Not a clue.

[fishshooter]

This story makes four (off the top of my head) where a GPS lead to people being lost, two of those cases ending tragically. I think far too many people believe that the GPS is infallible when that's obviously not the case.

They weren't lost. They knew where they were, right down to the minutes and probably seconds of Latitude and Longitude. They were stranded.
I know my Garmin loaded with certain maps will show roads you couldn't make down with an ATV. Usually the car mounted deals will try to keep you on major roads, unless you change the settings.

 

[BlackHills]

They weren't lost. They knew where they were, right down to the minutes and probably seconds of Latitude and Longitude. They were stranded.

Fair enough....scratch "lost", insert "directed them onto a road it shouldn't have".

 

[Cougar Allen]

Minimal supplies, minimal gear, no knowledge of the terrain, no knowledge of survival techniques.

No decent shoes. Some people might want to wear impractical shoes sometimes, but keep some shoes in the car that you can walk in!

There are places here in New England where you could get your car stuck in mud or snow and it could take hours to walk out and days before a tow truck can get in there. Not in Britain, I guess....

 

[Phil Brown]

I remember I had one of the first computer map programs. Following it from one part of New York City to another gave the interesting result of traveling the wrong way on many one-way streets.

HA! That brings back memories. I remember feeling like Moses, parting the oncoming traffic.

The part that kills me about this story is that they were extremely lucky and they don't seem to realize it at all. If they had all stayed in the car and waited it out, nobody would have been harmed. Four days without food? Oh, the humanities. Bottled water? That's a bit of an upgrade from drinking your own urine. Boredom??? They could've easily filled that time praying that God would postpone natural selection for a few days.

Maybe it's something about the South, but around here even the middle-class suburbanites like me are taught to respect the malevolent power of nature.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Maybe it's something about the South, but around here even the middle-class suburbanites like me are taught to respect the malevolent power of nature.

We have weather here in New Jersey, too, but neighbors of mine moved to South Carolina, and told me about the storms they had down there that looked like they were going to destroy the planet.

 

[A.W.U.K.]

Sometimes it rains so much here the gutters overflow!

 

[RoyalM]

Slightly embarressed to be a Brit today. If it had been me I would have had plenty of food and water to survive at least a week in the Outback. People take for granted that help is at hand and that they can make a phone call and someone will come and wipe their ass.

Worse is the fact they took kids and a dog into the situation.

At best I can say they took a wrong turn and got into a situation they never expected.

Bottom line they are now safe and spent a few uncomfortable days in a SUV. If it teaches them to prepare better then it was a cheap lesson. The crap about sore or bloody feet and being sore from their heads to their toes is nothing but drama probably being used to either gain support in the media or help their forthcoming law suit. To my mind some people just need a damn good slap of reality every now and then.

 

[kgd]

They had extra water to last and were able to contact authorities so those parts were all done right. As for criticizing people getting stuck. Well it sometimes happens, even to the best of us. Perhaps it could have been avoided earlier, but I saw nothing in the story to say the driver did something terribly stupid before getting stuck. A 4' spike and battery powered electric winch can go a long way for pulling one out. Do I have a set in my truck? No - but thinking about it.

I'm willing to bet that their walking excursion was on the same road they were driving and the storm had abated. Its not stated, but that is what I'll assume while others apparently assumed that they went walking into the wilderness. Regardless, they made it back to the vehicle. I'll bet the walkers had the cell phone with them too.

I thought the mention of boredom rather comical. I mean hell, they only had 2 DVD movies with them and no internet access. If dad were alone and those movies were pron, he probably wouldn't be as bored I think the family did get a good lesson and I'll bet they will reconsider travelling kits next time. I also respect the Aussie authorities telling them - hey, you'll just have to wait 4 days until we get out there or pay $4000 for a medi-vac. The family clearly made the choice that they didn't want to fork over $4000. They managed to survive, everybody intact, so they did good in my books. Blisters? I get 'em once in a while also. Hard to read into that one as well.

 

[Bigfattyt]

This reminds me of a couple and their child who went up a mountain road the winter in their Subaru in the snow. It was a "short cut" to grandma's house. They tried to turn arround. Got stuck a while later a heli found the husband dead, face down in the snow. In a car, surrounded by trees, and snow, they could not get a fire going, or dig their car out, or figure out how to melt the snow to drink! In a working vehicle! With gas enough to run for the better part of a day!

Then the husband walked the wrong way anyway!

 

[Rick Marchand]

Thank you, Ken.

 

[sambo.]

NB there are farms here that are bigger than Texas.

actually, i looked into this a little closer.
the biggest stations in Australia are a good sized chunk of the size of Texas, but we don't quite get a single property bigger than the lone star state. we get close, but not quite.

I love Aussies and South Africans. When you ask them about something related to survival, it's just no B.S. all the way, no sugarcoating.

sugarcoating the dangers does no-one any good.

Communication in Oz is well covered.
IIrc they have a HF network with emergency operators, which USA does not have with a possible exception of marine radio operators by U.S. Coast Guard.

kinda, sorta. there's mobile phone coverage in most towns. but by and large, once your more than ~50km or so from a tower, there's no coverage.

if you radio for help via HF, you'll probably wind up routing through either Sydney Radio or Canberra Marine Rescue.

As somebody up there said, the "soil" is very strange stuff indeed out there. It can go from stuff like talcum powder to something like thick grease with just a little water added.

hehe, black soil is amazing stuff.

although, i'd have said it goes from a mixture like talcum powder sprinkled on cement (bulldust on hard baked mud) to something with the consistency of treacle with the addition of water.

it's got the same adhesive qualities one usually associates with baby poo on a blanket.

As for criticizing people getting stuck. Well it sometimes happens, even to the best of us. Perhaps it could have been avoided earlier, but I saw nothing in the story to say the driver did something terribly stupid before getting stuck.

he turned onto an outback dirt track, who's condition he was unaware of, without proper offroad retrieval equipment or supplies, SHORTLY AFTER A TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR.

that fits every definition of doing "something terribly stupid" i can find.

yes they got out ok and survived. however, that was more a matter of good luck rather than good judgement or good planning.

 

[fnc]

Slightly embarressed to be a Brit today. If it had been me I would have had plenty of food and water to survive at least a week in the Outback. People take for granted that help is at hand and that they can make a phone call and someone will come and wipe their ass.

Worse is the fact they took kids and a dog into the situation.

I hope you can tell my multiple use of "Englanders" was being ironic.

A lot of people, in the USA, drive on rough dirt roads, without "vehicle recovery" equipment.
They think 4wd will get them out of trouble.

Englanders did not research enough, prep enough, or execute properly.
They did have some food and water; and their comm worked. so Happy-Ending.
There are still open questions of fact, like "Did they disregard a 'road-closed' sign?".

 

[Esav Benyamin]

People get into trouble all the time, all over the world, including in their own home territory. But if I'm going to be in unfamiliar territory, I will do what research I can, and bring whatever extra gear I might reasonably need. They seem to have been pretty well prepared for a quiet drive down a shady suburban street.

 

[sambo.]

There are still open questions of fact, like "Did they disregard a 'road-closed' sign?".

i'd say that Yes, they probably did. most outback councils are pretty good at getting their Road Closed signs out when it starts raining.

Also, most dirt tracks of that nature are clearly signposted that they should be avoided soon after rain. heck, ANY DIRT ROAD in Australia should be avoided soon after rain. two reasons, 1: you might get stuck and 2: you'll rip up the road and leave it all cut up, corrugated and rough until it rains again.

in any event, i'll come back to a point i made earlier: whenever you're driving in outback Australia, it ALWAYS pays to have a chat with some locals BEFORE heading off onto any dirt roads.

even in the middle of a drought with no rain forcast for another month, you should ALWAYS stop in the nearest town and ask some questions about any dirt tracks you might be venturing onto.

staff at service stations, newsagents, visitor info centres and at truck stops are all people who are likely to know about any major dramas on the roads you plan to take.

i live in Outback Australia and I am forever pulling over to ask about road conditions if i'm planning a "short cut" down a dirt track.


edit: the Australian taxpayer shells out some impressive amounts of cash every year for various Search And Rescue operations. Not all of these are inland rescues either. For example, the Australian Navy plucking solo round-the-world sailors Tony Bullimore (UK), Abby Sunderland (USA) and Isabelle Autissier (France, we rescued her twice!) out of the Southern Ocean were all expensive operations. For Land Search duties, we have the State Emergency Services backed up by the armed forces.

not only are we one of the largest countries by land area in the world, we're also responsible for SAR operations across something like 1/6th of the worlds oceans. as a nation we're simply not rich enough to be able to help every idiot who failed to help themselves. in situations like this one, i rekon it was perfectly fair for the Australian authorities to tell these brits to either pay up for their rescue or get themselves out of their predicament.

if it had been life or death emergency, i'm sure a food drop via helicopter could have been arranged.

 

[warrigal]

Yep watch a whole series of "Bear" and you can be rescued anywhere in the world.
On that note when you pack for traveling in OZ, pack a hat. 5 liters of drinking water per-person per-day for the expected duration of the travell plus a couple days emergency back up.
A don't ever grab the last foot of scaley tail as the head dissapears into long grass. ( like Bear did in the Kymberly's episode) a really good way to enter into legend. Google search ten most venomous snakes
Carl

 

[Battlesword]

LOL Carl you left out "Bears" trick of eating bugs scorpions and spiders.I'd love to see him try that with a Funnelweb spider or some of our other lovelies.
Ron

 

[sambo.]

i've sat on, stood on and been bitten by Red Back Spiders.

i've never thought to bite one back.

besides, if you're in the Aussie outback, eating the arachnids or the reptiles means you're not very good at finding food.

i'll bet you any money there was a HUGE rabbit warren within an hours walk of where they got stranded.

bunny hole + string = dinner.

 

[fnc]

have a chat with some locals BEFORE heading off onto any dirt roads.

ALWAYS stop in the nearest town and ask some questions about any dirt tracks you might be venturing onto.

staff at service stations, newsagents, visitor info centres and at truck stops are all people who are likely to know about any major dramas on the roads you plan to take.

i live in Outback Australia and I am forever pulling over to ask about road conditions if i'm planning a "short cut" down a dirt track.
.

Probably, good advice for Australia, and it would make the trip more enjoyable;
a trip would seem sterile without talking to the people who live there. Hearing a
few stories about the area would add to the vacation immeasurably.

Makin More Mileage can become an end in itself and actually ruin the experience.

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Esav

Wait four days for rescue, family told
.....Notice they did have cellphone communication and laptop entertainment. Ah, the modern world!

Ummmmmm let me see.

They were in contact with the police by mobile phone ("called police on 000")

They had enough bottled water for the duration (obviously).

"A few meager sandwiches" (and no doubt body fat reserves) would be enough to see them through food wise (obviously).

They could watch DVD's (I hope they had decent movies )

They had windproof and rain proof shelter...."All four of them, plus Diesel the family dog, slept in the car each night for fear of being attacked by wild pigs."


I must be missing something here, but how is this a "survival situation"

Sounds more to me like an inconvenience

I would love to know how recently they arrived in OZ (after all they're British Expats")

BTW, if it were me in this survival situation I would put one of the kids to sleep outside the car to attract the feral pigs. Then I would use my "survival knife" to fashion a spear out of the bonnet of the car & use it to take one of the feral pigs that turned up to eat my kid

Man would we have eaten well





Kind regards
Mick

 

[warrigal]

I forgot to mention the emergency phone number in Oz is 000
If your on a mobile ( cell) it is still 000 but that may not work everywhere depending on your carrier. I would always use 112 which will work anywhere you can get a signal ( internationally as well I believe)
If your going to spend enough time "outback"
It was possible to hire a hf radio from the RFDS for out back trips but that was before the days of affordable SAT phones and GPS.
http://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/
Carl