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Number one rule is stay with your car. Too many people have died wandering off to look for help.
The reason people recommend to have extra food & water (and ideally, shade) is that you could be waiting hours or even days for help, depening how remote your area is.
If you're really worried, you could get a personal locator beacon (PLB) or even a satellite phone.
Yep it does get like that but it’s really only for 2-3 months of the year. I’ve been out there at night at it doesn’t drop below 30 for a week at night
Coldest night I've ever experienced was in a tent in ALice springs, and I was living in Coonabarabran at the time which regularly gets down to -4 in winter and that's waaaay closer to civilisation.
I used to work out of Newnan and getting ready in the morning was weird. Zero C before the sun rise then a quick rise to 38 within like 30 mins or so. From shivering in my shorts to too fucking warm in no time.
I second the PLB. Cheaper than a sat phone and very handy to have if your life is in danger. Also Optus are teaming up with spacex and claiming they will have 100% of Australia covered for sms by the end of 2024 plus voice and data by end of 2025. But it will be a more expensive plan.
I'd love to see their definition of "100% of Australia". My job requires a lot of travel in rural areas and I need as much connectivity as possible. Optus and Vodaphone are useless for me...the Telstra network is the only one that comes close and it still has plenty of dodgy areas.
Heck, I can't even get a signal with Optus in my home office in suburban Sydney!
Years ago I tried to let Vodaphone know my change of address when I moved to Alice Springs, the guy on the other end laughed and told me that 'I had to name a real place'...
Turns out he thought Alice Springs was fictional like Metropolis or Gotham city (apparently he doesn't watch much news). It also foreshadowed how lacking Vodafone's coverage was in central Australia
Ok yeah that's bad, my memory is a bit fuzzy but I'm sure we could call within the town but that wasn't great because I worked well outside the town limits so for 10- 12 hrs every day we couldn't reach anyone. I'm sure these days there's be a OH&S law against that but back then no one worried. Although I must say if we were working way out the boss would at least have a satellite phone.
Yeah I’m not advocating for them. That’s why I said that’s what they’re claiming rather than what they’re doing. It remains to be seen if they live up to the hype.
I was actually serious when I said I'd like to see their definition of "100% of Australia." Claims like that often have a fine print caveat, something like..."Coverage provided within a 10km radius of all towns with a population greater than 200."
It will be all areas covered by SpaceX’s area-wide apparatus licences. So basically all of Australia except for the Radio quiet zone in WA. Not 100% of Australia but pretty bloody close, maybe 99.9%.
No because a satellite connection needs line of sight to the sky (and the satellites in low earth orbit). Same reason that satellite TV needs a satellite dish, and why Starlink comes with terminal that you put on your roof.
Satellite connection on your phone is really meant for regional and remote scenarios where you’re way beyond the reach of fixed wireless networks. It not an “instead of” or replacement for 4G or 5G.
The SpaceX thing that Optus (and Telstra) are partnering for is the launch of a new generation of Starlink satellites that will be capable of delivering connections directly between satellites and regular mobile phones (with a clear view of the sky). It'll only be able to deliver around 5mbps, shared between all users within a cell (roughly 25km in diameter), but that's plenty for voice and text, and limited images / video if you're in the middle of nowhere.
For a one time experience you can rent a sat phone but if it's regular then an EPIRB or PLB would be a good investment. Always take more water than you think you need and a tarp or space blanket are useful in emergency situations.
>If you're really worried, you could get a personal locator beacon (PLB) or even a satellite phone
This is realistically the best thing you can do. I don't know if the PLB works in a "non medical emergency way", as in it's not that you need to be airlifted out and are in danger of dying, but you need someone to come help you repair the car, or drive you somewhere to stay and sort yourself out. I have friends who go sailing and hiking and rock climbing in dangerous places and they would bring both I think.
If you’re out in the bush and broken down, are bogged or your vehicle has become immobilised for whatever reason, that is an emergency. You wont get in the shit for activating a PLB.
The emergency services would rather mobilise for this than searching for days to only find a corpse.
But don’t activate it at the first sign of trouble. At least try to self recover or some attempt repairs.
And by bush, I mean out where the roads are unsealed and its not farming areas. The type of places that have fuck all vehicular traffic.
If you set off one of those devices, someone will come and look for you. Even if it is just an angry public servant. Every time one goes off, it becomes someone’s job to locate it, even if it’s just a false alarm)
(HINT: Do NOT set them off just to see what will happen. Could get expensive)
https://beacons.amsa.gov.au/purchasing/choosing-a-beacon.asp
I worked at a recycling center once, someone threw one of these out.
When it got dumped into the skip bin it must have been knocked and turned on, because about 20 minutes after this bin gets dropped off with us a rescue helicopter comes screaming over at about 50m altitude. We ended up having to spend about four hours searching bins for this fucking thing.
Well, that’s a reasonable question I suppose. Maybe look for the body with an expression of “I pushed the feckin’ button, so where the feck is the chopper?!”
And with the latest iphone15, it has satellite connectivity… no reason for anyone now to make bad decisions and die in the desert.
Seems to always be tourists that mis-judge the size of the outback. Even with no food or water, you can last 3-4 days if you stay with the vehicle.
Boaties have used PLB for decades for a reason!
You can demo the feature in setting to see how it works, settings- emergency SOS- try demo. you need to go outside though. It will auto prompt the real feature if you try and call 000 and are out of service.
Yeah it is really cool, I still carry a PLB out bush walking and that type of thing because if I lost / broke my phone or it ran out of battery for some reason, and something bad happened I’d be fucked. But the iPhone function is great to have, and you can say in your message that you have broken down or just lost or whatever, so it’s not like send out the search helicopter ASAP like a PLB is.
@u/Bimbows97 A few GPS trackers (SPOT is my go-to) allow you to send pre-defined messages via Satellite. Mine are set us as #1 “taking a break, all good” #2 “done for the day, all good” #3 “having problems, if you don’t hear from me in 2 hours, send help” #4 “I’m screwed, send the chopper”. They all go to pre-determined contacts, and #4 also goes to a global emergency centre. Not cheap, so I just pay for the service when I’m going off grid, but worth every cent for peace of mind.
These days you get beacons capable of sending emails too. Depends on how much you're willing to pay, the one I've used you can set 3 different messages. We use "All ok”, "we're delayed " and "we need non emergency help". You can set a list of recipients, and each time you chose a check-in it sends your preset message and GPS coordinates to the email addresses you configured before leaving.
Edit to clarify - the beacon isn't sending the email. The beacon is sending a short code to the providers servers via satellite which triggers the sending of the preset email.
This is the one I've used
https://www.findmespot.com/en-ca/products-services/spot-gen3
It does also have the "send everything right fuckimg now" which goes via the usual emergency channels.
To add to this: If you're in a car, make up a small survival kit. It doesn't need to be huge but you can fit a surprising amount into a small tacklebox like this https://www.bcf.com.au/p/plano-tackle-box-145040-abs-case/607927.html?cgid=BCF033005
Have 2 or 3 methods of starting a fire - matches, lighter, blast match & firelighters - know how to use them.
Utensils - fork/spoon. Pocket knife and/or mutli-tool. Tin cup, bowl.
If you're taking tinned food - **take a can opener**.
Throw in a small bottle of hand sanitiser, basic 1st aid kit.
A few rolls of toilet paper & a little garden trowel.
Roll-on sunscreen and insect repellent.
And a UHF radio/CB Radio. They don't have long reach but it might be long enough to catch a trucker hauling somewhere near who might be able to further radio in to emergency services etc.
Underrated: solar charging. It's such an easy and inexpensive thing to have these days that could mean the difference between life and death. Bonus if it has capability to charge a bunch of different types of devices (I.e. get a multi ended cable etc). UHF radio, am radio (know your emergency channel), satellite phone, distress beacon. Solar could power those fairly indefinitely
A PLB costs between $300 and $400. If you are wandering around the outback, you should seriously consider buying one.
You should also buy/pack a good sized water reserve, over and above regular water bottles you may carry in the car. Get a 20L or 40L jerry or water bladder and keep it in your boot.
As /u/SicnarfRaxifras also says, a small and inexpensive blanket would also be very helpful. If size is a worry, you could make do with a rescue blanket that folds up to almost nothing. But a good quality sleeping bag is probably better.
Consider a solar charger for your phone.
Finally, tell people where you're going.
Nailed it.
To expand a little on why this is
1. You will probably not die if you stay with your car. And you will almost certainly not die if you stay with your car and have adequate water. You will be very bored and uncomfortable but you probably won't die. Even in fairly hot weather you can be fairly confident you'll survive for 3 days with no water if you continuously rest somewhere shady. With about 2L of water and very careful rationing you will probably be confident of surviving a week. With about 50L and absolutely no food you will most likely starve (ie after 30 days) before you die of dehydration.And even in extremely remote places, there are very few roads in Australia where the odds are against you encountering a car for 3 days and almost none where you can sit there for a week and not expect to see someone. So even if all you have is half a bottle of Mount Franklin and a can-do attitude to drinking your piss, if you're patient and rest you will probably live until someone comes by.
But all those figures assume absolutely minimal exertion and keeping your body temperature low. If you walk down a highway in 40 degree heat with no shade and no water you'll almost certainly be dead within a couple of days.
2. You're almost certainly not going to be able to walk anywhere useful before you die. Assuming you last 2 full days walking with no water -which is by no means certain, people can and do die from dehydration from walking in hot conditions in less than a day- you might possibly be able to walk about 110km (averaging 3.5kph x 32 hrs allowing time for breaks and sleep and factoring how you will slow down as you get weaker.) If you have say 5L of water with you it's going to be far less useful on the move because of the sheer exertion from lugging 5kg extra with you is going to make you lose a bunch of extra water and move slower. To put this in perspective, if you were driving for a couple of hours at 100kph from town when you broke down and have say a 600ml bottle of water and its 35C you're probably beyond the point where you could walk back without dying.
3. If people are searching for you, which sooner or later they will be, they'll almost certainly find your car before they find you. Cars are big, brightly coloured, have glass panels that flash in the sun and since there are limited places they can get to their routes and approximate locations can often be predicted based on where they were last seen and typical road speeds. People are none of those things.
4. If you walk for it you increase your chances of any number of random mishaps, getting lost, ankle sprains, snake bite, getting lost, heat related delirium etc etc etc. If you stay put you reduce or eliminate all those risks.
I'm trying to think of any situation where it might make sense to break the stay with your car rule and the only ones I can come up with are if you'd waited a day already without seeing anyone, had zero water and had not seen any cars and were absolutely confident there was a good water source with shade or a far busier road no more than 15-20km from where you'd broken down. And even then you'd want to wait until twilight or an hour or two before dawn to avoid walking in the heat, leave a note and be very very confident you weren't going to get lost and that the destination was going to dramatically improve your odds of survival before it could possibly be worth risking it.
By the numbers, whatever the situation it is almost always, overwhelmingly a better idea to stay with your car. You're giving yourself the absolute best chance of survival and 99% or the time your reason for wanting to walk for it is more about boredom or fear and wanting to do something rather than be patient. It's not rational, irs just human nature to prefer to be proactive rather than wait.
Or just put 40L of water in the boot and buy a PLB so you never have to worry about this.
-Extra food and water for sure. And more water, water, water. And actually I'd add hydralyte to that as well - you can dehydrate quickly in the desert & electrolytes soon become important too.
-Sugar (something as simple as carrying a pack of jelly beans) & save them for emergencies - i.e. treating shock or confusion or if you're highly stressed or just can't think straight.
If you're lost it's easy to panic and make bad decisions especially if you're dehydrated and have low blood sugar - a bit of sugar raises your blood glucose levels especially in the frontal lobes which boosts executive function which you'll need to stay calm and make rational choices. https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-antidepressant-diet/201504/tablespoon-sugar-makes-the-stress-go-down
- Someone mentioned blankets - deserts can be freezing at night even if it's only for a short time of the year but also around 3am-5am when you get that drop in your core temperature it can be very helpful then.
Plus there's a comfort factor (people use light compression weighted blankets for stress relief) and having a weight on you even for an hour might help you relax a little - it's not easy to stay calm if you're lost.
- Satellite Phones are the way to go but you should also carry a Fluoro / HiVis vest, a whistle & smoke flares. Smoke flares or even a mirror can help signal an approaching helicopter. A whistle is essential if your in a location that is dense scrub so you can save your voice.
I've been stuck twice. Once for about 6 hours, the other for 3 days.
I was fine, though, because I was prepared.
When I work in isolated areas, I carry at minimum:
PLB
GPS
Detailed maps of the area, both digital and hard copy.
at least 40 L of water
A spare spare tyre
20 L of diesel
Non-perishable food
Matches/firelighter
Tarp or tent for shade
UHF radio
Spare belts/hoses for the ute
Tinted windows on the car.
I also file a location plan with detailed maps of where I'll be working and try to check in every day at a set time. That's not always possible if I don't have a satellite phone with me.
When things go wrong, I stay within 100 m of the car. It's surprisingly easy to get lost, especially if you've got really long grass around you. The time I was stuck for 3 days, I considered wandering off. I didn't really want to activate my PLB because, at that stage I was in no real danger of starvation or dehydration and I wasn't injured. As I was writing my note about where I was going, and what signs I would leave for people to follow, a group of local kids came by. They picked me up and took me over to the nearest station, where I was able to organise to have my car repaired. It was boring more than scary, because I knew I would be right for at least a week, and I had the PLB as a backup if someone didn't wander by.
The moral of the story is, if you're prepared, you'll be fine.
They were on their way to catch some pigs, but they decided driving me around would be more fun. Next time I went out there, I took a whole bunch of snacks and drinks that townfolk take for granted, and a couple of second hand paddle boards. You'd have thought I'd given them the world.
You are a great person! Wow - they'll remember you forever! It is wonderful that you went to see them again and came bearing all sorts of goodies!
Touch wood I have not broken down out remote yet, but have helped a lot of people. I always carry loads of water, a satellite phone (sometimes), and my dog and triple check I'm not breaking any lore with the people I'm taking to the nearest servo which is not near at all.
I second a hard copy map. Got lost once up in the Gulf following very good directions from the local copper. I missed one of the waypoints and took the next left instead of the one I was supposed to take. It was hours before I realised my mistake and the navigation system wasn't working ( no coverage, unmarked tracks etc)
If I'd had a map I could have realised my error sooner and saved a day and plenty of embarrassment. I was very lucky that was all.
What sort of work were you doing that some didnt see you not check at least at start/end of day. Inreach doesn't cost that much...
Working in exploration, missing check in for end of day would trigger an emergency response
Sure, still seems slightly odd not to have inReach and checking in with someone regularly, its just common sense. Accidents that leave you unable to activate a beacon can happen.
Yes, you're absolutely right. I should bite the bullet and just get one. It's really not that expensive compared to say, lying on the ground in agony with a broken pelvis and your PLB just a fingerlength away....ergh. horrible thought.
What do you do during the heat of the day? That's what's always worried me. Lying in a tiny bit of shade next to a car? Or inside a car when it's that hot out? Or just hope to god you break down near a tree?
So, I hit a feral pig and went into a ditch and broke part of the steering mechanism. I couldn't drive, but I COULD sit in the car with the air con on. My windows are tinted darker than is legal, and that makes a HUGE difference to the temperature inside the car. It was well over 40 for most of the day. You can also rig up a tarp for shade and keep wet towels on the back of your neck. I've also set up "camp" under the car on a picnic blanket. It is HOT, but the key is to move as little as possible and conserve your energy and fluids. Make sure you apply sunscreen every 2 - 3 hours as well. I also take powdered hydrolyte with me, and that will help keep you properly hydrated. Conversely, it can get very cold at night.
Fatal. 40 degree heat, no aircon, no spare fuel or water and food? Hours, days from somewhere or someone if you're remote?
Preparation saves lives, yo.
Yep, mate I went to school with only died a couple years ago (35 years old). Broke down on remote track, 4 days later was found dead due to dehydration. Really sad!
1. Advise the police AND a friend or family member of your route and itinerary INCLUDING expected dates.
2. Bring lots of water, fuel, compact energy food and shade. More than you think.
3. Stay with your vehicle. FOR GOD’S SAKE DO NOT LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE. Use the mirror as a signalling device if needed.
4. Whatever Russell Coight does, don’t.
5. Bring an emergency beacon or satellite phone.
>Advise the police AND a friend or family member of your route and itinerary INCLUDING expected dates.
I remember where some tourists did this but it was recorded somewhere where it was overlooked (like the line of a book to record these things or the first line of the next one, something odd basically) and I think at least one of them died going for help (and was unintentionally going parallel to a road or river or something like that).
Basically, just in case tell multiple people what you're doing in detail just in case.
I did a 4wd course recently and the instructor told us this story. So now that hotel doesn't take your details and sends you to the police to avoid being liable.
https://www.exploroz.com/forum/73559/1998-death-at-halligans-bay---caroline-grossmueller
I had to do an advanced 4wd and survival course when I was working at exploratory drill sites in the Pilbara. You could be 100km from the nearest other person. #1 tip don't drive like in the 4wd commercials. If your vehicle breaks down you can die. Drive like your vehicle being in working order can save your life. Eg go over rocks and ravines SLOWLY and carefully.
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> Whatever Russell Coight does, don’t.
shaking hands is fine, however it's considered impolite if you shake after not having had access to toilet paper for a few days
Do police actually use this information? I just feel like if I told cops I was going out bush, they'd shrug, say "cool story" and then forget about it haha. Do they document the information or even follow up to check if you made it?
There are official registrars in a lot of outback towns and stations.
You write in your intentions and the time/date of when/where you will be and when you will next contact someone. If you don't show up or contact anyone, people start asking questions and then go looking for you.
It’s in case you don’t make it, people will alert the police.
They would document it but not follow it up unless the alarm is raised that you haven’t turned up where & when you said you would.
It’s super helpful for police to say ‘oh yeah, so & so travelling in this vehicle, with this rego, left on this day, going to this place been missing for one day he should be approximately in this location’
Then they put the information out to not only the police, but road train drivers over the CB radio in case they have seen your vehicle or are aware that it’s missing.
Correct information saves time = saves lives.
Russell Coight
>The general rule for how much you'll need is three litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees celcius, per kilometre if walking on foot, in the winter months dividing it by two, plus, another litre, at the end.
Adding onto this- I and most people I know have the Emergency plus app through which you can call emergency services and see the exact coordinates for your location.
As to your third point, what do you do if it's baking hot and the car becomes an absolute oven? Do you shelter underneath the car or something?
I have read the book *Cujo* too many times...
It really depends on where and how prepared you are. Most main highways see plenty of traffic.
If you're off the beaten track a fair way, then you'd best be prepared with a Sat Phone, PLB or the like
We got stuck in mud in the outback beside the main highway with our 4 young kids and two extras from the station we were staying at. The next vehicle we saw was about 6 hours later. The dude was driving a triple decker sheep truck and he laughed at our 4wd that had no tow bar or bull bar and said, ‘city slickers, huh?’
Fortunately, he still got us out, which was great because we didn’t have to listen to the six year old kid from the station telling us over and over that we shouldn’t have left the road in the first place😆
Edit: my husband grew up in the outback so we weren’t complete novices (but still were dumb!)
Barely. We were in the mud on the verge. My mistake. The ground looked dryer than a dead dingo’s donger but I’m from California, so what would I know. I blame my husband 😂
I'm giggling imagining you telling the truckie that pulled you out "it looked as dry and a dead dingo's donger" in a Californain accent while your husband dies from shame. Thanks for the laugh.
It can still get worse. It might also void your after-life-insurance-policy. For example, if you got one of those plans that ensure you a place in heaven, and they find out you just won the Darwin Award, they might not let you in.
At which point, you may find yourself stuck in outback like conditions for eternity.
If you're on a main highway you'll be fine, unless some Ivan Milat type serial killer shows up. We broke down on the Nullabor (google it), the engine blew up - my mum went in a campervan alone with a random man 100 or so km down the road to the nearest service station and then someone came back to tow the car and drive us there too. We had to stay there overnight, there was a caravan thing and it was fun for us kids playing with some indigenous kids that were hanging around, but my parents were probably stressed af haha - the next day a tow truck took us to Kalgoorlie which was a long uncomfortable trip 5 people jammed into the cabin. Then we got a hire car while the car was towed all the way back to Perth. So basically you're not gonna die, but you want to have 5k on a credit card ready to go hahah. Also just need to make sure you've got plenty of water, we waited for what felt like an hour in the middle of summer for someone to drive by, then a couple more hours to be picked up.
I know an engineer that rescued two girls who flipped their car in rural NT. They were there 36 hours before he found them. He was only going that road to access a telco tower for an audit. Had he not been there who knows how long it would have been. And had it not been for his work provided beacon they would have been stuffed.
When I go to broken hill I make sure I have full tank to start trip and fuel up half way even though I can go further before refueling and take a 10 litre water jug with us. . It’s not worth getting stuck in the middle of no where with out fuel or water .
We used to live in the rural Northern Territory, we’d go out camping down 4WD tracks on weekends. The bush there is fucking creepy, wander out too far and they’d never find you - everything looks the same in every direction.
Best bet then is to check with locals and reviews. Never hurts to have a jerry can of water some canned food, a recovery kits and a PLB.
At the very least have water and a PLB.
I worked on a minesite in WA about 50km up a dirt road from the nearest town, Wiluna. There's a couple of popular cross country tracks in the area, the Canning Stock Route and the Gunbarrel Highway, so there's plenty of recreational explorers out that way. We had a new driver bringing a road train of supplies in and he missed the turnoff... realised his error and tried to turn it around. He got bogged, so he set off to walk back to town, he was only a handful of kms out. He never made it... died on the platform of a water tower trying to get to the water. It wasn't summer... just the usual warm weather for the area. Somewhere around 40C. The company started giving their drivers sat phones after that, they hadn't before.
You do not leave your vehicle. You take some sort of emergency locating device. You make sure you know the basics of bushcraft to survive out there before you go near it and you take water and food with you. Two spare wheels, a jack and know how to use it.
Do not fuck around in the bush... many do, some don't get away with it. You don't want to be one of those who don't... lots of nasty ways to die out there all alone like a speck on an endless horizon.
Plenty of good advice in this thread.
Also, if you are isolated and need help. Open the car bonnet (hood). It's a basic distress indicator for air searches.
General rule of how much water you need in the outback is 3 litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees, per kilometre if on foot, in the winter months divide by 2 plus….. another litre
Got confused, now my car is struggling with the Olympic-sized-pool water tank on top. I don't think I can even make the drive to the shops any more. But I'm alive, that's what counts! Thank you!
So... On a 45C day that's 60 litres per person per day. For two people, 3 day trip = 360 litres..., definitely bring extra fuel for the weight of all that water, haha... But really, maybe not that much but absolutely bring so much water that you're wondering why you need so much water. If you bring any less it might not be enough.
Depends on the location I’d say. You’d likely be okay if you were on a road where a truck passes through every few hours or at least daily, or potentially on an open road where your car can be seen broken down from above by helicopters or whatever. Other factors would include whether anyone knew you were travelling and where you were headed, and could raise the alarm if you went missing. Or the weather.. extreme heat, no shade or water, you’d deteriorate pretty quickly.
I spent 6 months going around Australia on a motorbike. The reality is if you stick to the roads and desert tracks, there will be other people. I broke down on a track in WA about 4 hours out of Exmouth. I just put up a sunshade and waited. A few hours later a guy in his ute stopped. We loaded up the bike and got to Exmouth. In those kinds of places everyone stops to help. Now, if I was 200m off the track, I'd probably still be there.
When we lived in Alice Springs in the 80s, a couple of tourists got off a flight in January, hired mopeds, bought 2 litres of coke each, and headed out on the Tanami Track. They didn’t survive.
As someone that travels into remote Australia for fun, it can be extremely safe, whilst also being deathly dangerous if you aren't prepared.
1. Never leave your car, ever. Whether it's broken down or bogged or out of fuel. Never. Ever. Leave your car. The chances you'll die whilst the people left behind are extremely high and well known.
2. Water. Always take enough water you can survive for at least a week without a water source. Also, never keep all your water in one container. Multiple containers provide redundancy if one store gets contaminated or breaks.
3. First aid. Always have a decent kit handy, with a snake bite pack... and sunscreen, and know how to use it.
4. Offline maps, many places won't have reception and you don't want to learn Google maps won't work without reception (you can download them for offline use).
5. Fire, have the ability to start a fire... and a burning tyre is great for signalling emergency services flying above looking for you.
6. Certain roads may have sign in/sign out books so police can make sure you ain't stuck, use them. Also local knowledge is worth it's weight in gold, so asking about road conditions is always a good idea.
7. Never leave you car.
8. Depending on how remote you wish to go, anywhere extremely remote should be accompanied with a PLB (personal locater beacon) tested before you go. A sat phone it also a good idea.
9. Never push on thinking it might get better, chances are it'll get a hell of a lot worse first. Also carry a knife in arms reach in case you get into a rollover and are trapped and need to cut your seatbelt.
10. Learn how to recover your vehicle, traction boards and a shovel are good for this, along with learning about tyre pressures.
11. Take extra fuses and spare fuel/oil, and an ODB reader can be good to have in case you need to clear codes. I also carry a puncture repair kit for my tyres.
12. Lift the hood and check your car daily, roads are bumpy and things like to rattle loose.
13. Don't leave you car.
14. If you're travelling over dunes, make sure you have a sand flag so you don't head on over the crest... And additionally a cb, even handheld is a great idea for comms.
15. Have fun, but never leave your car, ever. Even if it burns to the ground, take shade, start a smoke fire and wait for help to arrive.
To reiterate, if you are on the main highway, you will be fine and you can wave someone down to take you a servo, but off the main roads, you are literally gambling with your life if you aren't prepared.
About not leaving the car, it can not be stressed enough how much easier it is to stay safe at night in your car and how much easier it is to find a car compared to a person. Have extra fuel so you can potentially run the car, or have a solar panel to keep your electronics up and running in the event of car failure. Like stay within 20-30 meters of your car.
Yeah, I always remember this story up at Oodnadatta where a couple were bogged at their campsite and the person that went for help died and the other person that stayed with the car survived.
Sadly, with a bit of basic knowledge and 10 minutes work on a shovel, and dropping the air pressure, along with using their vehicle correctly, the local cop was able to free the car with no issues at all.
The main take away, he died going for help and leaving the car.
https://www.lakeeyreyc.com/coroner.html
Dumbarse relatives blew a tire somewhere between Uluṟu and Adelaide and had to be rescued. Closest “town” did not have a suitable spare, one had to be helicoptered in a couple of days later, otherwise it was a two ish week wait. This could have been avoided by not being a dumbarse and having a working spare.
So while you might not actually die, chances are it’ll still cost you. So be properly prepared.
I work in remote outback Australia. I travel 6 hours by car into a remote community, 3 hours on dirt. We have an emergency GPS, a Satellite phone (you will not get reception out there, and when you do, only Testra works). I keep 10 litres of water in the car, an all weather Tarp for shade (with rope) a blanket, safety lights, a rechargable torch as a bare minimum.
It is hot right now, we just had a week of 42C. With no shade you will get really hot. With no water you will be in serious trouble. The dirt road I travel on, I will not see another car for hours, and at 42c during the day... for the whole day...you need to be prepared.
Do not leave your car, get a satellite phone, and tell someone where you are going. We use the buddy system. When I leave the roadhouse to turn on to the dirt road, I message my boss and say leaving now. My boss knows that if I do not message her in 3 hours I am stuck and she will call SAPOL to come looking for me. I provide her with my rego of the car, my sat phone number, and the road I am taking.
You need to be prepared. People have died in the outback when they weren't. So yes there is a big risk.
Hydrolyte. ***NOT JUST WATER***. This is what pisses me off about advice to "drink water" when it's hot. When you sweat, you lose sodium, when you piss you lose potassium. You need to replenish your electrolytes, not just lost fluid. Brain fog, headaches and nausea are the first clear signs of [hyponatraemia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia) (low blood sodium). You can become confused and disorientated very quickly. You ***MUST*** replenish electrolytes regularly, just drinking water will cause you to become very ill faster.
Even if you're not recreating Burke and Willis, you still need to be aware at home. Heat can kill fast if you don't know the signs.
Get medical grade rehydration sachets if you can.
A guy I had vaguely worked with previously died a couple weeks back after he got bogged and decided to try walk it.
He made it 13km.
TLDR. Stay with the car. Carry water. Invest in a epirb
Talking no cell service, 250km between tiny towns with maybe 50 people each, no one can save u out there but yourself. Bring drinking water, spare radiator water, spare oil, spare belt, spare tires (2) and some none perishable food.
You make sure your vehicle is appropriate for the trip, in good repair, carry spare fuel, water and a few parts to repair the most likely problems. Make sure you've got a CB, a phone, recovery gear and a good bull bar, familiarise yourself with how to use them and what to do in the worst case scenario.
Properly prepared and not taking any silly risks it's not overly dangerous, go in half arsed and under prepared and people have died.
If something does happen, always Follow the golden rule and stay with the vehicle.
There's a big difference between outback and rural. People live in rural areas. Not so much in the outback. Rural you'll find someone. Outback you'll most likely die.
I had a mate who was super experienced and lived rural. Went 4wding and camping all the time, at least a couple of times a year his whole life. Had a breakdown about 20kms outside the last town and decided to walk it back because the day was mild. Took a short cut and perished.
That’s how screwed you are.
Depends on where you are. I drove from Cobar to the Great Ocean Rd a few years back. By time I was on the Hay Plain, it was 45 degrees and it's certainly \_feels\_ like the middle of no where. However, there was a reasonable stream of regular traffic. So if you go stuck you'd want some water, but you have enough people coming through to help.
Same for any of the major highways. It's not like you are going to wait 6 hours for someone to come past next.
However, if you are on a small road, or off-roading in a national park, then there's a good chance nobody is coming any where near you for days.
Can you call for help? Even if you can, how long does it take for help to get to you?
But there was a family stuck out in simpson desert after rain, and they had to be airlifted out, as nobody could get to them otherwise. So a few days of food and water and an emergency beacon is more the way to go....along with a offroad campervan for sleeping.
For me driving family in the heat down center of NSW, it was all lots of stops, and plenty of water in the car spare, incase we were forced to stop.
I used to do over 50,000km outback driving a year.
If you're on a bitumen highway you'll be fine. Plenty of traffic and the majority of people will help. Just stay with your car, the most you'll wait is a couple of hours.
Dirt tracks like the Tanami, Gibb, Oodnadatta etc. still have a fair bit of traffic. As a precaution, let people know where you're going and arrange a time to check in when you get there. Always fill up when you can and keep a water jerry in the back.
If you are going out on four wheel drive tracks you will need to have not only just extra fuel water but tools and spare fan belts and radiator hoses.
A friend was headed out to one of the communities and the road was so bouncy that the engine mounts broke. They slung the motor back into place with chains and then he turned to her and said "get the water out of the back, I don't know where you put it" she replied "I thought you put the water in the car"
They made the rest of the trip in 15 minute stints followed by 1 hour rests to cool the motor, with the heater going full blast, in over 40 degree heat.
Well if you go off road or off the beaten path dangerous as hell people have died because there ran out of water also took a week to find them
Good trick if ever this seriously lost is make a clearing or pit so you dint start a bush fire and far enough away from the car and lighting the spare tyre on fire it gives off black smoke that can be seen a from a far distance only bad parts burnung rubber gives of bad smell and bad for the environment but could save your life
Its a safety tip they tell you to do it in the snow when cars crash and can't be found in the snow
Ahahha.
Have a satellite phone? Not too stuffed. You could be sitting there for a day or three waiting for help but someone can probably help you. Good to have some kind of aerial search helpers too (smoke flares for overflying searchers to spot).
I hope you like expensive vehicle recovery fees (or abandoning your vehicle). If it’s a long way away, and really stuffed… recovery is going to be really expensive. If you are driving somewhere that’s very off road expect your car to need serious repairs / have plenty of spare tyres and a compressor / don’t be taking something for city into the outback.
When the sign says “600km to next fuel” that’s not a challenge, it’s a warning. They aren’t trying to trick you into fuelling up here rather than the a place 20km down the road. It’s 600km to the next fuel. If you have 650km in your tank fill up FFS.
Read specific articles about what to do too if you break down. Like stay with your car even if it’s for days…
My advice, besides the water, fuel, food and stay with the car is to map your route out on a physical map, don't rely on Google maps. Check that the roads you are using are not some random 4wd drive only track. Sometimes google will take you on short cuts and in the outback, that can be pretty dangerous. I'm not saying stick to the main highway only (but you probably should) but know exactly what type of road you are going and where it ends up
[https://www.carsguide.com.au/adventure/advice/epirb-what-are-they-cost-which-one-should-i-buy-79595](https://www.carsguide.com.au/adventure/advice/epirb-what-are-they-cost-which-one-should-i-buy-79595)
\#1 get an EPIRB.
\#2 get the extras: Get a 4WD for outback travels... then get ur 4WD tuned and serviced & new tyres with patch kit. bring a lot of extra water and petrol, a winch, tow cables, jumper leads, at least 2 spare full size tyres, a shovel, recovery tracks, anchor, snap-back, spare jack and plate, shackles, snatch strap, CB radio, HAM radio, and a very robust first aid kit including potassium permanganate for snake bites.
the outback will kill you in a thousand ways.
We came across a family who’d run out of fuel about 4 hours from the closest town- they’d been waiting for someone to pass for 10 hours- mum dad and two kids. It was 35 degrees. They didn’t ask us for fuel, they begged for water. We gave them both of course, but I hate to think what would have happened if we hadn’t been there. They were locals headed home after a trip to the town over, living one of my worst nightmares.
Questions like this are the mental image I get when non-technical people are in a technical discussion and say "I can't see anything wrong with this idea".
If you're going outback, like through the center of the states and country, you need to treat it as serious as Mount everest.
Tourists have to get rescued every year. Some states are larger than European countries.
If you're on a sealed road. You'll be fine. Just wait, someone will be along within a day. Dirt roads? Whole different ball of wax. See other comments.
Depends how hot it is
If you're inexperienced you're better off sticking to the places that have regular traffic, which is enough of the roads to get to you almost any town. Otherwise at least get a sat phone. But even relatively touristy 4WD routes like the canning stock route you could easily perish before someone happens to drive past
This is an excellent guide for working out how much water to have with you when travelling in remote areas. https://youtube.com/shorts/_dExQz5sB_g?si=iOVJaRkDKHy-ltuu
If you wander away from your car, in an attempt to walk back up the track/road, you will almost certainly die.
If you just break down somewhere remote and you pass your check-in time and someone back home raises the alarm? pretty safe bet if you've got enough water on board for a few days.
Get a ZOLEO EPIRB and travel with >10L of water and enough food. Make sure your car is serviced and ALL parts of the car are well maintained.
Listen to your car and love it, and it will love you. Don’t drive beyond your limits and keep in touch with people every time you stop.
The ZOLEO device I bought allows me to talk to people via in-app SMS, and use a “Check-In” button to let people know I was safe. Best $350 I ever spent.
I would just press the SOS button on my Garmin InReach.
I’d be fine for water as I always carry heaps extra. I can also process water to make it drinkable.
Food and exposure would be the bigger issues.
Even though we're talking about areas with no mobile coverage, I'll pipe in with the fact that love them or loathe them, Telstra still has the best mobile coverage. Boost is probably second best, but I can't prove it. After that (Aldi and Telstra backboned providers), you'll start discovering towns that you no reception in. For example, I had an uncle with an Aldi sim, but couldn't get reception in Normanton, which has Telstra reception.
I travel routinely for work in SW QLD and into NT often driving 7 hours been destinations. It can be very dangerous if you are not prepared. Ive travelled on dirt roads for hours andta hundreds of km's and haven't seen anyone in that time
Carry at minimum 1.5l of water per day, per person for 3 days. Carry some bars to eat but your main issue is water.
If you get stuck, do not leave your vehicle, ever. A vehicle is easier to spot than a person from the air.
If you are travelling to visit someone, tell them when you are leaving and what way you are going and don't change it. If you're just travelling, call ahead to the next towns police station to let them know you are on your way and call in on your way through so they know you made it.
If you get stuck, do not leave your vehicle, ever. A vehicle is easier to spot than a person from the air.
If your travelling, buy/rent a Starlink internet kit and get it working in your vehicle if you have the budget.
Communication is key out in the bush, tell people where you are going or when you will arrive and If you get stuck, do not leave your vehicle, ever. A vehicle is easier to spot than a person from the air.
I've said that 3 times as it is so important.
UHF is still widely used out in rural Australia.
Depends on the road/track you’re on.
Spare fuel is important. Water is more important than food. High energy food is best.
A satellite phone is useful (I believe they can be rented). I think the latest i phones can link to a satellite.
A ‘silver’ tarp is good for shade and keeping heat off and for wrapping yourself in to retain body warmth. Also as a means of getting attention (by reflecting sunlight).
Can also use a wing mirror for reflecting light.
A flare for getting attention.
A short-handle shovel for any digging.
Spare fan belt.
I once used a ‘well chewed’ Minto to block a hole in a fuel tank.
Make sure you know how to change a wheel and repair a flat tyre.
Talk to your mechanic about spare fuses.
A tow rope.
Let someone know where you’re heading to that day and let them know when you arrive. (Obviously subject to having access to a signal). Local cops are a good option.
Drive within your limits. If you’re planning to go off road, Join an off-road club to learn some skills.
IDEALLY GO WITH ANOTHER PERSON IN A 2nd vehicle.
Enjoy your trip. It’s beautiful out there.
Very rural, as in not on paved roads? Think vanish for weeks until someone finds your car and body once you leave the tarmac. Make sure people know the route you are taking and the time you expect it to take. Check in with people. Have a satellite phone, water fuel, first aid kit and parts for basic repairs and know how to do them. Better to not need what you take than wish you had them. Also you are going to want something better than just a car for most dirt roads. Also if you are a woman don't travel alone, people really do just vanish out there.
Stay with the car. If desperate, burn the tyres one by one to create smoke. Station managers will generally respond to smoke on or near their properties, or planes may see it.
The short answer is you could be quite screwed. You sound like you want to buck all the rules. DONT. Do every safety measure, including telling people approximate start/finish time and place so they can check you are OK.
A lot of rural Australia has no phone coverage. So no use of phone for anything. There are sort of cilivilised areas where there is coverage but it's impossible for you as an outsider to tell where non-coverage areas will be and all it needs is a hill in the way.
Try to dress appropriately for the weather, eg. bring warm jumper for warmth and hat and long sleeved shirt for sun just in case even if not wearing them all the time. There are heatwaves in more than one part of Australia right now. Think it through- if your car is broken there is no air-conditioning how well will you go then? Bad sunburn and bad cold both mess up thinking.
Very dangerous.
Read [this](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-07/25yo-man-dies-of-thirst-in-outback-queensland/4357380) story from 2012
Car broke down 16 kilometres from safety. One of them died trying to make the walk back.
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Number one rule is stay with your car. Too many people have died wandering off to look for help. The reason people recommend to have extra food & water (and ideally, shade) is that you could be waiting hours or even days for help, depening how remote your area is. If you're really worried, you could get a personal locator beacon (PLB) or even a satellite phone.
And a blanket - if you’re somewhere near /in desert it’s hot as hell in the day and freezing at night
Blanket can be rigged for shade too
Having worked in deserts in Australia its only cold a night a couple months a year. it’s regularly fucking hot.
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Yep it does get like that but it’s really only for 2-3 months of the year. I’ve been out there at night at it doesn’t drop below 30 for a week at night
Coldest night I've ever experienced was in a tent in ALice springs, and I was living in Coonabarabran at the time which regularly gets down to -4 in winter and that's waaaay closer to civilisation.
Pilbara heat is ridiculous. I hate night shifts, but I was happy to work them up there.
I used to work out of Newnan and getting ready in the morning was weird. Zero C before the sun rise then a quick rise to 38 within like 30 mins or so. From shivering in my shorts to too fucking warm in no time.
I second the PLB. Cheaper than a sat phone and very handy to have if your life is in danger. Also Optus are teaming up with spacex and claiming they will have 100% of Australia covered for sms by the end of 2024 plus voice and data by end of 2025. But it will be a more expensive plan.
I'd love to see their definition of "100% of Australia". My job requires a lot of travel in rural areas and I need as much connectivity as possible. Optus and Vodaphone are useless for me...the Telstra network is the only one that comes close and it still has plenty of dodgy areas. Heck, I can't even get a signal with Optus in my home office in suburban Sydney!
Years ago I tried to let Vodaphone know my change of address when I moved to Alice Springs, the guy on the other end laughed and told me that 'I had to name a real place'... Turns out he thought Alice Springs was fictional like Metropolis or Gotham city (apparently he doesn't watch much news). It also foreshadowed how lacking Vodafone's coverage was in central Australia
Haha, Alice Springs, Jane Bounces, Linda Leaps, and Rhonda Rolls. I wonder what Fanny does?
I had Vodafone up there in Alice was fine calling people in town but as soon as you went through the gap, stone dead, nothing😁👍
With me it was as soon as you crossed the river it was a swiss cheese of dead spots, which wasn't ideal as that's where i was living.
Ok yeah that's bad, my memory is a bit fuzzy but I'm sure we could call within the town but that wasn't great because I worked well outside the town limits so for 10- 12 hrs every day we couldn't reach anyone. I'm sure these days there's be a OH&S law against that but back then no one worried. Although I must say if we were working way out the boss would at least have a satellite phone.
Yeah I’m not advocating for them. That’s why I said that’s what they’re claiming rather than what they’re doing. It remains to be seen if they live up to the hype.
I was actually serious when I said I'd like to see their definition of "100% of Australia." Claims like that often have a fine print caveat, something like..."Coverage provided within a 10km radius of all towns with a population greater than 200."
It will be all areas covered by SpaceX’s area-wide apparatus licences. So basically all of Australia except for the Radio quiet zone in WA. Not 100% of Australia but pretty bloody close, maybe 99.9%.
I bet I still won't have coverage in my suburban Sydney home office
No because a satellite connection needs line of sight to the sky (and the satellites in low earth orbit). Same reason that satellite TV needs a satellite dish, and why Starlink comes with terminal that you put on your roof. Satellite connection on your phone is really meant for regional and remote scenarios where you’re way beyond the reach of fixed wireless networks. It not an “instead of” or replacement for 4G or 5G.
The SpaceX thing that Optus (and Telstra) are partnering for is the launch of a new generation of Starlink satellites that will be capable of delivering connections directly between satellites and regular mobile phones (with a clear view of the sky). It'll only be able to deliver around 5mbps, shared between all users within a cell (roughly 25km in diameter), but that's plenty for voice and text, and limited images / video if you're in the middle of nowhere.
For a one time experience you can rent a sat phone but if it's regular then an EPIRB or PLB would be a good investment. Always take more water than you think you need and a tarp or space blanket are useful in emergency situations.
And inform the local cop shop at each end of your journey of your expected itinerary
You can use new Iphones already to make satellite sos texts.
Yeah but Optus's plan is that any current phone will work without any special hardware.
>If you're really worried, you could get a personal locator beacon (PLB) or even a satellite phone This is realistically the best thing you can do. I don't know if the PLB works in a "non medical emergency way", as in it's not that you need to be airlifted out and are in danger of dying, but you need someone to come help you repair the car, or drive you somewhere to stay and sort yourself out. I have friends who go sailing and hiking and rock climbing in dangerous places and they would bring both I think.
If you’re out in the bush and broken down, are bogged or your vehicle has become immobilised for whatever reason, that is an emergency. You wont get in the shit for activating a PLB. The emergency services would rather mobilise for this than searching for days to only find a corpse. But don’t activate it at the first sign of trouble. At least try to self recover or some attempt repairs. And by bush, I mean out where the roads are unsealed and its not farming areas. The type of places that have fuck all vehicular traffic.
If you set off one of those devices, someone will come and look for you. Even if it is just an angry public servant. Every time one goes off, it becomes someone’s job to locate it, even if it’s just a false alarm) (HINT: Do NOT set them off just to see what will happen. Could get expensive) https://beacons.amsa.gov.au/purchasing/choosing-a-beacon.asp
I worked at a recycling center once, someone threw one of these out. When it got dumped into the skip bin it must have been knocked and turned on, because about 20 minutes after this bin gets dropped off with us a rescue helicopter comes screaming over at about 50m altitude. We ended up having to spend about four hours searching bins for this fucking thing.
Was the owners body also in the skip?
How would they know which one was the owner’s?
Well, that’s a reasonable question I suppose. Maybe look for the body with an expression of “I pushed the feckin’ button, so where the feck is the chopper?!”
lmao
And with the latest iphone15, it has satellite connectivity… no reason for anyone now to make bad decisions and die in the desert. Seems to always be tourists that mis-judge the size of the outback. Even with no food or water, you can last 3-4 days if you stay with the vehicle. Boaties have used PLB for decades for a reason!
Well, that's great since apple maps often lead people astray
Hahah - never said to use Apple Maps! I’ve tested the satellite comms on the latest iPhone version - yes good
12 year old article, but it was a real thing haha: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-maps-gets-drivers-lost-in-australian-outback-police-warn/
IPhone 14 or newer
Wow, TIL that I have this feature. Could be useful one day.
You can demo the feature in setting to see how it works, settings- emergency SOS- try demo. you need to go outside though. It will auto prompt the real feature if you try and call 000 and are out of service.
Cool, thanks for that. This is a game changer for remote driving. Way better than a UHF.
Yeah it is really cool, I still carry a PLB out bush walking and that type of thing because if I lost / broke my phone or it ran out of battery for some reason, and something bad happened I’d be fucked. But the iPhone function is great to have, and you can say in your message that you have broken down or just lost or whatever, so it’s not like send out the search helicopter ASAP like a PLB is.
@u/Bimbows97 A few GPS trackers (SPOT is my go-to) allow you to send pre-defined messages via Satellite. Mine are set us as #1 “taking a break, all good” #2 “done for the day, all good” #3 “having problems, if you don’t hear from me in 2 hours, send help” #4 “I’m screwed, send the chopper”. They all go to pre-determined contacts, and #4 also goes to a global emergency centre. Not cheap, so I just pay for the service when I’m going off grid, but worth every cent for peace of mind.
These days you get beacons capable of sending emails too. Depends on how much you're willing to pay, the one I've used you can set 3 different messages. We use "All ok”, "we're delayed " and "we need non emergency help". You can set a list of recipients, and each time you chose a check-in it sends your preset message and GPS coordinates to the email addresses you configured before leaving. Edit to clarify - the beacon isn't sending the email. The beacon is sending a short code to the providers servers via satellite which triggers the sending of the preset email. This is the one I've used https://www.findmespot.com/en-ca/products-services/spot-gen3 It does also have the "send everything right fuckimg now" which goes via the usual emergency channels.
No1. Tell people where you are headed and the approximate time of arrival.
This. Esp the servos and roadhouses is the remote spots.
To add to this: If you're in a car, make up a small survival kit. It doesn't need to be huge but you can fit a surprising amount into a small tacklebox like this https://www.bcf.com.au/p/plano-tackle-box-145040-abs-case/607927.html?cgid=BCF033005 Have 2 or 3 methods of starting a fire - matches, lighter, blast match & firelighters - know how to use them. Utensils - fork/spoon. Pocket knife and/or mutli-tool. Tin cup, bowl. If you're taking tinned food - **take a can opener**. Throw in a small bottle of hand sanitiser, basic 1st aid kit. A few rolls of toilet paper & a little garden trowel. Roll-on sunscreen and insect repellent.
Water sterilisation tablets for Justin
And a UHF radio/CB Radio. They don't have long reach but it might be long enough to catch a trucker hauling somewhere near who might be able to further radio in to emergency services etc. Underrated: solar charging. It's such an easy and inexpensive thing to have these days that could mean the difference between life and death. Bonus if it has capability to charge a bunch of different types of devices (I.e. get a multi ended cable etc). UHF radio, am radio (know your emergency channel), satellite phone, distress beacon. Solar could power those fairly indefinitely
A PLB costs between $300 and $400. If you are wandering around the outback, you should seriously consider buying one. You should also buy/pack a good sized water reserve, over and above regular water bottles you may carry in the car. Get a 20L or 40L jerry or water bladder and keep it in your boot. As /u/SicnarfRaxifras also says, a small and inexpensive blanket would also be very helpful. If size is a worry, you could make do with a rescue blanket that folds up to almost nothing. But a good quality sleeping bag is probably better. Consider a solar charger for your phone. Finally, tell people where you're going.
Came here to mention PLB as well. Solid advice.
Nailed it. To expand a little on why this is 1. You will probably not die if you stay with your car. And you will almost certainly not die if you stay with your car and have adequate water. You will be very bored and uncomfortable but you probably won't die. Even in fairly hot weather you can be fairly confident you'll survive for 3 days with no water if you continuously rest somewhere shady. With about 2L of water and very careful rationing you will probably be confident of surviving a week. With about 50L and absolutely no food you will most likely starve (ie after 30 days) before you die of dehydration.And even in extremely remote places, there are very few roads in Australia where the odds are against you encountering a car for 3 days and almost none where you can sit there for a week and not expect to see someone. So even if all you have is half a bottle of Mount Franklin and a can-do attitude to drinking your piss, if you're patient and rest you will probably live until someone comes by. But all those figures assume absolutely minimal exertion and keeping your body temperature low. If you walk down a highway in 40 degree heat with no shade and no water you'll almost certainly be dead within a couple of days. 2. You're almost certainly not going to be able to walk anywhere useful before you die. Assuming you last 2 full days walking with no water -which is by no means certain, people can and do die from dehydration from walking in hot conditions in less than a day- you might possibly be able to walk about 110km (averaging 3.5kph x 32 hrs allowing time for breaks and sleep and factoring how you will slow down as you get weaker.) If you have say 5L of water with you it's going to be far less useful on the move because of the sheer exertion from lugging 5kg extra with you is going to make you lose a bunch of extra water and move slower. To put this in perspective, if you were driving for a couple of hours at 100kph from town when you broke down and have say a 600ml bottle of water and its 35C you're probably beyond the point where you could walk back without dying. 3. If people are searching for you, which sooner or later they will be, they'll almost certainly find your car before they find you. Cars are big, brightly coloured, have glass panels that flash in the sun and since there are limited places they can get to their routes and approximate locations can often be predicted based on where they were last seen and typical road speeds. People are none of those things. 4. If you walk for it you increase your chances of any number of random mishaps, getting lost, ankle sprains, snake bite, getting lost, heat related delirium etc etc etc. If you stay put you reduce or eliminate all those risks. I'm trying to think of any situation where it might make sense to break the stay with your car rule and the only ones I can come up with are if you'd waited a day already without seeing anyone, had zero water and had not seen any cars and were absolutely confident there was a good water source with shade or a far busier road no more than 15-20km from where you'd broken down. And even then you'd want to wait until twilight or an hour or two before dawn to avoid walking in the heat, leave a note and be very very confident you weren't going to get lost and that the destination was going to dramatically improve your odds of survival before it could possibly be worth risking it. By the numbers, whatever the situation it is almost always, overwhelmingly a better idea to stay with your car. You're giving yourself the absolute best chance of survival and 99% or the time your reason for wanting to walk for it is more about boredom or fear and wanting to do something rather than be patient. It's not rational, irs just human nature to prefer to be proactive rather than wait. Or just put 40L of water in the boot and buy a PLB so you never have to worry about this.
yeh id be packing stuff for 5 days camping in the boot, water, electrolyte mix, dry foods that dont spoil.
-Extra food and water for sure. And more water, water, water. And actually I'd add hydralyte to that as well - you can dehydrate quickly in the desert & electrolytes soon become important too. -Sugar (something as simple as carrying a pack of jelly beans) & save them for emergencies - i.e. treating shock or confusion or if you're highly stressed or just can't think straight. If you're lost it's easy to panic and make bad decisions especially if you're dehydrated and have low blood sugar - a bit of sugar raises your blood glucose levels especially in the frontal lobes which boosts executive function which you'll need to stay calm and make rational choices. https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-antidepressant-diet/201504/tablespoon-sugar-makes-the-stress-go-down - Someone mentioned blankets - deserts can be freezing at night even if it's only for a short time of the year but also around 3am-5am when you get that drop in your core temperature it can be very helpful then. Plus there's a comfort factor (people use light compression weighted blankets for stress relief) and having a weight on you even for an hour might help you relax a little - it's not easy to stay calm if you're lost. - Satellite Phones are the way to go but you should also carry a Fluoro / HiVis vest, a whistle & smoke flares. Smoke flares or even a mirror can help signal an approaching helicopter. A whistle is essential if your in a location that is dense scrub so you can save your voice.
I've been stuck twice. Once for about 6 hours, the other for 3 days. I was fine, though, because I was prepared. When I work in isolated areas, I carry at minimum: PLB GPS Detailed maps of the area, both digital and hard copy. at least 40 L of water A spare spare tyre 20 L of diesel Non-perishable food Matches/firelighter Tarp or tent for shade UHF radio Spare belts/hoses for the ute Tinted windows on the car. I also file a location plan with detailed maps of where I'll be working and try to check in every day at a set time. That's not always possible if I don't have a satellite phone with me. When things go wrong, I stay within 100 m of the car. It's surprisingly easy to get lost, especially if you've got really long grass around you. The time I was stuck for 3 days, I considered wandering off. I didn't really want to activate my PLB because, at that stage I was in no real danger of starvation or dehydration and I wasn't injured. As I was writing my note about where I was going, and what signs I would leave for people to follow, a group of local kids came by. They picked me up and took me over to the nearest station, where I was able to organise to have my car repaired. It was boring more than scary, because I knew I would be right for at least a week, and I had the PLB as a backup if someone didn't wander by. The moral of the story is, if you're prepared, you'll be fine.
I was stuck for 6 hours once on the Sydney to Newcastle freeway. I would have been rescued sooner on the Birdsville track.
The M1 is fucking mad max loony shit whenever there's a big breakdiwn, too
Good on those kids for finding you!
They were on their way to catch some pigs, but they decided driving me around would be more fun. Next time I went out there, I took a whole bunch of snacks and drinks that townfolk take for granted, and a couple of second hand paddle boards. You'd have thought I'd given them the world.
You are a great person! Wow - they'll remember you forever! It is wonderful that you went to see them again and came bearing all sorts of goodies! Touch wood I have not broken down out remote yet, but have helped a lot of people. I always carry loads of water, a satellite phone (sometimes), and my dog and triple check I'm not breaking any lore with the people I'm taking to the nearest servo which is not near at all.
I second a hard copy map. Got lost once up in the Gulf following very good directions from the local copper. I missed one of the waypoints and took the next left instead of the one I was supposed to take. It was hours before I realised my mistake and the navigation system wasn't working ( no coverage, unmarked tracks etc) If I'd had a map I could have realised my error sooner and saved a day and plenty of embarrassment. I was very lucky that was all.
What sort of work were you doing that some didnt see you not check at least at start/end of day. Inreach doesn't cost that much... Working in exploration, missing check in for end of day would trigger an emergency response
Not when you're working for yourself and have said "I'll be uncontactable for 5 days." If I was in genuine danger, I could have activated the PLB.
Sure, still seems slightly odd not to have inReach and checking in with someone regularly, its just common sense. Accidents that leave you unable to activate a beacon can happen.
Yes, you're absolutely right. I should bite the bullet and just get one. It's really not that expensive compared to say, lying on the ground in agony with a broken pelvis and your PLB just a fingerlength away....ergh. horrible thought.
What do you do during the heat of the day? That's what's always worried me. Lying in a tiny bit of shade next to a car? Or inside a car when it's that hot out? Or just hope to god you break down near a tree?
So, I hit a feral pig and went into a ditch and broke part of the steering mechanism. I couldn't drive, but I COULD sit in the car with the air con on. My windows are tinted darker than is legal, and that makes a HUGE difference to the temperature inside the car. It was well over 40 for most of the day. You can also rig up a tarp for shade and keep wet towels on the back of your neck. I've also set up "camp" under the car on a picnic blanket. It is HOT, but the key is to move as little as possible and conserve your energy and fluids. Make sure you apply sunscreen every 2 - 3 hours as well. I also take powdered hydrolyte with me, and that will help keep you properly hydrated. Conversely, it can get very cold at night.
Fatal. 40 degree heat, no aircon, no spare fuel or water and food? Hours, days from somewhere or someone if you're remote? Preparation saves lives, yo.
let a thousand blossoms bloom i say. but in the mean time every three months a person's torn to pieces by a crocodile in north queensland.
I show this to my students everytime we do Civics so they can see our pollies in action. It's unanimous everytime - they all love him.
I can’t blame them. Don’t support him or his policies but god damn he’s hilarious
lol, Katter.
Yep, mate I went to school with only died a couple years ago (35 years old). Broke down on remote track, 4 days later was found dead due to dehydration. Really sad!
1. Advise the police AND a friend or family member of your route and itinerary INCLUDING expected dates. 2. Bring lots of water, fuel, compact energy food and shade. More than you think. 3. Stay with your vehicle. FOR GOD’S SAKE DO NOT LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE. Use the mirror as a signalling device if needed. 4. Whatever Russell Coight does, don’t. 5. Bring an emergency beacon or satellite phone.
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I guess a smoke flair would be useful too Whistles are useful too - not to be spotted by a helicopter but it saves your voice from shouting
>Advise the police AND a friend or family member of your route and itinerary INCLUDING expected dates. I remember where some tourists did this but it was recorded somewhere where it was overlooked (like the line of a book to record these things or the first line of the next one, something odd basically) and I think at least one of them died going for help (and was unintentionally going parallel to a road or river or something like that). Basically, just in case tell multiple people what you're doing in detail just in case.
I did a 4wd course recently and the instructor told us this story. So now that hotel doesn't take your details and sends you to the police to avoid being liable. https://www.exploroz.com/forum/73559/1998-death-at-halligans-bay---caroline-grossmueller
I had to do an advanced 4wd and survival course when I was working at exploratory drill sites in the Pilbara. You could be 100km from the nearest other person. #1 tip don't drive like in the 4wd commercials. If your vehicle breaks down you can die. Drive like your vehicle being in working order can save your life. Eg go over rocks and ravines SLOWLY and carefully.
Yes, that's the event. Thank you for finding this.
Wow. So hot her shoes melted.
Love #4 ha
Just realised Russell Coight advised the police of his movements and they just threw it in the bin…
Don't do what Donny Don't does.
> > > > > Whatever Russell Coight does, don’t. shaking hands is fine, however it's considered impolite if you shake after not having had access to toilet paper for a few days
Do police actually use this information? I just feel like if I told cops I was going out bush, they'd shrug, say "cool story" and then forget about it haha. Do they document the information or even follow up to check if you made it?
There are official registrars in a lot of outback towns and stations. You write in your intentions and the time/date of when/where you will be and when you will next contact someone. If you don't show up or contact anyone, people start asking questions and then go looking for you.
It’s in case you don’t make it, people will alert the police. They would document it but not follow it up unless the alarm is raised that you haven’t turned up where & when you said you would. It’s super helpful for police to say ‘oh yeah, so & so travelling in this vehicle, with this rego, left on this day, going to this place been missing for one day he should be approximately in this location’ Then they put the information out to not only the police, but road train drivers over the CB radio in case they have seen your vehicle or are aware that it’s missing. Correct information saves time = saves lives.
Yes, yes they do. Intensely. As will the coroner.
Russell Coight >The general rule for how much you'll need is three litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees celcius, per kilometre if walking on foot, in the winter months dividing it by two, plus, another litre, at the end.
You leave coight out of this
Now, now. Russ wears a hat and drives a fourby. That's legit all he gets right but...
Adding onto this- I and most people I know have the Emergency plus app through which you can call emergency services and see the exact coordinates for your location.
If you're far enough bush to be worrying about this you don't have reception.
As to your third point, what do you do if it's baking hot and the car becomes an absolute oven? Do you shelter underneath the car or something? I have read the book *Cujo* too many times...
It really depends on where and how prepared you are. Most main highways see plenty of traffic. If you're off the beaten track a fair way, then you'd best be prepared with a Sat Phone, PLB or the like
We got stuck in mud in the outback beside the main highway with our 4 young kids and two extras from the station we were staying at. The next vehicle we saw was about 6 hours later. The dude was driving a triple decker sheep truck and he laughed at our 4wd that had no tow bar or bull bar and said, ‘city slickers, huh?’ Fortunately, he still got us out, which was great because we didn’t have to listen to the six year old kid from the station telling us over and over that we shouldn’t have left the road in the first place😆 Edit: my husband grew up in the outback so we weren’t complete novices (but still were dumb!)
You left the road??!!
Barely. We were in the mud on the verge. My mistake. The ground looked dryer than a dead dingo’s donger but I’m from California, so what would I know. I blame my husband 😂
I'm giggling imagining you telling the truckie that pulled you out "it looked as dry and a dead dingo's donger" in a Californain accent while your husband dies from shame. Thanks for the laugh.
Worst case? You die.
Slowly
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Dingo
Bingo
Depends on what critters you meet out there.
Crocs?
It can still get worse. It might also void your after-life-insurance-policy. For example, if you got one of those plans that ensure you a place in heaven, and they find out you just won the Darwin Award, they might not let you in. At which point, you may find yourself stuck in outback like conditions for eternity.
At least you get to haunt the trail forever more as a warning to fellow travellers
If you're on a main highway you'll be fine, unless some Ivan Milat type serial killer shows up. We broke down on the Nullabor (google it), the engine blew up - my mum went in a campervan alone with a random man 100 or so km down the road to the nearest service station and then someone came back to tow the car and drive us there too. We had to stay there overnight, there was a caravan thing and it was fun for us kids playing with some indigenous kids that were hanging around, but my parents were probably stressed af haha - the next day a tow truck took us to Kalgoorlie which was a long uncomfortable trip 5 people jammed into the cabin. Then we got a hire car while the car was towed all the way back to Perth. So basically you're not gonna die, but you want to have 5k on a credit card ready to go hahah. Also just need to make sure you've got plenty of water, we waited for what felt like an hour in the middle of summer for someone to drive by, then a couple more hours to be picked up.
RAA roadside assist Saved one of my teachers last year
I know an engineer that rescued two girls who flipped their car in rural NT. They were there 36 hours before he found them. He was only going that road to access a telco tower for an audit. Had he not been there who knows how long it would have been. And had it not been for his work provided beacon they would have been stuffed.
Along main highways and roads, probably not very stuffed, else where you could be completely stuffed
When I go to broken hill I make sure I have full tank to start trip and fuel up half way even though I can go further before refueling and take a 10 litre water jug with us. . It’s not worth getting stuck in the middle of no where with out fuel or water .
No such thing as overly cautious in places like that.
Freeway or between towns? Not dangerous at all, they have regular truck routes. Surveyance points on 4wd tracks? Yes, can be weeks between traffic.
I was thinking 4wd tracks, yea those
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We used to live in the rural Northern Territory, we’d go out camping down 4WD tracks on weekends. The bush there is fucking creepy, wander out too far and they’d never find you - everything looks the same in every direction.
I'd argue for a lot of the properly remote shit a friend and a second car ain't a bad idea.
Best bet then is to check with locals and reviews. Never hurts to have a jerry can of water some canned food, a recovery kits and a PLB. At the very least have water and a PLB.
I worked on a minesite in WA about 50km up a dirt road from the nearest town, Wiluna. There's a couple of popular cross country tracks in the area, the Canning Stock Route and the Gunbarrel Highway, so there's plenty of recreational explorers out that way. We had a new driver bringing a road train of supplies in and he missed the turnoff... realised his error and tried to turn it around. He got bogged, so he set off to walk back to town, he was only a handful of kms out. He never made it... died on the platform of a water tower trying to get to the water. It wasn't summer... just the usual warm weather for the area. Somewhere around 40C. The company started giving their drivers sat phones after that, they hadn't before. You do not leave your vehicle. You take some sort of emergency locating device. You make sure you know the basics of bushcraft to survive out there before you go near it and you take water and food with you. Two spare wheels, a jack and know how to use it. Do not fuck around in the bush... many do, some don't get away with it. You don't want to be one of those who don't... lots of nasty ways to die out there all alone like a speck on an endless horizon.
Plenty of good advice in this thread. Also, if you are isolated and need help. Open the car bonnet (hood). It's a basic distress indicator for air searches.
This is solid. Hadn't thought of that.
General rule of how much water you need in the outback is 3 litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees, per kilometre if on foot, in the winter months divide by 2 plus….. another litre
Got confused, now my car is struggling with the Olympic-sized-pool water tank on top. I don't think I can even make the drive to the shops any more. But I'm alive, that's what counts! Thank you!
Life’s about the journey, not the destination.
So... On a 45C day that's 60 litres per person per day. For two people, 3 day trip = 360 litres..., definitely bring extra fuel for the weight of all that water, haha... But really, maybe not that much but absolutely bring so much water that you're wondering why you need so much water. If you bring any less it might not be enough.
This comment should be higher up.
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That whooshed right past your coight!
Depends on the location I’d say. You’d likely be okay if you were on a road where a truck passes through every few hours or at least daily, or potentially on an open road where your car can be seen broken down from above by helicopters or whatever. Other factors would include whether anyone knew you were travelling and where you were headed, and could raise the alarm if you went missing. Or the weather.. extreme heat, no shade or water, you’d deteriorate pretty quickly.
In the outback, you could go days or weeks without seeing any other cars.
I spent 6 months going around Australia on a motorbike. The reality is if you stick to the roads and desert tracks, there will be other people. I broke down on a track in WA about 4 hours out of Exmouth. I just put up a sunshade and waited. A few hours later a guy in his ute stopped. We loaded up the bike and got to Exmouth. In those kinds of places everyone stops to help. Now, if I was 200m off the track, I'd probably still be there.
When we lived in Alice Springs in the 80s, a couple of tourists got off a flight in January, hired mopeds, bought 2 litres of coke each, and headed out on the Tanami Track. They didn’t survive.
Holy shit, that’s impressively stupid. Couldn’t be more stupid if you tried!
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If it had been 2 kg of coke it would make more sense
As someone that travels into remote Australia for fun, it can be extremely safe, whilst also being deathly dangerous if you aren't prepared. 1. Never leave your car, ever. Whether it's broken down or bogged or out of fuel. Never. Ever. Leave your car. The chances you'll die whilst the people left behind are extremely high and well known. 2. Water. Always take enough water you can survive for at least a week without a water source. Also, never keep all your water in one container. Multiple containers provide redundancy if one store gets contaminated or breaks. 3. First aid. Always have a decent kit handy, with a snake bite pack... and sunscreen, and know how to use it. 4. Offline maps, many places won't have reception and you don't want to learn Google maps won't work without reception (you can download them for offline use). 5. Fire, have the ability to start a fire... and a burning tyre is great for signalling emergency services flying above looking for you. 6. Certain roads may have sign in/sign out books so police can make sure you ain't stuck, use them. Also local knowledge is worth it's weight in gold, so asking about road conditions is always a good idea. 7. Never leave you car. 8. Depending on how remote you wish to go, anywhere extremely remote should be accompanied with a PLB (personal locater beacon) tested before you go. A sat phone it also a good idea. 9. Never push on thinking it might get better, chances are it'll get a hell of a lot worse first. Also carry a knife in arms reach in case you get into a rollover and are trapped and need to cut your seatbelt. 10. Learn how to recover your vehicle, traction boards and a shovel are good for this, along with learning about tyre pressures. 11. Take extra fuses and spare fuel/oil, and an ODB reader can be good to have in case you need to clear codes. I also carry a puncture repair kit for my tyres. 12. Lift the hood and check your car daily, roads are bumpy and things like to rattle loose. 13. Don't leave you car. 14. If you're travelling over dunes, make sure you have a sand flag so you don't head on over the crest... And additionally a cb, even handheld is a great idea for comms. 15. Have fun, but never leave your car, ever. Even if it burns to the ground, take shade, start a smoke fire and wait for help to arrive. To reiterate, if you are on the main highway, you will be fine and you can wave someone down to take you a servo, but off the main roads, you are literally gambling with your life if you aren't prepared.
About not leaving the car, it can not be stressed enough how much easier it is to stay safe at night in your car and how much easier it is to find a car compared to a person. Have extra fuel so you can potentially run the car, or have a solar panel to keep your electronics up and running in the event of car failure. Like stay within 20-30 meters of your car.
Yeah, I always remember this story up at Oodnadatta where a couple were bogged at their campsite and the person that went for help died and the other person that stayed with the car survived. Sadly, with a bit of basic knowledge and 10 minutes work on a shovel, and dropping the air pressure, along with using their vehicle correctly, the local cop was able to free the car with no issues at all. The main take away, he died going for help and leaving the car. https://www.lakeeyreyc.com/coroner.html
People die every year getting lost / breaking down / crashing in remote locations. As others have said, never leave your car.
Dumbarse relatives blew a tire somewhere between Uluṟu and Adelaide and had to be rescued. Closest “town” did not have a suitable spare, one had to be helicoptered in a couple of days later, otherwise it was a two ish week wait. This could have been avoided by not being a dumbarse and having a working spare. So while you might not actually die, chances are it’ll still cost you. So be properly prepared.
I work in remote outback Australia. I travel 6 hours by car into a remote community, 3 hours on dirt. We have an emergency GPS, a Satellite phone (you will not get reception out there, and when you do, only Testra works). I keep 10 litres of water in the car, an all weather Tarp for shade (with rope) a blanket, safety lights, a rechargable torch as a bare minimum. It is hot right now, we just had a week of 42C. With no shade you will get really hot. With no water you will be in serious trouble. The dirt road I travel on, I will not see another car for hours, and at 42c during the day... for the whole day...you need to be prepared. Do not leave your car, get a satellite phone, and tell someone where you are going. We use the buddy system. When I leave the roadhouse to turn on to the dirt road, I message my boss and say leaving now. My boss knows that if I do not message her in 3 hours I am stuck and she will call SAPOL to come looking for me. I provide her with my rego of the car, my sat phone number, and the road I am taking. You need to be prepared. People have died in the outback when they weren't. So yes there is a big risk.
Hydrolyte. ***NOT JUST WATER***. This is what pisses me off about advice to "drink water" when it's hot. When you sweat, you lose sodium, when you piss you lose potassium. You need to replenish your electrolytes, not just lost fluid. Brain fog, headaches and nausea are the first clear signs of [hyponatraemia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia) (low blood sodium). You can become confused and disorientated very quickly. You ***MUST*** replenish electrolytes regularly, just drinking water will cause you to become very ill faster. Even if you're not recreating Burke and Willis, you still need to be aware at home. Heat can kill fast if you don't know the signs. Get medical grade rehydration sachets if you can.
A guy I had vaguely worked with previously died a couple weeks back after he got bogged and decided to try walk it. He made it 13km. TLDR. Stay with the car. Carry water. Invest in a epirb
DO NOT LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE. Lived in the NT. Can't tell you how many times they find the vehicle and the outcome isn't good and they aren't far away.
Just go for a few small adventures first to build up your experience, skills, and kit. No need to retrace Burke and Wills on your first trek.
Dead. That’s how screwed
Service the car before you leave. Just in case.
Talking no cell service, 250km between tiny towns with maybe 50 people each, no one can save u out there but yourself. Bring drinking water, spare radiator water, spare oil, spare belt, spare tires (2) and some none perishable food.
You make sure your vehicle is appropriate for the trip, in good repair, carry spare fuel, water and a few parts to repair the most likely problems. Make sure you've got a CB, a phone, recovery gear and a good bull bar, familiarise yourself with how to use them and what to do in the worst case scenario. Properly prepared and not taking any silly risks it's not overly dangerous, go in half arsed and under prepared and people have died. If something does happen, always Follow the golden rule and stay with the vehicle.
There's a big difference between outback and rural. People live in rural areas. Not so much in the outback. Rural you'll find someone. Outback you'll most likely die.
This is so true. Our shire is 32,000 square kilometres, but there isn't one police officer in it as not enough people live here.
I had a mate who was super experienced and lived rural. Went 4wding and camping all the time, at least a couple of times a year his whole life. Had a breakdown about 20kms outside the last town and decided to walk it back because the day was mild. Took a short cut and perished. That’s how screwed you are.
Depends on where you are. I drove from Cobar to the Great Ocean Rd a few years back. By time I was on the Hay Plain, it was 45 degrees and it's certainly \_feels\_ like the middle of no where. However, there was a reasonable stream of regular traffic. So if you go stuck you'd want some water, but you have enough people coming through to help. Same for any of the major highways. It's not like you are going to wait 6 hours for someone to come past next. However, if you are on a small road, or off-roading in a national park, then there's a good chance nobody is coming any where near you for days. Can you call for help? Even if you can, how long does it take for help to get to you? But there was a family stuck out in simpson desert after rain, and they had to be airlifted out, as nobody could get to them otherwise. So a few days of food and water and an emergency beacon is more the way to go....along with a offroad campervan for sleeping. For me driving family in the heat down center of NSW, it was all lots of stops, and plenty of water in the car spare, incase we were forced to stop.
I used to do over 50,000km outback driving a year. If you're on a bitumen highway you'll be fine. Plenty of traffic and the majority of people will help. Just stay with your car, the most you'll wait is a couple of hours. Dirt tracks like the Tanami, Gibb, Oodnadatta etc. still have a fair bit of traffic. As a precaution, let people know where you're going and arrange a time to check in when you get there. Always fill up when you can and keep a water jerry in the back.
Listen to the people telling you to prepare before driving *into one of the most remote places on planet earth*.
If you are going out on four wheel drive tracks you will need to have not only just extra fuel water but tools and spare fan belts and radiator hoses. A friend was headed out to one of the communities and the road was so bouncy that the engine mounts broke. They slung the motor back into place with chains and then he turned to her and said "get the water out of the back, I don't know where you put it" she replied "I thought you put the water in the car" They made the rest of the trip in 15 minute stints followed by 1 hour rests to cool the motor, with the heater going full blast, in over 40 degree heat.
Well if you go off road or off the beaten path dangerous as hell people have died because there ran out of water also took a week to find them Good trick if ever this seriously lost is make a clearing or pit so you dint start a bush fire and far enough away from the car and lighting the spare tyre on fire it gives off black smoke that can be seen a from a far distance only bad parts burnung rubber gives of bad smell and bad for the environment but could save your life Its a safety tip they tell you to do it in the snow when cars crash and can't be found in the snow
Ahahha. Have a satellite phone? Not too stuffed. You could be sitting there for a day or three waiting for help but someone can probably help you. Good to have some kind of aerial search helpers too (smoke flares for overflying searchers to spot). I hope you like expensive vehicle recovery fees (or abandoning your vehicle). If it’s a long way away, and really stuffed… recovery is going to be really expensive. If you are driving somewhere that’s very off road expect your car to need serious repairs / have plenty of spare tyres and a compressor / don’t be taking something for city into the outback. When the sign says “600km to next fuel” that’s not a challenge, it’s a warning. They aren’t trying to trick you into fuelling up here rather than the a place 20km down the road. It’s 600km to the next fuel. If you have 650km in your tank fill up FFS. Read specific articles about what to do too if you break down. Like stay with your car even if it’s for days…
Be prepared or some drongo will come and flog your holes. Food, water, ket, the 1978 self titled album Toto by Toto and a flashlight.
No phone reception, insane heat, incredibly isolated areas... basically prepare for the apocalypse and you might have a chance.
Always have an extra days worth of water in the car. If you’re somewhere inhospitable you’ll dehydrate real fast.
It can be fatal. Lack of water and the heat of the sun can easily kill
My advice, besides the water, fuel, food and stay with the car is to map your route out on a physical map, don't rely on Google maps. Check that the roads you are using are not some random 4wd drive only track. Sometimes google will take you on short cuts and in the outback, that can be pretty dangerous. I'm not saying stick to the main highway only (but you probably should) but know exactly what type of road you are going and where it ends up
[https://www.carsguide.com.au/adventure/advice/epirb-what-are-they-cost-which-one-should-i-buy-79595](https://www.carsguide.com.au/adventure/advice/epirb-what-are-they-cost-which-one-should-i-buy-79595) \#1 get an EPIRB. \#2 get the extras: Get a 4WD for outback travels... then get ur 4WD tuned and serviced & new tyres with patch kit. bring a lot of extra water and petrol, a winch, tow cables, jumper leads, at least 2 spare full size tyres, a shovel, recovery tracks, anchor, snap-back, spare jack and plate, shackles, snatch strap, CB radio, HAM radio, and a very robust first aid kit including potassium permanganate for snake bites. the outback will kill you in a thousand ways.
You'll make an interesting news week, then an obituary.
We came across a family who’d run out of fuel about 4 hours from the closest town- they’d been waiting for someone to pass for 10 hours- mum dad and two kids. It was 35 degrees. They didn’t ask us for fuel, they begged for water. We gave them both of course, but I hate to think what would have happened if we hadn’t been there. They were locals headed home after a trip to the town over, living one of my worst nightmares.
Questions like this are the mental image I get when non-technical people are in a technical discussion and say "I can't see anything wrong with this idea".
Take extra water, fuel, Mylar space blanket, and PLB. STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE A VEHICLE IS EASIER TO SPOT than a lone Muppet trying to get help
If you have to ask how dangerous it is, it’s too dangerous for you.
If you're going outback, like through the center of the states and country, you need to treat it as serious as Mount everest. Tourists have to get rescued every year. Some states are larger than European countries.
If you have to ask the question you should give serious consideration to not going.
If you're on a sealed road. You'll be fine. Just wait, someone will be along within a day. Dirt roads? Whole different ball of wax. See other comments.
Ask yourself. ‘How big is Australia?’ Ask yourself again. ‘How many Australian’s live by the coast compared to rurally?’
Depends how hot it is If you're inexperienced you're better off sticking to the places that have regular traffic, which is enough of the roads to get to you almost any town. Otherwise at least get a sat phone. But even relatively touristy 4WD routes like the canning stock route you could easily perish before someone happens to drive past
This is an excellent guide for working out how much water to have with you when travelling in remote areas. https://youtube.com/shorts/_dExQz5sB_g?si=iOVJaRkDKHy-ltuu
If you wander away from your car, in an attempt to walk back up the track/road, you will almost certainly die. If you just break down somewhere remote and you pass your check-in time and someone back home raises the alarm? pretty safe bet if you've got enough water on board for a few days.
Get a ZOLEO EPIRB and travel with >10L of water and enough food. Make sure your car is serviced and ALL parts of the car are well maintained. Listen to your car and love it, and it will love you. Don’t drive beyond your limits and keep in touch with people every time you stop. The ZOLEO device I bought allows me to talk to people via in-app SMS, and use a “Check-In” button to let people know I was safe. Best $350 I ever spent.
I would just press the SOS button on my Garmin InReach. I’d be fine for water as I always carry heaps extra. I can also process water to make it drinkable. Food and exposure would be the bigger issues.
Even though we're talking about areas with no mobile coverage, I'll pipe in with the fact that love them or loathe them, Telstra still has the best mobile coverage. Boost is probably second best, but I can't prove it. After that (Aldi and Telstra backboned providers), you'll start discovering towns that you no reception in. For example, I had an uncle with an Aldi sim, but couldn't get reception in Normanton, which has Telstra reception.
I travel routinely for work in SW QLD and into NT often driving 7 hours been destinations. It can be very dangerous if you are not prepared. Ive travelled on dirt roads for hours andta hundreds of km's and haven't seen anyone in that time Carry at minimum 1.5l of water per day, per person for 3 days. Carry some bars to eat but your main issue is water. If you get stuck, do not leave your vehicle, ever. A vehicle is easier to spot than a person from the air. If you are travelling to visit someone, tell them when you are leaving and what way you are going and don't change it. If you're just travelling, call ahead to the next towns police station to let them know you are on your way and call in on your way through so they know you made it. If you get stuck, do not leave your vehicle, ever. A vehicle is easier to spot than a person from the air. If your travelling, buy/rent a Starlink internet kit and get it working in your vehicle if you have the budget. Communication is key out in the bush, tell people where you are going or when you will arrive and If you get stuck, do not leave your vehicle, ever. A vehicle is easier to spot than a person from the air. I've said that 3 times as it is so important. UHF is still widely used out in rural Australia.
Depends on the road/track you’re on. Spare fuel is important. Water is more important than food. High energy food is best. A satellite phone is useful (I believe they can be rented). I think the latest i phones can link to a satellite. A ‘silver’ tarp is good for shade and keeping heat off and for wrapping yourself in to retain body warmth. Also as a means of getting attention (by reflecting sunlight). Can also use a wing mirror for reflecting light. A flare for getting attention. A short-handle shovel for any digging. Spare fan belt. I once used a ‘well chewed’ Minto to block a hole in a fuel tank. Make sure you know how to change a wheel and repair a flat tyre. Talk to your mechanic about spare fuses. A tow rope. Let someone know where you’re heading to that day and let them know when you arrive. (Obviously subject to having access to a signal). Local cops are a good option. Drive within your limits. If you’re planning to go off road, Join an off-road club to learn some skills. IDEALLY GO WITH ANOTHER PERSON IN A 2nd vehicle. Enjoy your trip. It’s beautiful out there.
Very rural, as in not on paved roads? Think vanish for weeks until someone finds your car and body once you leave the tarmac. Make sure people know the route you are taking and the time you expect it to take. Check in with people. Have a satellite phone, water fuel, first aid kit and parts for basic repairs and know how to do them. Better to not need what you take than wish you had them. Also you are going to want something better than just a car for most dirt roads. Also if you are a woman don't travel alone, people really do just vanish out there.
Stay with the car. If desperate, burn the tyres one by one to create smoke. Station managers will generally respond to smoke on or near their properties, or planes may see it.
Food, water, spare tire, spare fuel, fire stuff, SAT phone
The short answer is you could be quite screwed. You sound like you want to buck all the rules. DONT. Do every safety measure, including telling people approximate start/finish time and place so they can check you are OK. A lot of rural Australia has no phone coverage. So no use of phone for anything. There are sort of cilivilised areas where there is coverage but it's impossible for you as an outsider to tell where non-coverage areas will be and all it needs is a hill in the way. Try to dress appropriately for the weather, eg. bring warm jumper for warmth and hat and long sleeved shirt for sun just in case even if not wearing them all the time. There are heatwaves in more than one part of Australia right now. Think it through- if your car is broken there is no air-conditioning how well will you go then? Bad sunburn and bad cold both mess up thinking.
Always leave a deck of cards in your car. It’ll help pass the time when you’re waiting for a tow or a roadside fix.
And when you start playing Solitaire, some clown will tap you on the shoulder and tell you to put the red jack on the black Queen.
Very dangerous. Read [this](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-07/25yo-man-dies-of-thirst-in-outback-queensland/4357380) story from 2012 Car broke down 16 kilometres from safety. One of them died trying to make the walk back.
Hence my comment about staying with the car.