'Competent four wheel drivers' indeed- Madigan Line

That is asking for trouble was this in summer.Scary

The article about the 2 walkers doing Madigan was good, but the diatribe about the 2 "lost" Hilux's in the magazine was pretty ordinary, and particularly the 2nd article in the same mag about the same "lost" Hilux's.

Sure they were lost, sure they were under prepared and under resourced for where they were, but they didn't plan to be there or do that particular route.....it happened because they went north instead of south at Poeppels Corner...and tried to get unlost ....by getting more lost...it happpens.

I am sure they are lucky, appreciated the assistance, and have learnt from it...but did it really need two digs in the 1 magazine edition.

ocean crossings have been made with only a compass and a sextant. Whats your point ? one does not need a gps or HF radio or satphone. How smart to have all this ?! Capitalising from personal mistake or suffering others to promote a product is a very low from of advertising.

have fun
gmd

These guys finally turned up here a couple of days after the Madigan line heart foundation walkers came across them.

We had been put on alert to look out for them by VKS in Port Augusta, if they hadn't turned up when they did a full search was being organised by the SA police, rangers etc..

These guys (Two brothers & one of there sons) went north instead of south/west at Poepple cnr after leaving the Birdsville races.

If they hadn't been set on a course to get them out of the North Simpson then no one would have known where they had disappeared to.

Apart from anything else they are lucky to be alive!

Shouldn't be out there if you can't tell the difference between north and south.

Were they really lost??? or just making up a story.

With all due respect to people that were involved first hand, I'm on the fence with this.... I read the story with interest, and appreciate that the two Hiluxes had simply made an error of judgement that saw them rather "lost". I don't have the copy of the mag right here with me, but if I remember correctly, they were low on fuel, but had plenty of water and food. So they were prepared at least a little! Yes, they were in the wrong place, but we've all done that at some stage, I know I have.... ;-))...Sometimes being lost can give you an adventure you otherwise may not have had. No GPS?? Well, GPS are very handy IMHO, but not a necessity for traveling. No (or out-of-date... I forget) maps?? Well, that's a bit daft, isn't it?? They probably ARE lucky that they found the walkers group , but the main thing is that they did find them. Only they (the walking group) can answer whether or not they were inconvenienced by it, after all, they were there anyway weren't they? They didn't have to go out of their way to find them at all..... :-)) And the people at Mt Dare were "hostile" towards them, but were they inconvenienced? Why "hostile" anyway?

And the bit about competent 4WD'ers???.... well, they probably are. Competent map readers?? Maybe not... sounds like they need some tuition... Hopefully next time they head out there they'll be better organized!

As far as the mag goes, I enjoyed the story on the ladies walking across the Madigan Line, but the letter on page 7 leaves a lot to be desired... I realize that the letter-writer was involved 1st hand with this, but to carry the "How stupid can some travellers be" heading is a bit much. There was a time when NONE of us knew it all, and we all learn by different methods.

There is an opportunity for both parties to learn something from this.

Just my opinion people, if you don't agree with it, that's fine!!

Cheers

Brian

I'd be interested to see how many would spring to their defence if they had been similarly unprepared foreign tourists in a Britz camper?

I thought the article was very poorly written. It is consistent with the overall standard of that magazine.

The author of that article implied he was a "legend" for finding these people because he was so well prepared............but he to become lost near the Eyre Creek and had to call for help and had both the Qld Police & Park Ranger out in the Desert guiding them back ..........mmmmmmm!!!!!?????

I feel sorry for the "hilux" drivers, as we have not heard their side of the story?

Although, I am very well prepared when I head into the Desert, I would never through stones at some else's misfortune, because I may need some assistance one day and would hate to have been taken advantage of and misquoted in the media just to fuel some one else's ego.


Jack

Yeah I agree with you Bob.

How stupid can people be. Lucky they came across the walkers or else it could have been a certain tragedy. Remeber the two blokes in the old Landy who set out from Cotton Creek(their last stop) to take a short cut to Halls Creek. They never made it.

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Cheers

This incident highlights how a lack of base skills or poor trip preparation can lead to disaster just from a simple mistake like taking a wrong turn. While many here are going what a pack of nongs they were I'd put up to 10% of all people crossing the Simpson in the same class being equal if not less prepared & it's just circumstance, luck, or fellow travellers helping out that gets them through. The advent of trek notes, gps track logs & endless articles makes these runs look so simple even to a novice particually when coupled with poor advice from others who say how easy it was. Many today take on the big treks without 1st serving their apprenticeship learning the basics of navigation, 1st aid, offroad driving, recovery & mechanics etc. "Unbelievable!!!" I suppose in that light the result shouldn't be that unexpected. Even the crew that rescued them becoming lost to the point of requiring outside assitance begs the question "Were they even prepared enough for the Madigan?"
The VKS newsletter did seem to bag out on the Hilux pair a little more than they do with their own members who in previous articles have been guilty of equally questionable decisions & whom I'd include in that illprepared 10% despite fitting a HF :-)
Cheers Craig.............

Thing I found interesting about the VKS article was the list of "traps" for those undertaking the journey, in particular this one:

“The camp markers were laid out using a Magellan GPS. We had one Magellan and three Garmin GPS’s. The Magellan was almost spot on whereas the Garmin’s were consistently about 400 metres out.”

Now ..without knowing the full circumstances, details of what exact gps units were involved, and excluding the possibility that the writer is sponsored by Magellan the comment gives me the impression they had the Garmin units set to a different datum to the Magellan. Under normal circumstances there would be negligible difference between these two GPS brands i.e. using a Garmin is not a "trap" when travelling the Madigan Line (or anywhere else), though using the wrong datum could be.

Cheers
Greg

PS - No Im not sponsered by Garmin:)