The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 12

With the aid of a fast forward, Adrian & Collin retained their lead in The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 11. Paula & Natasha, however, pretty much had no shot at catching up to the rest of the pack following their non-elimination last time, and they were eliminated.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Adrian & Collin (8:10pm)
Second: Rovilson & Marc (10:37pm)
Third: Pamela & Vanessa (10:56pm)
Fourth: Ann & Diane (11:24pm)

Teams must fly to Cape Town, South Africa. Adrian & Collin immediately try to get some Internet access, and the strange thing is that Rovilson & Marc know this strategy yet don’t appear to use it.

First flight (10,700km via London, arriving at 7:50am): Ann & Diane
Second flight (to Frankfurt, where they hope to be able to find a flight): Adrian & Collin, Rovilson & Marc, Pamela & Vanessa

Adrian & Collin were trying too hard to get a better flight instead of taking the sure thing, but in the end, after getting on standby, they are able to get on the same flight as the other teams who are in Frankfurt, which arrives at 5:00am, three hours ahead of Ann & Diane. So it becomes a question of what the hours of operation of the first task are. While it worked out well for the teams who took the gamble, it was a huge risk to take.

When they arrive in Cape Town, teams must travel by taxi to Signal Hill. Rovilson & Marc use one of the best strategies I’ve seen to get a map book: they buy it from the cab driver. Adrian & Collin come up with the same plan. They arrive at 6:13 and have to kill time until the place opens at 8:30. Once it opens, they must drive to the summit of Signal Hill, where they’ll need to search through a bunch of clue boxes until they find the right one, which is made more difficult by being in the foggiest place on earth. For Adrian & Collin and Pamela & Vanessa, though, they must first figure out how to start their cars. Adrian & Collin particularly struggle and eventually have to get assistance from a local. Ann & Diane, likewise, have difficulty. Rovilson & Marc think this is all quite amusing.

From there, teams will head to Killarney Motor Racing Circuit. The team member who performs the road block must race 8 laps around the Killarney race track. The first 4 laps must be done in less than 7.5 minutes, or the team will get a 5 minute penalty.

Road block (in order of arrival): Vanessa, Marc, Collin, Ann

Vanessa and Collin receive a penalty, but Marc does not. There are a few minutes between the teams in the lead. As they’re leaving, Collin & Adrian again need to figure out how to start their car. They’re leaving just as Ann & Diane arrive. All the other teams were smart enough to have the people who normally do the driving drive, but Ann & Diane let Ann drive, who doesn’t drive a manual well. At 9 minutes 18 seconds, she actually does better than Vanessa did, and right around the same time as Collin. With that, it’s safe to assume Ann & Diane are about half an hour behind.

Teams must drive to the township and then go to the Intyatyambo Community Project and paint a marked section of the center, which cares for children age 1-6 living with AIDS, many of whom are orphans or HIV+ themselves. Contained in the clues is a check from Standard Chartered Bank for $5,000, which teams will deliver to the caregivers of the project.

Now that all the signs are in English… the teams are even more lost than they were in places where the signs weren’t in English. Rovilson & Marc miss having an excuse.

It’s a lengthy trek from there. They will take a two hour drive north to the Aquila Park Private Game Reserve. If you get lost going 15 minutes, it’s not such a big deal, but if you get lost going two hours, it could be huge. The next clue is located in the cheetah enclosure.

The detour is a choice between in one end or out the other (yeah, it’s as bad as it sounds, but it provides an opportunity for a lot of puns). In in one end, teams must prepare 100kg of food and feed it to the elephants, meaning they may need to wait because it could take a while to digest. In out the other, teams must clean elephant dung and deliver it to the marked area, which sounds messy but should be quicker.

Out the other: Rovilson & Marc, Collin & Adrian, Pamela & Vanessa, Ann & Diane

Rovilson & Marc know this show. They’ve got nose plugs with them.

Aquila Park Reserve, situated on 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of landscape, is the pitstop for this leg of the race.

First: Rovilson & Marc (win a trip back to South Africa)
Second: Adrian & Collin
Third: Pamela & Vanessa
Fourth: Ann & Diane (eliminated)

It’s back to normal, with Marc & Ro back on top. Wasn’t even dramatic, though, as Ann & Diane, despite having just half an hour gap, had no chance of catching up. The other three teams lucked out it wasn’t one of them after the airport situation. It’s too bad because they are a better team than Pamela & Vanessa. Not that it much matters, since it’s been a two team race all along.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 13, where we will find out who the winner is.