After a wrong turn, Terence & Sarah surrendered their lead to separated couple Ken & Tina and frat boys Andrew & Dan, but all three teams remained comfortably in front of the others.

Meanwhile, after working out some kinks in their relationship at the airport, Aja & Ty encountered another test of patience and resolve when their tire blew out. Mother and son Toni & Dallas and siblings Nick & Starr drove past them, leaving the long distance dating couple in seventh place and ahead of only the lost southern belles Marisa & Brooke. Ty had never changed a flat tire before in his life and begged the tire, "Don't do this to me now." Aja flagged down a passing motorist who assisted Ty in changing the tire so they could continue on.

ALL KNOTTED UP

Ken & Tina, Andrew & Dan, and Terence & Sarah all arrived within moments of each other at Gulf Harbor and ran onto the dock to find a large, tangled ball of rope called a Gordian Knot. The teams began to untangle the rope as quickly as they could, and frat boys Andrew & Dan reached their clue in the middle first. A small piece of paper simply read "Drive yourselves to the summit of Mount Eden"

Unraveling their clue second, Ken & Tina read the first of only two Fast Forwards to appear in the race. In it, teams had to go directly to the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, the Auckland Skytower. Then, using the tower's maintenance ladders, they had to climb from the sky deck to the top and pick up a friend.

The separated couple raced against the frat boys to the Auckland Skytower knowing that the first team there would have the inside track at winning the Fast Forward. Ken & Tina maintained their slim lead over Andrew & Dan in the car and pulled into the parking lot first, giving them the opportunity to win the Fast Forward. A disappointed Andrew & Dan left the Auckland Skytower and headed to Mount Eden having been passed by Terence & Sarah who went directly there.

FACE TO FACE

Arriving at Mount Eden, newly dating couple Terence & Sarah opened their clue to find a Roadblock. In it, one team member had to choose an image of a traditional tattoo seen on Maori warriors. Then, walking among the Maori, teams had to find the warrior with the tattoo that matched the one they had in hand. If the match was wrong, the warrior would take their image, forcing them to start again.

Still in the darkness of early morning, Terence began searching through the faces of the tough looking Maori warriors as they chanted and danced menacingly. After Terrence's first incorrect guess, Sarah began to worry, but told Terence to remain calm and focused. On his second try, he matched the correct face, earning a clue that instructed them to drive into downtown Auckland and find the rooftop of the City Life Hotel.

LONG CLIMB UP

As Tina suited up for the climb up Auckland Skytower, she confessed to a major fear of heights while Ken reassured her that she would perform great. A wary Tina replied, "I highly doubt that." Beginning her climb up the outside tower to the very top of the building, Tina became more worried about the task as the wind picked up speed. Ken noted, "The tower's swaying a little bit now." Tina began panicking a little saying, "I just want to get off of this." Ken cheered his wife on as she overcame her fear and continued her ascent. Finally at the top, Ken & Tina found their surprise friend waiting, the Travelocity Roaming Gnome. Back on the ground, the excited couple opened their Fast Forward clue instructing them to travel by helicopter to the Pit Stop at Summerhill.

EAGLE EYES

Arriving at the top of the City Life Hotel, newly dating couple Terence & Sarah ripped open their clue to learn they needed to use binoculars to scan the area around the hotel to find a Travelocity Roaming Gnome doing New Zealand "wish list" activities. Once they spotted a gnome, they had to go find and retrieve it along with their next clue.

Terence & Sarah couldn't agree on the most effective system to scan a 360-degree view of the beautiful downtown city, so they settled on just looking separately. Sarah was first to spot a gnome residing at the top of a nearby building. Running close behind them, mother and son Toni & Dallas spied their gnome across the way relaxing on a chaise lounge with a bottle of wine. When both teams collected their gnomes, they discovered they needed to drive to the town of Te Puke and find the local landmark Kiwi 360.

WINNERS AGAIN

Landing in Summerhill, separated couple Ken & Tina emerged from their helicopter and stepped on the mat in first place for the third consecutive time as Phil's dad welcomed them to New Zealand. Phil rewarded the pair with a trip for two from Travelocity to Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. Ken commented, "Our relationship's getting better. It's not going to happen overnight. We've been going the wrong way so long that this was a step in the positive direction."

CRUSHING KIWI

Arriving at Kiwi 360 in second place, newly dating couple Terence & Sarah opened their clue to find a Detour with the choice of Matter of Time or Matter of Skill. In Matter of Time, teams had to drive to a kiwi orchard where, using their bare feet, they needed to crush enough kiwi fruit to make twelve quarts of juice. When they reached the goal, each team member had to drink a glass of the juice to receive their next clue. In Matter of Skill, teams had to drive to Blokart Heaven, choose two kits and properly assemble a pair of blokarts. Then teams had to sail the blokarts around the track three times to earn their next clue.

Stepping into the gigantic vat of whole kiwis, Terence & Sarah felt the sharp sting of jagged rocks that layered the bottom. Adding to this pain, the kiwis themselves were rather hard providing an uncomfortable experience for the pair. As the kiwis began to turn to mush, the bright green juice flowed from the spigot to their collection containers. The dating couple also wisely checked to make sure nothing clogged the spout, a tactic that mother and son Toni & Dallas failed to incorporate. Their oversight ultimately forced them to switch to blokarts when their kiwi juice wouldn't flow. After Terence & Sarah finished stomping and drank their juice, they read their clue instructing them to the Pit Stop at Summerhill, where they claimed second place ahead of divorcees Kelly & Christy who finished third.

FALLING STARR

Running in fifth place after switching from kiwis to blokarts as well, siblings Nick & Starr built their blokarts and began the crazy ride around the track with the help of the wind. Nick cruised through the course, but Starr toppled over when the wind picked up. Bracing her fall with her arms, Starr cried in pain, insisting that her arm had been broken. Wincing when she touched her arm, Starr knew she needed to finish the course and endured the pain as she cried through her last lap. Despite her injury, Starr attempted to drive their car away from the course. However, she found it too painful and her brother, Nick, took over and drove them to the Pit Stop where they finished in fifth place ahead of frat boys Andrew & Dan who finished in sixth.

FINAL BATTLE

The two remaining teams hoped their bad days would get better as they battled each other to avoid elimination. Southern belles Marisa & Brooke fell way behind in the beginning of the day when they couldn't find Gulf Harbor and the Gordian Knot. After surviving a flat tire, long distance dating couple Aja & Ty held off the southern belles all afternoon, but, as night began to fall, their lead dwindled. Aja & Ty encountered the same difficulties as other teams when they couldn't get juice to flow from their vat of kiwis. After wasting a lot of time stomping the fruit, the couple decided to switch to the blokarts in a last ditch attempt to stay in the race.

As Ty & Aja drove to the blokarts and started assembling the speed racers, Marisa & Brooke stepped into their vat of kiwis and good-naturedly laughed as they endured the painful rocks to make juice. The race tightened when Aja & Ty didn't assemble the blokarts correctly; giving the southern belles even more chance to pass them. Marisa & Brooke nearly finished filling their containers when Aja & Ty began riding around the course in their blokarts. As Aja passed the finish line on her third lap directly behind Ty, the southern belles knocked back their glasses of kiwi juice. On the drive to the Pit Stop, both teams kept positive attitudes, hoping they would remain in the race. However, for one team, the dream was over.

BYE BYE, BELLES

Southern belles Marisa & Brooke stepped onto the mat in last place and Phil gave them the bad news that they had been eliminated from the race. Through her tears, Marisa commented, "I think THE AMAZING RACE is about taking chances and finding out who you are as individuals and finding out more about your teammate. We definitely did that. I got to experience this special race with her. That's something that nobody can take away from us. Brooke and I will be best friends forever."

1304 ROUTE MARKERS

Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one person can perform. In this Roadblock, that team member had to choose an image of a traditional tattoo seen on Maori warriors. Then, walking among the Maori, racers had to find the warrior with the tattoo that matched the one they had in hand. If the match was wrong, the warrior would take their image and the racer had to start again.

Performed Roadblock: TERENCE, STARR, TONI, ANDREW, AJA, CHRISTY, BROOKE

Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its pros and cons. In this Detour, teams had to choose between Matter of Time and Matter of Skill. In Matter of Time, teams had to drive to a kiwi orchard where, using their bare feet, they needed to crush enough kiwi fruit to make twelve quarts of juice. When they reached the goal, each team member had to drink a glass of the juice to receive their next clue. In Matter of Skill, teams had to drive to Blokart Heaven, choose two kits and properly assemble a pair of blokarts. Then teams had to sail the blokarts around the track three times to earn their next clue.

Matter of Skill: TONI/DALLAS, NICK/STARR, TY/AJA, ANDREW/DAN

Fast Forward: This was the first of only two Fast Forwards hidden on the race. The first team that finds it and completes it could skip all tasks and proceed directly to the Pit Stop. In it, teams had to go directly to the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, the Auckland Skytower. Then, using the tower's maintenance ladders, they had to climb from the sky deck to the top and pick up a Travelocity Roaming Gnome.

KEN/TINA WON FAST FORWARD

Order of Finish:

2. Terence & Sarah

3. Kelly & Christy

4. Toni & Dallas

5. Nick & Starr

6. Andrew & Dan

7. Aja & Ty

8. Marisa & Brooke