EP4:10/19 "I Wonder If They Like Blondes in New Zealand?"

[puddin]

Leg 4 Auckland, NZ 10/19/08

Auckland, NZ 5/2/08 to 5/3/08

apskip's:
*I have BIG NEWS from my brother-in-law Ray who works at the Auckland International Airport as reported by my sister who is a big Amazing Race fan after I asked about May 2:
*I just checked with Ray and he said the Amazing Race team did arrive in Auckland, went into the city for the day and came back to the airport late that evening and departed.  He told me he saw Phil Keogan the kiwi who fronts the show waiting for the competitors.
*This fits perfectly with my theory that teams would do a REST DAY or in this case from 0355 until late evening

apskip's adds:

NEW
New Zealand INFO FROM MY SOURCE

*"Phil Keoghan and team arrived on what I think was the 2 May. I personally saw him only the afternoon/evening of this day
 *However, other staff members report they have seen the team also on this day
*Phil Keoghan flew out in the early hours of the next day (possibly 3rd  of May) - 5am ish.
*Flights leaving that early in the morning are usually just flying to Australia
*Some airport security staff saw the rest of the team fly out in dribs and drabs on the "3rd of May", with the last team around 7pm ish that eveningleaving  ."
*"they left during the course of the day from around 12:30pm onwards - most took Emirates flights (of which there are 3 daily departures each day - all of which go thru Australia. One to Melbourne then Dubai, One to Sydney then Singapore, One to Brisbane, Bangkok. There was still one team here around 7pm waiting to fly out."

mez:
*Hi, this is completely unconfirmed and comes to me third hand but my mother was listening to a talk show on the radio yesterday here in NZ and there was a woman from Tauranga on who said that a reality show had been through there-well, the Tauranga-Mount Maunganui area (in the North Island, not far from Auckland). I asked my mother if the woman had said when and she said no but she got the impression listening that it was in the last month.

selwyn:

*I've spoken to people within the industry who had direct involvement with The Amazing Race in New Zealand.
*They definitely did a leg here, roughly the dates I mention earlier (Apr 30 - May 2) but I think it may have run a day late.
*I am not totally sure where they traveled, but it was out of Auckland south into the North Island (this would fit with Tauranga or Rotorua, or both).
*And I have no idea where they pit-stopped.
*There were as many a 10 local crews on the job, plus the standard travelling crews. This was definitely the CBS Amazing Race, not a localised variant (the Asian version has been here twice in the past).

selwyn adds:

*My informants also tell me that at least one team was quite a way behind at the end of the NZ leg. So it's possible that not all teams land in Cambodia the same time.
 
•Phil interview:
•Q: You're also going back to your birthplace, New Zealand, the adventure capital of the world, for the third time. What new thrills can we expect to see?
•A: New Zealanders are very proud of their indigenous Maori culture, and we were looking to get something of that in the show. We ended up having the teams search for Maori warriors on an extinct volcano (near Auckland), and it was the most magical morning when they arrived: As the sun was rising, there were these warriors doing the haka (a traditional war dance) with a magnificent rainbow over the top of the hill.

[puddin]

Clues~

ONE RACER FALLS DURING A DETOUR AND FEARS SHE MAY HAVE BROKEN HER ARM, WHILE ANOTHER TEAM STARTS TO FALL APART EMOTIONALLY, ON "THE AMAZING RACE 13," SUNDAY, OCT. 19

"I Wonder If They Like Blondes in New Zealand?" -

*Teammates clash as one accuses the other of behaving like a dictator.
**while another Team struggles to keep their relationship intact
*A team is stranded on the side of the road. Will the aid of a local save their Race?
*While navigating a tricky Detour, one Racer takes a hard fall and injures her arm,
**One racer wipes out and fears broken bones. Will they push through the pain to reach the Pit Stop?




Fly to Auckland, NZ



" I wonder if they like Blonds in New Zealand?"

Airport Drama Equalizer




Every man for himself .. race to grab a car







".. got passed bad"

Flat tire "helllpppp"

Fast Forward at the Sky City Tower 
production slideshow , again thanks to schwarzmoor's find

Roadblock= who has a eye for detail?
Phil-- We ended up having the teams search for Maori warriors on an extinct volcano (near Auckland), and it was the most magical morning when they arrived: As the sun was rising, there were these warriors doing the haka (a traditional war dance) with a magnificent rainbow over the top of the hill.





Christy & Andrew

pinky

Toni



Detours, Blokart or Kiwi stomping ?

Kiwi's
Sarah and Terence

DAndrew



Blokart

  Nick & Starr

DAndrew



Pitstop, Phil and dad!

[puddin]

You can read here when TARA2 went to Auckland.  :sucks

[puddin]

OMG the TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!! "Blondes..."

"I Wonder If They Like Blondes in New Zealand?"

[Hooky]

That's a terrible title! I know the spoilers, but that doesn't mean everyone in the world does.

They need some new title making staff.

[TARAsia Fan]

That could mean Tina. She's a blonde, too. Don't jump to conclusions.

[michael]

That could mean Tina. She's a blonde, too. Don't jump to conclusions.

exatamundo.

[north09]

That could mean Tina. She's a blonde, too. Don't jump to conclusions.

I'm kind of hoping it is! The blondes need to go tonight for me to score some more points.

[Belle Book]

"I wonder if they like blondes in New Zealand?"  Although this could be about Tina, I'll bet it's about Marissa & Brooke -- which means they make it to New Zealand at least.  So much for my theory that they go out tonight.

Belle Book

[north09]

"I wonder if they like blondes in New Zealand?"  Although this could be about Tina, I'll bet it's about Marissa & Brooke -- which means they make it to New Zealand at least.  So much for my theory that they go out tonight.

Belle Book

But would the producers be that dumb as to give it away like that?

[puddin]

They gave the route away so who knows? I mean those that do not read spoilers have no idea that Tina makes it far and the the blonds do not.

eta: and while I'm here I think Dallas & Toni cop the Fast Forward at the tower seeing as they seem to be first doing the Tonle Sap task in Cambodia.

[pyryniemi]

Why are there numbers all the way to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 in "Fast Forward in Progress" signpost?

[michael]

maybe leg three is a NEL?
or a TBC like in TAR9?

[puddin]

maybe leg three is a NEL?
or a TBC like in TAR9?

No, we've been through this months ago, I suggest starting with page 21  or so

http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/topic,15356.500.html

[apskip]

I cannot locate the precise post where I went over this, but let me just summarize my hypothesis here. The board for picking numbers already exists from past Amazing Races. It is a simple 3X3. So even if there are less than 9 teams in the competition, there will be nine slots on that board.

[Hooky]

I cannot locate the precise post where I went over this, but let me just summarize my hypothesis here. The board for picking numbers already exists from past Amazing Races. It is a simple 3X3. So even if there are less than 9 teams in the competition, there will be nine slots on that board.

It happened in leg 5 of Season 7 (there were 9 numbers for 7 teams), so it makes perfect sense.

Of course, since everything is being scaled down and simplified, the one in Season 7 was better and it actually had numbers with Fast Forward icons on them.

[georgiapeach]

Look!! Look!!

All this is in speculation (volcano, location, parents, etc)   I'll help move it in a minute, but lookee!

Here's Phil's Dad as our greeter!






http://tv.yahoo.com/falltv/photos/amazing-race/355

[georgiapeach]

Finally some NZ news! 

And look!

And you'll see my dad make an appearance in this season's New Zealand episode, where I was able to help him celebrate his 66th birthday.

For reference: Phil's parents John and Beth

[georgiapeach]

Auckland is ringed by inactive Volcanic cones. One of them in particular has strong Maori links, and could possibly be our dawn find a Maori task location.

One tree hill, Māori name is Maungakiekie

One Tree Hill is one of Auckland's most recognisable landmarks and from its summit you get 360-degree views of the city.

It was formed up to 30,000 years ago and is one of several inactive volcanos in the Auckland area. The others include Mt Eden, Mt Wellington and Rangitoto Island.

Situated within Cornwall Park, One Tree Hill has at its peak a large obelisk that was erected early last century as a tribute to the local Maori population.

On its slopes are more than 170 man-made terraces that formed parts of three old Maori forts or pas. These make up what is believed to be the world's biggest pre-historic earth fortifications.

One Tree Hill has been public land since the 1840s and until recently was topped with a single pine tree. This was attacked and badly damaged by a political activist and was later cut down.

Today One Tree Hill offers Aucklanders and tourists a peaceful place in which to walk, jog, picnic or just sit and relax and enjoy some truly spectacular scenery.

http://www.tikitouring.co.nz/oth.htm

[randomnzer]

Phil owns a property around Coromandel (if I remember correctly), which fairly close to Auckland. That could be where the pit stop is.

The mountain in the background looks a little like Mt Taranaki (Mt Egmont), which is on the west coast of the North Island. There is a fair bit of forestry around that area (the trees you see in the background are pine plantations rather than natural forest).

[georgiapeach]

 Pretty close to our intro cap:

#15 sheep, New Zealand



Panorama:


Some other views from One tree Hill The first shows the Tower, the second i towards Rangitoto:




One tree hill is not the only possible place, Rangitoto is the largest cone I believe?

Whatever one is ours will need to have a Maori connection....

Now we can try to also match this view for the Pitstop!

[Slowhatch]

Didn't CBS put it out (on their map) that the stop was Te Puke? If that's to be trusted, then I've found some shots from the nearby Papamoa hills that bear some resemblance (no match yet).

[apskip]

Slowohatch, you are quite right. Also, if you consult your New Zealand map and look really hard, Te Puke is within 30 km of Tauranga and Mt. Maunganui. Rumors that those are places visited in this leg appear to be true.

[georgiapeach]

Yes, we know they go to Te Puke based on Intro caps and their map, but I think that may be  for a task.

Here from the article above:

We ended up having the teams search for Maori warriors on an extinct volcano (near Auckland), and it was the most magical morning when they arrived: As the sun was rising, there were these warriors doing the haka (a traditional war dance) with a magnificent rainbow over the top of the hill.

So maybe one of the volcanic cones is the very first task "Find the Maori: and get your clue"....

And the Pitstop w/ Phil's Dad comes on those other hills?

[georgiapeach]

View from Mt Maunganui  in case: