Travel Channel favourite Henry Cole and Irish presenter Amanda Byram are the hosts of RV Rampage, a travel reality series pitting five international selected couples against each other to compete in a series of cultural and adrenalin-charged challenges as they explore the awe inspiring countryside of New Zealand. Throughout the trip they live and travel in the shared confines of RVs (motorhomes). The five teams arrive in Auckland, where their first challenge is a Segway tour of the city's marina to locate, identify and photograph a list of city landmarks. After their first night in their new homes parked up by one of Auckland's finest beaches, the five teams are bracing themselves for their first Rampage challenge; a white knuckle adrenaline challenge where the teams compete for points. Today's competition is a ledge walk, 54 stories up at the top of the city's world famous Sky Tower.
After a nail-biting Rampage Challenge at Auckland's Sky Tower, it's time for Henry Cole, Amanda Byram and the five teams to hit the road. They are getting behind the wheel of their RVs for the first time and driving 4 hours south east to the geo-thermal city of Rotorua, home to the fascinating Maori Cultural Heritage Centre. There the five teams have just half an hour to learn the moves and the words before performing their Haka back to the Maori judges. Day Two in Rotorua sees our contestants take on their second Rampage Challenge: climbing through the ancient canopy of a rain forest, traversing zip lines and rope bridges. After today's results are revealed back at camp tempers fray and tears are shed but with home being a shared RV for the next 4 weeks there is no escaping each other.
The teams wake in Rotorua and head out on a short drive to the stunning town of Taupo at the centre of New Zealand's North Island. The five teams take to the waters at the height of the trout fishing season to catch fish for part of their Tourist Challenge. Clay pigeons and shotguns next and a shoot-out determines the winners of today's Challenge. Taupo is not only famous for its lake but also for its sky diving and for their Rampage Challenge the following day, the teams will undertake a 15,000 foot skydive followed by a race across the lake on paddle boards - a popular and exhausting water sport in New Zealand. Another night of ill tempers follows.
After six days on the road the convoy of five competing couples, led by Henry Cole and Amanda Byram, are on the move to the rural heartland of the North Island and the sleepy town of Taihape. The countryside is spectacular and the sheep numerous. Today's Tourist Challenge sees the five couples down on the farm assisting the locals round up the sheep, New Zealand's most famously farmed animal. Easy with dogs and a lot of know how. Difficult without! Day two in rural Tiahape and things are about to get tough as close by is some of the world's best white water rafting with some serious stretches of rapids along the Rangitkei River. For today's Rampage Challenge the intrepid five teams will take on these rapids not on rafts but mere two man inflatable kayaks, fondly referred to as 'divorce kayaks', while collecting as many rampage flags en route.
After 48 hours in the rural heartland of New Zealand, Henry Cole and Amanda Byram lead their RV convoy to the cultural capital of the country, Wellington. The five competing couples are halfway through their adventure as the convoy arrives in the first city since leaving Auckland. To mark their arrival this culinary hotspot the five couples meet celebrity chef Rex Morgan for a Kiwi cook off. Supplied with the finest local ingredients the teams must prepare one of Rex's signature dishes and then surprise him with a second dish of their own design. The next day's Rampage Challenge is a quad bike orienteering course around a 50,000 hectare rural estate at the very southern tip of the North Island. Somewhere hiding on this land are 5 little rampage flags. The teams' task is to find them in the shortest time.
The RV Rampage tour hits the road before dawn from Wellington to catch an early morning ferry to New Zealand's South Island. In Marlborough, the biggest and most famous area of wine production in New Zealand, the Tourist Challenge is competitive wine tasting and identifying grape varieties at the Yealand Vineyard. But it's not all quaffing fine wines; Henry and Amanda are putting the teams to work on the vines with the backbreaking task of "bud rubbing". Day Two in the South Island and the teams make the long drive to the Abel Tasman National Park, where they are heading for their Rampage Challenge, a gruelling sea kayaking course crossing the ocean to an island were they must locate RV rampage flags. It's not long until exhaustion and stress takes one team beyond breaking point.
From their Holiday Campsite in Motueka, RV Rampage is moving on to the West Coast mining town of Greymouth, a region notable as the area used for the film "The Piano". After a long but stunning drive down the West Coast the Teams reach the location of their Tourist Challenge. There they will pan for gold in a remote mountain river, but to get to this river they must learn to drive 4x4 vehicles through some perilous terrain. Day 2 in Greymouth and the Rampage Challenge. The competition goes underground deep into the claustrophobic confines of a natural cave system. Their task is to successfully navigate the disorienting cave system to find and photograph rock formations identified by their guides. With no light the teams take hours to complete the challenge and emerge from the caves system to find night has fallen...
The Convoy continues south down the stunning and remote west coast of the South Island. The RVs park up as they reach the foothills of the Southern Alps close to Franz Josef. In this beautiful wilderness the teams are greeted by a Survival Expert. They are shown how to build shelters against the freezing Alpine nights; they learn to light fires with flints and find food from the land and the lake. Day Two in The Southern Alps and the teams are up early heading to the local heliport. They discover they are flying onto the Fox Glacier where their Rampage Challenge awaits. The teams need to work with their guides to cross a dangerous ice field which has been mapped out with a 2km course. They'll need to climb through ice caves, jump crevasses and climb a sheer 100 foot ice wall before they can reach the helicopter pick up point.
The convoy of RVs heads deeper into the mountains of the Southern Alps before crossing at the Haast Pass and dipping into the Central Otago region of New Zealand. Their destination is the affluent and beautiful lakeside town of Wanaka. The teams Tourist Challenge is to capture the stunning lakeside views on canvas under the guidance of a local artist. They have one hour to paint, using oils and a palette knife. Day 2 and the Rampage Challenge sees the teams head back into the hills, don wetsuits and helmets as they heading out with a Bear Grylls-style climbing advisor for a day's Canyoning. The teams must navigate a steep gorge using the river as their route. They abseil, slide and jump down waterfalls all the time judged as to their confidence and accuracy over the course.
The RV Rampage convoy has reached its final destination. Hosts Henry Cole and Amanda Byram have led their charges to the adrenaline sports capital of Queenstown in the South Island. The final stage of the competition will see the five couples race through a series of clues and challenges. If they have been paying attention to their hosts and experts throughout this competition then solving the clues they are given will be a doddle - if not they'll waste time asking the public to help them. Heading into Day Two and a further riddle sees the teams heading to the world famous AJ Hackett Bungee site for a tandem bungee swing which just happens to be the biggest bungee swing in the world. With the Bungee Swing challenge completed, the teams have a final clue to solve and a dash for the finish line.