Shortcut nearly kills honeymooners
By Rebecca Falconer
October 12, 2004
A FRENCH couple's honeymoon turned to a nightmare when they took a shortcut through the Central Australian bush.
And the decision, based on a route in a map and guidebook they had been following, almost cost them their lives.
If not for a lucky encounter with an
Alice Springs couple who were
camping by a remote
swimming hole, the pair might never have been found.
Aymeric and Adeline LeFranc were on the home stretch of a four-day self-drive tour of
Glen Helen, Kings Canyon and Uluru when they became lost on the way back to
Alice Springs.
Their guidebook and French map both indicated a
well-defined dirt road from
Ernest Giles Rd through the
Finke Gorge National Park to
Hermannsburg.
But instead of heading north to
Hermannsburg, the pair headed northeast toward the abandoned Stuart's
Well track - and became heavily bogged.
Thirty-six hours later they were running out of food and
water and Mrs LeFranc walked off to find help.
Mr LeFranc stayed with the car.
By sheer luck Mrs LeFranc found
Boggy Hole.
But there was nobody at
the spot and Mrs LeFranc backtracked the 18km to the vehicle.
The following morning - 2 days after becoming stranded - the couple headed out to
Boggy Hole again with the last of their
water.
Late on the morning of September 30, they were found by Dave Tolley and girlfriend Amy Hoben. The
Alice Springs duo had been
camping at
Boggy Hole.
With the help of their saviours and six hours of digging and winching, Mr and Mrs Le Franc were safely back in
Alice Springs.
Director of Direct 4WD Awareness Jol Fleming said every 4WD should have a step-by-step guide of how to handle such vehicles in the glove box.
Northern Territory News