The race was hotter than ever as our four remaining teams fought for their place in the Grand Finale. Sadly, Pete and Bridget Helliar’s time on the race came to an end after a road block dropped them from an early lead into last place.
Pete said: “We were trying to stay positive because we always reminded ourselves that weird things can happen on The Amazing Race and you’re never quite sure where you are.
“It was pretty disappointing to get so close to the grand finale. To say we got through every episode and experienced it all would have been great. With that said, we were lucky enough to survive a non-elimination. Sometimes the luck went our way, sometimes it went against us, but we had a great time.”
Arriving in Phuket, teams searched massive turtle egg sculptures at Phuket Gateway before making their way to an elephant sanctuary, treating some of the magnificent pachyderms to a spa day of a mud bath and a shower.
Then it was time to head to a school where one member from each team had to knock down a stack of 10 tin cans using a slingshot. While other teams had a difficult time with the task, Pete really struggled and was the last to leave the challenge.
From there, teams faced a detour – a choice between two challenges, each with their own pros and cons. In Frame, two teams headed to the historic Thalang Road to find and memorise photos of three windows. They then had to venture out, find the real buildings and memorise the street numbers for their next clue.
In Fame, two teams went to a nearby theatre to help a cabaret performer get dressed, matching their outfit to the one shown at random intervals on stage. With only 10 seconds to view the outfit at a time, teams needed a sharp eye for detail.
Finally, teams had to race to find Beau at the pit stop, locking in their place in the grand finale. With just minutes between them, Pete and Bridget were heartbroken to be so close to the final leg of the race, but still reflected on the amazing adventure they had, all for their chosen charity, Cure EB Foundation.
Pete said: “We got involved with Cure EB about a year and a half ago and [Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB)] is this horrific disease which is basically akin to having sunburn on the inside of your skin. There’s no government funding because it’s a pretty rare condition, so awareness and money is needed.
“We were pretty driven to try and win it for Cure EB and the kids who suffer from it, it certainly helped us in those moments when you’re thinking, ‘this is hard’, that there are kids who have to get bandaged up every day so that their pain is bearable or manageable. We were very proud to be supporting them and will continue to do work with them in the future.”
The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition.
Grand Finale. Sunday, October 20 at 7pm On 10
