The Amazing Race Australia 2


The Amazing Race Australia 2 is the second season of the Australian reality television game show The Amazing Race Australia, the Australian version of The Amazing Race. The second season featured eleven teams of two in a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world to win the grand prize of. The show was produced by activeTV Australia.
This season premiered on Australia's Seven Network on 30 May 2012, one week after the last episode of the twentieth season of the American version aired in Australia. The show moved back to its old Monday schedule at 7:30 pm on 25 June 2012.
The 2012 season concluded with police officers Shane Haw and Andrew Thoday winning the Race.

Production

Filming and Development

On 17 July 2011, the Seven Network announced that the show was renewed for a second edition.
Filming began on 18 November 2011 at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney. The Race travelled across four continents, 9 countries and 17 cities and was over long. The 2012 edition marked a first time visit by a Eurasian or Australian edition of the franchise to the Americas, including the first visit by an Amazing Race franchise to the nation of Cuba, a country the original American edition couldn't visit at the time as the United States embargo against Cuba prevented Americans from visiting the island but restrictions have since been loosened due to the Cuban thaw of the Obama Administration. This season was also the first version outside of the American edition to circumnavigate the globe.
Three new twists were introduced in this season. The Salvage Pass was awarded in Leg 1, giving the recipient team a choice between a one-hour head start or saving the last team from elimination in that leg, a U-Turn vote in Leg 4 that required all teams to vote for the team to be U-Turned at the start of the leg and an Anonymous U-Turn in Leg 5, in which the team who elected to use it would remain anonymous. In Leg 6, a Yield was present for the first time in the Australian version.
During Leg 4, Lucy & Emilia were detained for driving into the grounds of a royal palace in Dubai, however, they were eventually released with a warning.

Cast

Applications for the Race ended on 19 August 2011. On 20 April 2012, the teams were announced by the Seven Network. The cast includes a pair of identical twins, Indigenous Australian cousins, cops and a pair of hairdressers. It also features the franchise's first disabled contestant, Sticky, who was born without a left forearm; Michelle and Jo Troy are both cheerleaders of St. George Illawarra Dragons; former Australian rules footballer Ross Thornton along with his daughter Tarryn. Lucy & Emilia were originally picked for the first series but dropped out at the last minute due to their mother falling sick.

Future appearances

In 2018, Sarah Roza appeared on the fifth season of Married at First Sight.

Broadcasting

The show was on hiatus from 30 July to 6 August 2012 to avoid clashing with the 2012 Summer Olympics. The final three episodes aired from 13 August 2012 on consecutive nights.

Marketing

, Bing Lee and PUMP water continued their sponsorship. The new sponsors for this series were Zuji Australia, a sister company of Travelocity, and Swisse Vitamins.

Results

  1. Lucy & Emilia arrived at the Pit Stop in last place. However, Ross & Tarryn used their Salvage Pass to save Lucy & Emilia from elimination.
  2. Adam & Dane initially arrived 7th, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for selling off their possessions. The last four teams trailing them checked in during their penalty time, dropping Adam & Dane to last place and resulted in their elimination.
  3. For unknown reasons, the starting placements of Kym & Donna and Paul & Steve were switched after the second leg. Kym & Donna and Paul & Steve arrived in 6th and 5th place respectively, but left in 5th and 6th, respectively.
  4. Sticky & Sam, Michelle & Jo, Kym & Donna, Paul & Steve, Shane & Andrew, Lucy & Emilia and Teresa & Sue broke more than 15 pots during the pot delivery task; their teams were all issued 15-minute penalties at the pot drop off point at the other end of the market.
  5. Kym & Donna could not find their way to the Meydan Racecourse. Hours after all the teams had checked into the Pit Stop, Kym & Donna still had not completed the final challenge. Grant came over to the area where they had spent the night to inform them of their elimination.
  6. James & Sarah initially arrived 6th, but were issued a 4-hour penalty for quitting the Roadblock. Lucy & Emilia checked in during their penalty time, dropping James & Sarah to 7th. Less than 30 minutes later, Ross & Tarryn also checked-in during the penalty time, but they were also issued the same penalty; Grant informed them that they were in last place but it was a non-elimination leg; both of the teams' penalty would be assessed at the start of the next leg.
  7. Ross & Tarryn had been "marked for elimination", however, since they checked in last, they were eliminated without the 30-minute penalty.
  8. Joseph & Grace initially arrived 6th, but were issued a 2-hour penalty for pulling another team's belongings out of the taxi. Sticky & Sam checked in during their penalty time, dropping Joseph & Grace to last place; however, they were notified the leg was a no-rest leg and Grant gave their next clue.
  9. Joseph & Grace failed to make it to the required area of the Great Wall of China for the Roadblock, after travelling to the Inner Mongolia section of the Great Wall instead. After they made it to the Roadblock site after all other teams had checked in, Grant came out to their location to inform them of their elimination. Joseph elected to perform the Roadblock ; however, they were eliminated immediately before Joseph begin the Roadblock.

    Voting history

Similar to the second series of the Israeli version, teams on the fourth leg voted for who should receive the U-Turn. Teams voted privately at a special U-Turn board prior to leaving the Pit Stop, and the results were revealed at a second U-Turn board where the penalised team would see who voted for them. The team with the most votes was penalised with the U-Turn penalty.
According to racer Sticky, there was a second unaired U-Turn vote on the leg of his and Sam's elimination

Prizes

The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg.
Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.
  1. "Don't Need More Friends, Always Need More Money" – Donna
  2. "We Only Picked Good Looking Ones" – Lucy
  3. "I Don't Really Like to Use My Brain" – Grace
  4. "No More Showing Off" – Grace
  5. "I Know What a Lime is Daddy!" – Tarryn
  6. "Take a Seat... My Stunning Specimen of a Man!" – Lucy
  7. "How Do You Fold Liquid?" – Grace
  8. "It's a Pit Pause" – Sarah
  9. "Why Am I Trying to Ride a Log on Icy Water?" – Lucy
  10. "I Do My Riding Better in the Bedroom" – Steve
  11. "You Have a Smiley Face on Front" – Jo
  12. "I'm Sorry My Looks, My Facial Expressions Annoy You!" – Paul

    Race summary

Leg 1 (Australia → Philippines)

Airdate: 30 May 2012
The first Detour of the Race was a choice between Jig or Pig. In Jig, teams had to don traditional costumes then learn and perform a traditional Ibalong Festival dance to the satisfaction of four judges in order to receive their next clue. In Pig, teams would compete in a fiesta game called Agawan Baboy, "Catch the Oily Pig". Teams would have to cover each other in oil and enter a muddy pen to catch pigs. Once each team member caught two pigs and put them in another pen, a farmer would give them their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 6 June 2012
The Detour was a choice between Pull and Poo. Both Detour options required teams to travel to Jabbar and Laallu's Dairy in Bhalswa. In Pull, teams had to take turns milking a cow in order to collect a half-litre of milk, which they could exchange for their next clue. In Poo, teams had to make 50 fuel bricks out of cow manure and hay then stick them to a wall in order to receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 13 June 2012 ; 14 June 2012
There was a Detour on the leg, as Sarah was shown holding a Detour clue outside the temple in promotional material; however, the task was not shown on air.
In the first Roadblock of the Race, teams had to make their way to Bharat Driving and Maintenance School, where one team member had to sit through a driver's education class before navigating themselves through the chaotic streets of Jaipur to a market driving from right-to-left. If they passed their driving test, they would receive their next clue.
In the leg's second Roadblock, either team member had to figure out how to get from the top of the stairwell to a guru sitting in the middle. If they reached the guru, providing the correct combination of 41 steps down and ten steps up, they would receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
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Airdate: 20 June 2012
The Detour was a choice between Camel Dash or Dune Bash. Both Detour options required teams to drive themselves to the Al Faqa Desert. In Camel Dash, teams had to ride a camel through a course and retrieve four coloured flags in order to receive their next clue. In Dune Bash, teams had to drive a dune buggy around a flagged desert track in order to receive their next clue. Teams found the U-Turn reveal board at the end of the Detour task.
There was an unaired Roadblock during the leg, as Shane was clearly seen holding a Roadblock clue; however, this Roadblock was unaired and further details are unknown.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 25 June 2012
The Detour was a choice between Count 'Em Up or Price 'Em Up. In Count 'Em Up, teams had to make their way to Al-Arsa Souq and correctly count the number of dried limes in a sack to receive their next clue. In Price 'Em Up, teams had to make their way to a marked jewellery store in the Gold Souq and arrange seven pieces of jewellery from the cheapest to the most expensive to receive their next clue.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to memorise eight Arabic symbols and then line them up on a vertical column at the Basilica Cistern. They could only go back to Hagia Sophia if they were unable to recall the symbols. Once the symbols were ordered correctly, they could retrieve their next clue from a pool of leeches.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 2 July 2012
The Detour was a choice between Shine or Design. In Shine, teams had to locate a marked shoe shine stall at Yeni Camii and convince 10 locals to have their shoes shined for no less than 4 liras each to receive their next clue. In Design, teams needed to find a marked carpet stall in the Egyptian Bazaar, choose a piece of fabric from an exotic Turkish pattern, and find a perfect match among the carpets to get their next clue.
In this Roadblock, one team member had to spin with Whirling Dervishes for five minutes continuously to receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 9 July 2012
In this culinary-themed Roadblock, one team member had to sign up for a cooking class, the first of which started at 9:00 pm with four team members and the second of which would start an hour later with the remaining team members, and bake a batch of Grand Marnier soufflés. Once team members baked a soufflé to the satisfaction of the school's director, he would hand them their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 16 July 2012
For this Roadblock, one team member would be given two coordinates and had to either use a compass and a nautical chart to locate a fishing boat with "the old fisherman of the sea" on board or catch a fish if they couldn't find the boat to receive their next clue. They were also given a time limit to complete the Roadblock and would incur a 4-hour penalty if they failed to complete either goal within the time limit.
The Detour in the leg was a choice of Che Puzzle or Daiquiri Guzzle. In Che Puzzle, teams had to complete a 90 piece puzzle of Che Guevara at the Plaza de la Catedral in Old Havana to receive their next clue. In Daiquiri Guzzle, teams had to make six daiquiris at the Floridita bar and then deliver them through a festival with only one hand to Ernest Hemingway's old room at the Hotel Ambos Mundos. If none of the daiquiris had spilt past a red line or had been dropped along the way, teams would receive their next clue. Otherwise, they had to go back to the bar and make the daiquiris again.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 23 July 2012
In the only Fast Forward of the Race, one team had to travel to an art studio, where they would discover that they had to strip nude and model in a life drawing class in front of six artists. Once the students completed their sketches, the art teacher would hand the team the Fast Forward award.
This leg's lumberjack-inspired Detour was a choice of Toss and Tumble. Both Detours options required that teams travel to The Learning Lodge near Rice Lake and dress up in lumberjack clothing. In Toss, teams had to throw an axe at a target from away. They needed to get 10 shots out of 40 before they could receive their next clue. In Tumble, teams had to take part in logrolling and roll a marked log so that it rotated 10 times in a pool of water in order to receive their next clue. If a team member fell off the log, they had to swap with their partner and continue.
In this Roadblock, one team member had to stand on top of a cable car riding up towards the top of Grouse Mountain, while grabbing three flags as they passed in order to receive their next clue. If a team failed to capture all three flags in one ascent of the cable car, they had to try again. If they were unsuccessful after three ascents, teams would incur a 4-hour time penalty.
;Additional tasks
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Airdate: 13 August 2012
In this Roadblock, one team member had to ice climb to the top of a frozen waterfall using ice axes and crampons to retrieve their next clue.
The Detour was a choice of Search or Ski. Both Detour options required teams to drive themselves to The Lodge of the Ten Peaks in Lake Louise and pick up skiing equipment before taking the ski lift up the mountain. In Search, teams had to use an avalanche rescue beacon to search a marked area for a transmitter buried beneath the snow. Once teams dug up the transmitter, they could exchange it for their next clue. In Ski, both team members had to go through a slalom skiing course and pass through all the flags to receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 14 August 2012
The Detour was a choice between Waiter or Wheel. In Waiter, teams had to take food orders from customers in a restaurant in Mandarin Chinese and recite each order to the chef. If they pronounced the orders correctly, the chef would give them the meals to serve to the customers. Once every customer on the table received their meal, teams would receive their next clue. In Wheel, teams had to spin a wheel with different Chinese delicacies on it and completely eat the dish the wheel stopped on. After each team member ate two dishes, they would receive their next clue.
In this Roadblock, one team member had to figure out how to pass through nine rows of warriors, who were guarding their next clue. In each row of warriors, only one warrior would let them through and the others would block them. If the team member was blocked by a warrior three times, they would have to go back to the first row and start again. Once they passed through all nine rows, they would receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 15 August 2012
The final Detour of the Race required teams to travel to a Kindergarten School in Yangshuo County to complete either Teach or Learn. In Teach, teams had to choose one of the Kindergarten students and teach them 10 Australian slang words. Once their student correctly recited all 10 words to the teacher, teams would receive their next clue. In Learn, teams had to choose one of the Kindergarten students who would teach them how to say the same 10 Australian slang words in Mandarin Chinese. If teams recited all 10 words correctly to the teacher, they would receive their next clue.
In the final Roadblock of the Race, one team member had to wade out to clue boxes in the lake which each contained a multiple choice question based on previous experiences on the Race. Then they had to place coloured rings around the clue boxes which corresponded to the correct answer. If they got the questions right, they would receive the final clue.
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;Additional note