Posted on 02/21/2024 7:11:56 AM PST by george76
Two German tourists became lost in their four-wheel-drive vehicle in a remote part of Cape York after trusting Google Maps. They ended up having to camp for about a week before walking out to safety. What's next?: The pair are safe, but local rangers say it could have been so much worse and are warning people to take care. Two young men are lucky to be alive after walking for several days in the Cape York wilderness when their car became bogged after they followed Google Maps directions.
German tourists Philipp Maier and Marcel Schoene left Cairns on February 4 and headed off to travel through Cape York in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
They told Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers they had been following the directions on Google Maps on their way to Bamaga.
Google Maps told them to enter Oyala Thumotang National Park through a dirt track known as Langi Track, which leads to the old Archers Crossing.
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On February 6, their vehicle became bogged and without any phone service they became stuck.
The pair camped for about a week before attempting to walk to Archer River and then Coen, which took several days.
Mr Maier said he and his fellow traveller had been following Google's directions.
"In Coen, Google Maps said we should go to the national park right away, and we thought just do it because maybe the main road is closed because of a high river," he said.
He said they drove through the national park for 50 to 60km before they became stuck.
"The roads were quite good because the weather was quite dry for the past few days and the creeks were knee-high, maybe," Mr Maier said.
"Where we got stuck, it looked really dry. The surface was dry, but under the surface it was really wet and muddy."
He said their car became stuck in a hole.
"[It was] almost impossible to get out of there," he said.
The men said they initially tried to walk to Archer River because it was closer, but when they reached the river the water was too high to cross.
Mr Schoene said they tried to cross over the river on a fallen tree.
"We went on the fallen tree to come over the other side, then at the night we had to sleep there and it started to rain and we couldn't go further up," he said.
He said the pair built a shelter out of wood in the landscape.
"It wasn't very good, it wasn't very safe," he said.
Mr Maier and Mr Schoene said they had several wildlife encounters including a crocodile and a snake, a lot of spiders, as well as several cows and wild pigs.
Mr Maier said they mostly walked during the early mornings, stopping during the heat of the day, before continuing until late at night.
Hard decision to start walking Mr Schoene said the decision to leave their car was hard.
"It was a very bad feeling, very weird," he said. "But after 10–20 kilometres, we never thought about it."
He said they walked for about 22 hours, through rain, sleeping on the road at night and using a drone to look for nearby roads.
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"We had our backpacks with us, like 12 kilos on the back, so all the important stuff we had with us," he said.
The pair spoke with rangers after their ordeal and were unharmed but did have lessons they would take with them.
"Never trust Google Maps on your own," Mr Schoene said.
Mr Maier said it was a happy ending but a difficult few days.
"It was a good experience but it was a really hard experience. I don't want to live this week another time," he said.
Ranger in charge Roger James said QPWS and a local mechanic helped recover the vehicle, but the situation could have been a lot worse.
"These men ended up on foot in oppressive conditions and although they had supplies and a shelter for sleeping, they are extremely lucky to be alive," he said.
"In this case, we were quite lucky we were recovering a vehicle, not bodies, but it could have been much different."
He said if the men had not been as young, fit, prepared and motivated, it could have ended tragically.
"These men tried crossing a river on a fallen log, endured intense heat and storms, encountered cattle, pigs, and crocodiles and had to sleep in the bush."
He said it was not the first time tourists had been sent the wrong way through the national park by Google Maps.
"We've got no idea why this is happening, there aren't even any crossings on the Archer River," he said.
Google Maps problems In December, a frustrated council in Western Australia erected signs warning drivers against using Google Maps after GPS-based directions repeatedly sent travellers down unsafe roads.
And in November, landowner Graham Anderson invented his own road sign to direct travellers regularly getting lost near his property at Isla, about four hours' drive west of Bundaberg.
He discovered drivers were following Google Maps across his cattle property in search of the spectacular Isla Gorge, which had an entrance almost 20 kilometres further along the Leichhardt Highway.
Using any of the popular navigation apps in an area with regular roads is fine.
Using any of them to navigate the Australian outback is idiotic.
No sh*t.
Woman’s home demolished after Google Maps error.. Google Maps provided wrong directions.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3414131/posts
Their is only one highway on their route. I don’t believe their story.
There is a funny meme of someone following Google Maps off a cliff. Google Maps is great for the most part. But you have to use common sense if you look around and are getting further away from you destination in more and more remote setting.
“Prepared”
Heading into the bush without long sturdy ropes and a couple of hi-lift jacks? That’s not prepared.
Glad they had enough battery life left to power their drone. They pared their backpack weight down to the essentials and could carry a drone? I could see where it would be useful looking for roads.
Many years ago I was driving between two large US cities. It was my first such drive, so I followed a navigation app.
It started out okay. But after a few turns, four lane roads became two lane roads. The next thing you know, I’m driving through the deep woods on this cinder road. By dumb luck I came upon a paved road, and got to my destination.
It turns out that the app was set to “shortest distance”, not “best route”.
My brother said next time take my girlfriend with me. She would demand that we stop and ask for directions, long before we actually got lost. Good advice there.
“Recalculating.....”
Opinionated Blowhard wrote: “There is a funny meme of someone following Google Maps off a cliff.”
At Fort Benning on the Land Navigation Course before Google Maps/GPS, in every class there were a few who if given a compass azimuth and a distance would follow the azimuth blindly even if it meant swimming a lake. The smart guys would just walk around the lake.
My son was in Greece and went to visit Aristotles grave, got within about a mile and google maps went out, he went a bit further and the trail split, he turned around and went back without seeing it.
Turn off your Brain and follow Google Maps
A couple of years ago, I was cutting through some countryside, trying to get to a small courthouse to do some boundary research. I was using Google Maps & it took me off the paved road & on to a road that quickly deteriorated from gravel to dirt to grass. At first, I thought the gravel was a short cut, but quickly realized I was going to be ‘in trouble’ if I kept going. Fortunately, I found a spot where I could turn around and get out of what was rapidly becoming a bad situation. Since that time, I don’t trust Google Maps.
Just last year, GM told me to turn on a road that was several miles away from the road/driveway I needed to be on. Again, as soon as I turned, it didn’t look right & I stopped immediately & got on the map, scrolled around until I could figure out where I was & where I needed to go. “Main” roads are ok, but if getting off on any smaller roads, just stay sharp & if your spidey sense kicks in, stop & manually check the map.
There first mistake was vacationing in New York.
In this day and age, only an idiot has an experience like this. No emergency beacon? They are cheap and readily available. In most countries you can rent them.
Google Maps sent 18 wheeler trucks and Greyhound bus up jeep roads..
GPS thought they were in Australia. You can see where that would be confusing.
Well, at least they had each other. A whole lot of buggery going on out there.
Remember the Oriental software brainiac from SF that followed his GPS ip an Oregon logging road, snd got stuck? His wife and kid survived, by staying put. He went off for help in winter weather.
I rarely used gps in my trucking career. Road atlas (trucker version), state maps (free at state rest areas), and city maps did the job for me. When google earth came along, I would confirm my route, or look to see if I could confirm a re-route ‘through the woods’ to, for instance, dodge a city at rush hour.
I’ve seen plenty of CDL drivers backing out of deadend streets or roads with low overpasses because the gps map was inaccurate, or lacking vital information.
I’ve met a lot of drivers that would be lost without gps. No sense of direction. They don’t know clues like mold on the north side of buildings, position of the sun or moon, let alone just knowing the route in advance.
In my pre-trip planning (into unfamiliar areas), I would write the route and street names/numbers down on a ‘cheat-sheet’, and have it clipped to the dash. The CB is also a big help in strange areas, where local truckers can give advice.
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