Racing report
Amazing Race Season 22, Episode 7, "Be safe and don't hit a cow"
Film date: probably Nov 27 2012
The last pit stop was at Meno a Kwena safari camp. Teams spent the night here and are released from the same place the next morning in the following order:
1. | Bates & Anthony | 05:39 | |
2. | Pam & Winnie | 06:11 | (+0:32) |
3. | Chuck & Wynona | 06:17 | (+0:38) |
4. | Joey & Meghan | 06:23 | (+0:44) |
5. | Caroline & Jennifer | 06:28 | (+0:49) |
6. | Mona & Beth | 06:37 | (+0:58) |
7. | Max & Katie | 06:49 | (+1:10) |
Teams must now drive themselves to Mokoro Poling station (in Boro village), where they will find their next clue. But before they can do that they must get to the cars. It is unclear if they are going to where they left them in the last episode or if teams have moved the cars during the pit stop. They are at least parked in the terrain quite a bit away from the starting line and some of the teams struggle to find them cars.
The drive to the next clue box is more than 140km long and takes well over three hours (according to Google). Part of the road requires 4-wheel drive. There are instructions taped to the steering wheels of the cars which tells teams when and how to switch between 4 and 2-wheel drive.
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I wasn't counting sheep, I was counting lions", Bates about the night in the safari camp
"
Our faith is the most important part of who we are", Jennifer is very religious
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We've been underperforming so much", Max is not happy with their race so far
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The road is bad. You might get lost. You need to go with somebody else", A local gives Bates & Anthony directions and advice
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It's tough with nobody in front of us to follow", Anthony does not feel confident in their navigational skills
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Alright honey, pedal to the metal but be safe and don't hit a cow", Wynona gets the title as she gives driving instructions to Chuck
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Instead of running around like an idiot, think about where you parked it", Katie to Max when they can't find their car (but she doesn't know either)
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What screw us up the most is directions", Joey
Joey & Meghan have a hard time finding the way to the poling station. According to Joeys recap they were lost for about 3 hours. They are very happy when they eventually catch up with Max & Katie and can follow them.
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If you're not god at map reading then this isn't the leg for you", Joey
"
I hate driving to places", Meghan feels the same
That does not mean that other teams doesn't have their problems as well. Caroline & Jennifer are caught in a speed trap (going 96km/h on a 60km/h road). They try to sweet-talk their way out of it, but to no avail.
"
Go and explain that to my boss", the policeman with the radar gun does not want to listen to their arguments
The boss at the speed trap is very nice, but firm. Teams do get fined and have to go to the police station in Maun and pay the fine of 820 pula (about $100).
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Thank you very much, have a nice day", The smiling happy police officer says goodbye
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Yeah, thanks a lot", But Caroline & Jennifer are not receptive to his charms
At the police station they find that American dollars are not accepted, so they have to go and change money. For some unexplained reason the police won't let Caroline leave the station so Jennifer has to ask a random passerby if he can go and exchange money for them.
"
This is a big mistake", Jennifer has second thoughts the moment then man drives away with her money
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I gave him $100 and I'm hoping he's gonna come back. I'm not quite sure", Jennifer has her doubts
But her trust is well placed and after a while he comes back with the money. So after paying their fine and hugging their savior they are on their way again.
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What's the speed limit? Slow down, 60", Katie (from the back seat)
Unfortunately her warning is not enough so Max get caught in the same speed trap as the girls (going 76km/h).
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Can we just call this our speed bump and be done with it?", Max
They also have to go to the police station, but seem to have changed money in advance.
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That was like mayhem in there. It was not a good place to be", Max as he backs out from the Police station, straight into a pole
Fortunately for Max & Katie the car is only dented by the collision with the pole. They can continue on their way.
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I'm not getting out to look at that", Max just wants this leg to be over
A bit later Max & Katie are relieved when Joey & Meghan turn up behind them.
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If I get beat by them, then I should be heading home anyway", Max does not have high opinions about team YouTube
Teams reach the clue box in Boro Village in the following order:
1(+0) Bates & Anthony
2(+0) Pam & Winnie
3(+0) Chuck & Wynona
4(+2) Mona & Beth, around 09:15
5(+0) Caroline & Jennifer
6(+1) Max & Katie
7(-3) Joey & Meghan
Here teams find a road block and a fast forward.
FAST FORWARD
Have some fun on the
waters of the Okavango
Delta!
Make your way to the
riverbank to get started.
Note: Return to your
vehicle and take all of
your belongings...
you...
Bates & Anthony decide to go for the fast forward and follow the signs
to the riverbank. Here they find another sign:
FAST FORWARD
Both of you must
stay up on waterskis
together for over
a mile to win the
fast forward award!
And there is also a sign by the water which warns for crocodiles.
"
I don't know if I can get up", Bates do not know if he can do this
They debate a bit but Anthony decide that his brother can do it and they agree to go for it.
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Whats the crocodile situation", Bates asks the boat crew
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Nothing. We checked last night. You're fine.", A crew member
"
Getting up was rough. But once I got up I stayed in one position and didn't move a muscle", Bates
"
I can't believe I did it on the first shot", Bates
"
There's a big crocodile right around that bend", The boat driver point out the local wildlife (right after Bates & Anthony have been picked up)
The hockey players succeed with the water skiing task so they win the fast forward and are transported via taxi boat and safari vehicle directly to the pit stop at the Royal Tree Lodge.
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First time on the whole race we're stress free right now", Bates on his way to the pit stop
Max & Katie also find their speed bump here. They must finish a skirt and then take part in a ceremonial seduction dance. The dance mainly consists of wild booty shaking.
"
That was so fun", Katie seemed to enjoy herself
The other teams can go directly to the road block.
ROAD BLOCK
Who wants to go up a
creek without a paddle?
In this road block teams must transport two baby goats up the creek in a Mokoro. This is a dug out canoe which a lucky contestant must pole up the creek to a nearby goat pen. Once the goats have been delivered they must poole back to where they picked up to canoe. The other team member must also travel in to canoe and can hold the goats.
Pooling the dugout turns out to be quite hard. It does not move in the direction players want and since there are crocodiles in the water they are being very careful.
"
The goat is peeing all over my leg", Pam get to hold the goats
"
I have to go get two goats. I'm nervous as hell", Wynona is not comfortable
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I put it in the boat, I figured it would just go on up there like a dog", Wynona was not expecting one of her goats to escape
"
Chuck, this is easy for you, it's not easy for me", Wynona quickly tires of the stream of instructions coming from her husband
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I think I'll move to Venice and become a Gondolier", Winnie see the similarities
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I feel like I'm living out my childhood on the Amazing Race", Caroline had an active youth
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Jennifer & Caroline passed us as we were dropping off the goats, and we're not happy about it", Mona realize they suck at the dugout
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Why is this so difficult", Joey
Joey is having a hard time on the boat so by the time they finish Max & Katie are just a few minutes behind them. It is a tense race as both teams know they are the last two teams.
According to exit interviews the task took about 20 minutes to complete. Teams complete this roadblock in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock)
1(+0) | Pam & Winnie* | (4-4) |
2(+0) | Chuck & Wynona* | (5-3) |
3(+1) | Caroline* & Jennifer | (5-3) |
4(-1) | Mona & Beth* | (4-4) |
5(+1) | Joey* & Meghan | (5-3) |
6(-1) | Max* & Katie | (5-3) |
Teams must now travel by Water Taxi down the river. They will then transfer to a safari vehicle which will take them to the Royal Tree Lodge Game Preserve where they'll find their next clue.
There is nothing teams can do to speed up or slow down the transportation to the game preserve so they all arrive in the same order they left Moro Village. At the game preserve they find their next clue in a pouch hanging from a tree.
DETOUR
Detour: 'Brains' or 'Brawn'
Brains: Go on a horseback
safari and search for ten
different species of
"wildlife". Then, at the end
of your safari choose ten
tiles with representations of
the animals you saw and
place them in the order in
which they appear on the
safari.
...
In brains teams are not allowed to write anything down. The track they have to ride is fairly long and takes about one hour to complete. The really tricky part of the task is the last animal cutout which shows a bird sitting on a hippo. The tiles at the end do not include a hippo, only the bird. The tiles do include a rhino, but that is a different animal which was not seen on the track.
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Honey, you look handsome in your hat up there", Wynona gives positive feedback
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I don't sing like the country girls, but I'm singing", Wynona makes a song out of the animals they see
In brawn teams must stack firewood on a traditional sand sled. Then, using a carrot dangling from a stick, convince a team of four donkeys to haul it half a mile to a safari camp, where they must unload the sled. This task involves hard work (loading and unloading the sled) as well as the ability to get the donkeys to both start and stop.
The actual donkey pulling is surprisingly exciting to watch. First we have Mona & Beth leaving just after Caroline & Jennifer. Both teams do their best to get their donkeys to move quickly and when the country singers sled get caught in a tree they are overtaken by the derby moms.
"
I'm telling you, it's these two fricking asses in the front", Pam & Winnie have donkeys who won't budge.
After failing to get their donkeys to even move Pam & Winnie decide to switch detours. The ride is much more relaxing, but they miss one animal cutout. So they have to go back and do the course again.
"
We definitely did this much faster the second time around", Pam & Winnie
This time they do it much faster (probably around 40 minutes), but they still missed the ostrich. When they are rejected the second time they decide to go back to their donkeys.
Meanwhile Joey & Meghan and Max & Katie are frantically loading wood. Initially Max & Katie have the lead as the YouTube host's donkeys refuse to move. But when the latter finally get their donkeys to move they get them to move very quickly indeed. But just as they are about to pass Max & Katie their sled get caught in a tree.
When they reach the safari camp Joey & Meghan are right behind Max & Katie.
"
If Meghan & Joey beat us in this brawn task, we should go home like that's embarrassing", Katie think they should beat Meghan & Joey
Max & Katie may find it embarrassing, but there are in fact beaten by Joey & Meghan. Probably because the latter manage to stop their sled a little bit closer to where they need to unload their firewood.
Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1(+3) Mona & Beth, brawn
2(+1) Caroline & Jennifer, brawn
3(-1) Chuck & Wynona, brains
4(+1) Joey & Meghan, brawn
5(+1) Max & Katie,brawn less than a minute after #4
6(-5) Pam & Winnie, started Brawn, switched to Brains, failed twice and returned to Brawn
ROUTE INFO
Make your way on foot to
the next Pit Stop:
Where the river bends!
Warning! The last team
to check in may be
eliminated.
The pit stop is very close to the end of the detours, and is easy to find. Joey & Meghan & Max & Katie are all convinced they are racing for last so Max & Katie do not look happy when they arrive at the mat just after Joey & Meghan. Phil plays a little with them before he tell them they are teams #5 & #6.
Teams reach Phil in the following order:
1(+0) Bates & Anthony, win $7500 each
2(+0) Mona & Beth
3(+0) Caroline & Jennifer, a minute or so behind #2
4(+0) Chuck & Wynona
5(+0) Joey & Meghan
6(+0) Max & Katie
7(+0) Pam & Winnie, are eliminated
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We might be eliminated but you can't feel bad after doing this much cool stuff and going to this many cool places", Winnie
Note: fixed pit stop order