The Amazing Race 30 Episode 7-8: The First Rule of Amazing Race Club

This was a 2-hour episode with a major twist.

The 6 teams traveled from Prague Václav Havel Airport to Harare, Zimbabwe then they were instructed to travel again by train to Marondera & search for Imire Rhino & Wildlife Conservatory. Once the teams endured the 20 hours of travel time in total & finally rreached the location, they were instructed to set-up a provided safari tent for them to spend the night.

But that's not all.

Apparently, the next morning, Phil woke them up at 4 am & explained to them that for the remainder of this whole leg they would choose a new partner to switch with, in the same order their tents were approved.

Teams learned about the Partner Swapping for this leg

Team BigBrother chose Team Extreme = Team Ex-Brother

Team OceanRescue chose Team IndyCar = Team OceanCar

Team Yale chose Team Firefighters = Team YaleFighters

After that, the newly formed teams had to paddle a makeshift raft around Imire Lake to spot their Detour clue, which was in a canteen hung on a tree. They needed to get it then return to the shore with it.

Rhino Track or Bush Wack

In Rhino Track, the newly-formed teams had to ride horses with a guide along a marked path through the reserve, along the way spotting and collecting 8 pieces of evidence left behind by poachers in designated locations. Once they collected all eight pieces of evidences, they returned to the starting point to receive a map of the reserve with photographs of the locations. They had to correctly place all eight items on the map matching their respective locations to receive their next clue.

In Bush Wack, the newly-formed teams had to drive an off-road vehicle along a marked course to pick up supplies, including a full canteen of water, at a designated point. The course then continued through two mud bogs, which they had to wade through to determine the best point at which to cross, then attempt to drive the vehicle through the bogs without getting stuck. Once through, they arrived at a ranger station, where they had to dig up an empty canteen and bury the full one they picked up earlier in its place. Once returning to the starting point, they received their next clue.

Conor & Lucas (Team OceanCar) doing their Detour Task

The thing though, each newly-formed team will do either of the 2 detours.

Brittany (Team OceanRescue) & Alex (Team IndyCar) sailed first & chose Rhino Track. They did well as a team. Kristi (Team Extreme) & Jessica (Team BigBrother) had a hard time doing the same detour task. They failed several times until Evan (Team Yale) & Daniel (Team Firefighters) showed up. 

Kristi & Jessica (let me call them - Team Ex-Brother) wanted to work with Evan & Daniel (Team YaleFighters) given that Evan was pretty good with the task. But Team YaleFighters decided not to help which was a good thing because they needed cushion to secure a spot in the ranking. Evan wasn't being sly like what Jessica did in the past few legs. She just didn't want to help.

It also felt good since I really didn't want any team to help Jessica after the sly moves she did in the past legs. It was a strategic move for them but you gotta admit, it felt good when Team YaleFighters didn't help. It was also funny that it bothered Jessica a lot. 

Anyway, that decision paid off for Team YaleFighters because back at the other end of the detour, their other partners were having a hard time. In Bush Wack, Cody & Jen (Team Ex-Brother) were doing quite well compared to their swapped partners in the other detour. Lucas & Conor (Team OceanCar) got stuck for a while in the mud. Same with Henry & Eric (Team YaleFighters).

Cody & Jen (Team Ex-Brother) checked in first but Phil couldn't let them continue the race because the other half - Kristi & Jessica weren't there yet. They were the last team to checked in. So the 1st half of Team Ex-Brother waited for them for quite a while.

Cody & Jen (Team Ex-Brother)

On the other hand, Brittany & Alex (Team OceanCar) finished 2nd while their other partners Lucas & Conor finished 3rd. It gave Team OceanRescue & Team IndyCar a good head-start to continue the race. They left after checking in with Phil, leaving Cody & Jen waiting for their partners to arrive.

Evan & Daniel (Team YaleFighters) arrived next then was followed by Henry & Eric, putting Team Yale & Team Firefighters in the middle of the pack as they continued to the next leg.

All of the teams headed to Khan Fabrics and Haberdashery where the Double U-Turn was once again located. The front-runners raced neck-to-neck to reach the destination. To keep their lead, both teams decided to use their U-Turns.

Team OceanRescue U-Turned Team BigBrother

Team IndyCar U-Turned Team Yale

I found this funny because Brittany finally got her revenge on Jessica's sly moves even if it was just for U-Turning them. That's still something. But I wonder why Team IndyCar didn't U-Turn Team Extreme. I like this team but if I'm a competitor, they're in my U-Turn list esp. when they're in the bottom of the pack. They're the team to beat. You have to eliminate the strongest to be able to get a chance to win this season unless they never really think of these ladies as their competition. Hmm...

After both front-runners U-Turning the 2 teams they chose, they proceeded to their Detour Task.

Handle With Care or Just Get It There

In Handle With Care, teams traveled to Eastgate Mall, where they made their way to the mail center. From there, they received a total of 7 large packages to carry and deliver to various businesses around the mall. After delivering each, they were given outgoing mail to return to the mail center. Once all the deliveries were complete, they received their next clue.

In Just Get It There, teams had to locate Magaba Tyres to pick up one small tire and one large truck tire, then roll them through the market onto the back of a waiting marked truck parked on Cameron Road to receive their next clue.

This was straight-forward task for everyone except for Team IndyCar. Team BigBrother did Handle With Care first while Team Yale did Just Get It There. 

I also find it funny that the other teams helped the U-Turned teams in figuring out the places they needed to be. It was like giving them a chance to catch up with you & steal your spot in the ranking. I mean, if these teams are truly competitive, they wouldn't have to do it. I bet Team BigBrother & Team Yale wouldn't give them the same information if it was the other way around.

After the Detour Task, all teams went straight to Harare Gardens where another task was waiting for them. All teams chose a vocal coach who taught them the pronunciation of the Shona-language lyrics of the Four Brothers song Pasi Pano Pane Zviedzo. They then had to perform the song on stage accompanied by a band, with the correct pronunciation and rhythm, and dance to the beat, to receive their next clue.

Most of them had a hard time accomplishing the task. Team Yale sounded really bad but they were fast enough to memorized the words so they were able to pushed forward. Same with the others except for Team BigBrother. Cody almost had a meltdown but good thing Jessica was able to control the situation.

Once finished all of them rushed to First Street Pedestrian Mall for the Pitstop.

FINAL RANKING:

1. Lucas & Brittany (Team OceanRescue) - won a trip to Saint Lucia

2. Kristi & Jean (Team Extreme)

3. Alex & Conor (Team IndyCar)

4. Henry & Evan (Team Yale)

5. Cody & Jessica (Team BigBrother)

6. Eric & Daniel (Team Firefighters) - ELIMINATED

Team Firefighters - Eliminated

AFTERTHOUGHTS:

This was a very tiring episode for the racers & nail-biting for the viewers. They were neck-to-neck most of the time so it was very difficult to figure out who will be safe & who will be eliminated.

In the first half, I think the "partner swapping" was a good idea. It made the leg interesting because everything became so unpredictable. Imagine Jen & Cody (Team Ex-Brother) arriving first in the mat but waiting for their own partners Kristi & Jessica to arrive only to be passed by the other teams whose partners arrived before theirs. It was worrisome for the Team Ex-Brother. I hope they'll make this a part of the game in future seasons because this will shake things up a bit.

I also didn't get why Team IndyCar didn't U-Turn the strongest team this season. They chose Team Yale. I mean, I did say that Team Yale is the dark horse of this season but Team Extreme is the team to beat. Maybe they're good friends with them but this is a game. I don't think they'll take it seriously. Team OceanRescue did the right choice of U-Turning Team BigBrother. I'm not a fan of this team but they're also a threat.

Then again, the Double U-Turn didn't matter as much because Team Firefighters had the hardest time doing the last task. It pushed them back from the pack even though the 2 teams ahead of them in the ranking did a Double U-Turn. I was actually expecting them to get eliminated out of the 6 teams just based on their past rankings. Team OceanRescue did well the past 3 legs now because they were moving up from the pack. But we'll see how the next leg will go for them. Brittany tend to fall from Jessica's trap & Lucas can be stubborn at times. So far I still think Team Extreme is the team to beat followed closely by Team IndyCar. Team Yale is still my dark horse but Team BigBrother is sneaky so I'm expecting for them to do anything to secure a spot in the Final 3.

If you want to watch The Amazing Race 30 here in Asia, it's at AXN Channel every Thursday night.