The Amazing Race 4, Episode 13: And the Winner Is…

The end has arrived. After this episode, one of the final three teams will be crowned the winner of The Amazing Race 4. All three of the final teams left have the courage and determination to come in first, but only one will be the winner. Let’s take a look at the final three teams and the order that they will leave the pit stop.

Dave & Jeff (The Goats) – Best friends/No sense of direction
Reichen & Chip – Married gay couple/Sentimental favorites
Kelly & Jon – Engaged couple/My pick to win/Sentimental favorites

Wow, it’s nice to see that two of my sentimental favorites are in the finals! However, we all know I’m pulling for Jon & Kelly. Reichen & Chip winning would not make me sad at all, I really just don’t want the Goats winning only because of the whole “We never really knew you” thing. Anyway, we begin on Ellis beach, the location of the last pit stop. It is 1:47 a.m. and the Goats are departing. Opening their clue, they find they have to drive to Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park to join in a traditional ceremony for their next clue. Jeff says that of the remaining teams, their team has made the least amount of mistakes. I almost spit out my water. Um, Jeff? Are you aware that your team almost always gets lost? Do you know that on several occasions you were not able to find clue envelopes when they were right in front of you? I’m not even going to continue on this one.

At 2:14, Reichen & Chip leave the pit stop. The read their clue and head off. Reichen talks about how people stereotype gay people and he wants to show that stereotypes are not fact. He wants his team to be remembered as strong and prepared. 24 minutes later, Jon & Kelly leave the pit stop. They have a look of determination on their face. I know they are going to win, they just have to! When they look at their clue and see the Cultural Park doesn’t open until 6:00 a.m. Jon utters “Oh, doesn’t that stink for the boys,” and I definitely let out a good laugh. Kelly states that she doesn’t believe they made it this far because they are stupid and make mistakes. You know what Kelly, who cares. Your team is great and it’s almost impossible to rack up as many stupid mistakes as the Goats have.

All three teams are now at the Park. When the gate opens, all three teams run to start the ceremony. Actually, the whole thing is really cool. The leader in the ceremony tells them that all ceremonies begin with fire. He then lights a spear and hurls it over to light a torch on a nearby island. The whole thing is so surreal. The lit torch on the island signals another member of the ceremony to give the teams their next clue. The clue tells the teams to get to the General Aviation Terminal at the Cairns airport to get their next clue. Out of the Park, the Goats take the lead. Jon & Kelly are in second place on the road, but after several attempts, Reichen & Chip pass them. However, the roads are still slick from rain earlier that day and Chip spins their car out of control while Jon & Kelly can’t believe it as they pass. Although visibly shaken, Reichen & Chip are not hurt and Reichen tells Chip to never do that again.

The Goats get to the terminal first and find the final detour of the race. Their choice is Wing It or Wander It. In Wing It, teams must board a plane, get 10,000 feet above the ground, and tandem skydive with an instructor to their next clue. Although scary, it can be done quickly. Teams choosing Wander It have to drive to a mangrove forest and find a boat. Then they must navigate their way out of the forest to the sky dive landing post for the clue. Although this is not a scary task, it may take some time. I’m sorry, but it was almost not even an option to do Wander It. That would take forever! Kelly & Jon along with Reichen & Chip are also reading their clue now and all three teams choose Wing It.

All three teams are in different planes and Kelly states that she thought she would be okay but now she is scared. Reichen says anything is safer than being in the backseat of a car while Chip is driving. The Goats jump first and as they are freefalling, Kelly looks even more scared. After a minute though, Kelly & Jon jump. Kelly’s fear evaporates as she looks at the landscape below. An excited Reichen & Chip jump third and look like they are having an amazing time. David is the first to land and he is overjoyed with the experience he just had. The Goats get their clue and find that they are headed back to the United States. Their clue tells them to get to the island of Hawaii and then and then choose a marked car to get to Kualana Bay, the southernmost point in the United States.

As all three teams make their way to the airport, Reichen & Chip opt for the domestic terminal so that they can be by themselves. At the International Terminal, the Goats arrive first followed closely by Kelly & Jon. The Goats book a flight to Sydney, but Kelly sees that no flights from Sydney will go to Hawaii until the following day. The Goats eventually see this as well but decide to board the flight anyway thinking they will be able to find a faster route to Hawaii once there. Jon comments that in the big picture, the Goats may have just made a BIG mistake. So while the Goats are on their way to Sydney, Jon & Kelly and Reichen & Chip both book flights from Cairns to Tokyo. Once they are in Tokyo, they will have 45 minutes to catch a connecting flight to Hawaii. Both teams are concerned about how much time they have to connect.

Now, as the two teams head to Tokyo, the Goats are now finding out what a mistake they made. They find that the only way to get to Hawaii is from the connection in Tokyo, but all the flights out of Sydney to Tokyo have finished for the day. Getting more concerned, they make some calls but are unsuccessful in finding a flight out of there. At the Narita airport in Tokyo, the other two teams land. Both teams hurry to make their connecting flight. Reichen & Chip ask an attendant where to go and she sends them to a bus that takes them there. Kelly & Jon ask someone as well and she tells them to get on a tram. After they realize that is not what they should be doing, they ask someone else who shows them the correct way to get there. As Reichen & Chip finish up checking in, Kelly & Jon only have four minutes left. They finally get to the gate and are told they will not be able to board the plane. As they watch Reichen & Chip leave, Kelly states that it’s the lowest she has felt the entire race. They pull themselves together though and book a plane to Hawaii that will land 70 minutes after Reichen & Chip.