Just sharing...
The Gist:
Three South Korean tourists whose trust in their Ford Falcon’s GPS got them
stuck in a gully in southeast Queensland’s Cordalba State Forest, near Childers.
The Link:
http://ht.ly/1IuwN
For those too lazy to click, The Article:
GPS-Trusting Tourists Rescued From Australian Forest
AUSTRALIA, TRAVEL NEWS — BY DAVID CHALK ON MAY 7, 2010 AT 4:25 PM
“A TIP for tourists: if your GPS system leads you into a forest, forces you to
unlock gates and move rocks blocking the road, chances are something is amiss.”
Thus begins the Courier Mail story of three South Korean tourists whose trust
in their Ford Falcon’s GPS got them stuck in a gully in southeast Queensland’s
Cordalba State Forest, near Childers.
Attempting to drive from Brisbane to Rockhampton (about a nine hour drive
according to Google Maps), the tourists followed GPS instructions onto gravel
roads, then dirt roads, then through a couple of gates. They passed danger
signs (which since they didn’t speak English they may not have understood), and
they moved rocks blocking one road. By the time their car got stuck in the
gully they were in an isolated part of the forest that was nearly inaccessible.
After an unsuccessful attempt to free their car (and its awesome GPS), they
walked several kilometers through the forest trying to get cell phone
reception. They were finally able to make an emergency call to Bundaberg
police at 1am. After some initial difficulties finding a translator,
authorities were on their way, eventually finding the stranded tourists more
than six hours later.
“We had an approximate GPS location for them, but it was in an area that was
extremely difficult to get into — practically inaccessible — and we couldn’t
find them,” said Childers Police officer in charge Sergeant Geoff Fay.
Sgt Fay added that the South Korean tourists were not the first group in the
area that followed their GPS into a situation requiring rescuing. About a
month earlier GPS-following backbackers from Bundaberg had gotten lost in the
same forest. Sgt. Fay’s advice was similar to the Courier Mail’s:
People need to know how to use their GPS and navigation systems. They also need
to use their self-preservation skills, and turn back if something looks wrong
or if signs don’t match what appears on their GPS.
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