The Amazing Race Australia is an Australian reality competition television series based on the American series The Amazing Race created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster and hosted by actor Grant Bowler in which teams of two with a pre-existing relationship race around the world against other teams, with the first-place team winning $250,000.
The format is a familiar one: teams of two set off from the iconic Aussie landmarks on a dizzying odyssey, criss-crossing the globe while attempting to conquer physical and mental challenges.
Their trek takes contestants across multiple continents, before the remaining teams race back to Oz for a crack at the grand prize pot.
They pay whistle-stop visits to numerous countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Israel and South Africa.
The Aussie series has followed its American cousin in racking up industry accolades, and is a must-see for armchair travellers.
Glossary
Route Markers
Uniquely-coloured flags that mark the places where teams must go.
Route Info
Clues which instruct the teams where to go next. These clues usually provide only the name of the team's next destination. It is up to the teams to figure out how to get there.
Pit Stop
The final destination for each leg on the race. After checking in at the mat, all non-eliminated teams have a mandatory rest period.
Non-Elimination Leg
Three legs on the race are predetermined "non-elimination legs", where the last team to check-in is not eliminated. The last placed team will incur a 30-minute time penalty on the next leg unless they come first on that leg.
Detour
A decision between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. Teams are free to choose either task or swap tasks if they find one option too difficult.
Roadblock
A task that only one team member may perform. The clue is given as a cryptic question. Based on this information the team must decide which member will complete the task before reading the rest of the task description. Once a team member has been selected, they cannot switch.
Fast Forward
A challenging task that once completed allows one team to bypass all remaining tasks in that leg and proceed directly to the Pit Stop. Only one team may complete a Fast Forward in any given leg, and a team may only complete one Fast Forward in the entire race.
Yield
Allows one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time. Teams may only Yield any other team once in the race.
U-Turn
A station, located after a Detour, where a team can force another trailing team to return and complete the other side of the Detour that they did not complete. Teams may only U-turn any other team once in the race.
Express Pass
Allows a team to skip one task, including Roadblocks and Detours, during the race. The choice of which task to skip is at the team's discretion.