The fourth leg of The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition saw teams racing around Johannesburg, South Africa, but a local delicacy and an unfortunately law-abiding cab driver spelled the end of the race for Jett Kenny and partner Lily Brown.
Jett said, “Overall it was a pretty crazy experience. Obviously, not being able to plan or practice for anything threw a spanner in the works with the whole dynamic… I love to race, and this was a different way of doing it.”
Lily said, “We made some of the most amazing friendships and experienced places and things we never would have otherwise… I have always said to Jett that I’d love for us to travel together as much as possible before we decide to settle down and start our own family together, so this was a no-brainer when the opportunity presented itself.”
Arriving at the bustling Park Station in the city’s heart, teams faced a Detour, a choice between two tasks each with their own pros and cons. Teams could either head to a market full of local healers to pack and prepare a market stall, or head to Joberg’s emerging fashion district to make a traditional dashiki top and a hand-sewn tote bag.
Creating a tote by hand wasn’t the only stitch-up that the teams would be facing. The next challenge was a Road Block, a task that only one team member could complete, where they would need to finish a serving of the traditional street dish known as Walkie Talkies.
Lily was less than thrilled to discover the dish was made up of chicken heads and feet, which she would need to finish before moving on. Having already struggled with an eating challenge earlier in the race, Lily put on a brave face and chowed down on a few faces.
Finally, teams headed to the historic Rand Club to find one of the Big Five, a buffalo statue near a hidden clue. As teams slowly discovered the well-hidden clue instructing them to the next Pit Stop, they had to surrender control to Johannesburg’s traffic.
Jett said, “Unfortunately our cab driver was more law-abiding than the others… Perhaps we could have been more assertive in telling the cab driver to stop when I saw the front of the building and not rely on his maps so much.”
Lily added, “The eating challenge was a struggle for sure, but it wasn’t what caused us to miss out on making it through that round… We left the Rand Club third-last; I was almost certain that we were going to be safe.”
After Beau revealed their time on the race had come to an end, Jett and Lily spoke about their chosen charity, endED, a support network for those whose lives have been affected by eating issues, dedicating their time in the race to his late sister Jaimi.
Jett said, “Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win but spreading the word about the charity was enough. Getting people to start having a conversation is all that might be needed to help someone.”
Lily said, “It meant the world to us. Jett’s family have such a close connection with endED which made it all the more meaningful for us. We knew exactly who we were doing it for, which made the hardest challenges a little easier to push through.”
