Even on the international stage, adventure seems to be Belize’s middle name. The Amazing Race Australia, the adventure reality game show following Emmy award-winning CBS reality series The Amazing Race format, follows teams of two as they race around the world—all the way to Belize, Central America. On last night’s episode of The Amazing Race Australia, five teams traveled from Cartagena to Belize City for their next leg, where teams are tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, plus perform physical and mental challenges. Not to mention, travel by air, boat, car, taxi, and other modes of transport. Using the Best Western Plus Belize Biltmore Plaza as their base for their adventure, here’s everything the Amazing Race Australia teams did, from scarfing down 25 scorching hot meat pies to roasting cashews and racing up ancient ruins at Xunantunich Maya Site.
The Challenge In Belize: Cashews, Travellers Rum, and Tapir Dung
For the first challenge, teams had to fill a jar with cashews—a tropical evergreen tree that bears from mid-March to mid-Summer. Cashew season is a major part of life in Crooked Tree Village, found just 30 minutes outside Belize City, where teams needed to start a fire, roast the cashews, and gently break the shell to reveal the nut inside. Frankie completed the challenge alone, but still managed to get ahead of Chelsea and Jamus who finished the challenge in the dark.
Congratulations Heath & Toni on another 1st place! 🏆 #AmazingRaceAU pic.twitter.com/1UUkyjEOni
— Amazing Race AU (@amazingrace_au) September 26, 2022
The Amazing Race Australia‘s Frankie completed the challenge alone but still managed to get ahead of Chelsea and Jamus who finished the challenge in the dark.
- Photo by the Belize Tourism Board
- Traveller’s Liquors offers an interactive tasting tour inside their Rum Museum.
- Travellers Liquors Heritage Centre.
Next up, Travellers Heritage Center. Their Rum Factory was the site for the episode’s Roadblock in Season 3, but this was no drinking session: one team member needed to clean 36 empty bottles. Heath thought he’d smashed the challenge, but got an instant hangover when he realized he failed to remove the small expiration date on the bottle.

Feed tapirs at The Belize Zoo! Photo by Duarte Dellarole
Then at The Belize Zoo, the non-profit ‘best little zoo in the world’ that’s home to 150 rehabilitated native wildlife, teams selected a tapir’s poo pen to clean.
Will not being able to finish the challenge cost Pako & Mori? 😬 #AmazingRaceAU pic.twitter.com/RNHyQQJ692
— Amazing Race AU (@amazingrace_au) September 25, 2022
The stinky, messy challenge had a time limit: as long as it took for the tapir to finish its breakfast. It’s here that Frankie reunited with Angel and reclaimed first place, and on to the next challenge while in Belize.

Steel pans are a popular instrument of the Caribbean, originating in Trinidad & Tobago. Image via BTB
For the Detour, teams chose between eating 25 boiling hot pies or learning to play Waltzing Matilda on steel drums. Chelsea and Jamus had no problems skipping dinner that night after having to eat 50% more pies for not keeping a lid on it.
What are friends for if not to give you a helping hand 💖 #AmazingRaceAU pic.twitter.com/HFa53NK8fE
— Amazing Race AU (@amazingrace_au) September 25, 2022
Tonight, above the ancient Mayan ruins inside Cayo District’s Xunantunich Maya Site, four teams return from their stint where things get dirty in Belize.

Heath & Toni grab another 1st place on The Amazing Race Australia. Image via Twitter @amazingrace_au
But no need to clean a tapir pen to enjoy The Belize Zoo or even rush through your first Belizean meatpie: we’ve got another adventure, at your own pace, in mind instead.
The Amazing Race’s Belize City Base For Adventure

Best Western Plus Belize Biltmore Plaza
Efficiency is the name of the game. At only about 15 minutes away from the international airport, staying at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza cuts back on any time spent traveling. And even outside of the show, time is of the essence on vacation; a COVID curveball in The Amazing Race Australia made contestant Frankie start the race alone after flight delays forced teammate Angel to drive over 500km to catch up.
It’s a city break that doubles as a base for more than a handful of Belize’s famed adventures, including those listed above, and offshore islands that lie just 10 miles away by boat. But Biltmore’s central location doesn’t just grant daytrippers quick access: it’s also prime for lounging, without ever stepping foot off-property, too.
Outfitted with a restaurant, terrace, pool bar, gym, gift shop, and spa, there’s plenty to entertain yourself with during your in-between days of tours.
- Photos courtesy Duarte Dellarole
- Open-air seating at the Bistro Restaurant.
Don’t race all at once, but the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza even has its October special for $125 USD per night, double occupancy! What will your amazing adventure in Belize hold?