For The Amazing Race’s Dwes and Katherine, the competition was a rollercoaster, to say the least. The cousins from The Kimberley’s were the first team to be eliminated from the reality show, only to be granted a second chance when the twin models, Jack and Alex, left for personal reasons.
Speaking to The Latch about their return, Katherine said the pair definitely felt the pressure to give it their all, especially in the first episode back. “It was overwhelming, coming back at first because we didn’t want to disappoint anyone,” she said. “We felt like we had a lot to prove.”
As proud First Nations people, the cousins felt grounded by the Welcome to Country ceremonies that took place at the start of each leg. “
“For us, we understand how important it is to have permission from the traditional land owners and how important the ceremonies are,” said Dwes. “It provides us with that opportunity to walk freely in that country with the permission of the Elders, both past present and emerging. So that was very enlightening for me.”
Added Katherine, “I also enjoyed just being able to see other Indigenous people, just seeing their faces. Even though we don’t know each other, because we are Indigenous, we found we felt really familiar with each other.”
Dwes and Katherine both hoped to inspire members of their community to chase their dreams and said that their time on the show has made an impact in multiple ways.
“The outpouring of love and support has been incredible,” said Dwes. “Entering the race was always about way more than just winning the prize money, it was about inspiring the young Indigenous community and setting an example of what was possible. It’s just amazing to see that a show can give so much hope to people from all walks of life.”
He continued, “I think the media can often show quite a negative image of Indigenous Australians so this was an opportunity for us to show how resilient and strong we are. And to show communities living in regional areas that anything is possible.”
“I’m a Mum and I’ve got a five-year-old daughter,” said Katherine. “And when I drop her at school, I get so many school kids running up to me and asking me about the race and saying ‘I can’t wait I’m going to go on it when I’m older!’. Just to be able to hear that, it’s really nice to hear, because, obviously, they would never have even watched The Amazing Race before, and us being on it has now opened their eyes up to something new.
The pressure of the Race saw the friends and family members come to blows a couple of times, but they said that overall their relationship is all the better for having undertaken the experience together.
“We’ve grown stronger,” said Dwes. “We are still as close as ever and Katherine hasn’t killed me yet!”
As for who they think will take home the $250,000 prize money, the pair said they would love to see either Chris and Aleisha win the competition, or stowaway team, AFLW players Chelsea and MJ.
“They are really lovely people,” Katherine said. “We had so much respect for them from the get-go, and we felt the same from them. Chelsea is actually my favourite AFLW player!”.
Watch The Amazing Race Australia on Network Ten and TenPlay.
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