The Great Australian Roadtrip is considered a rite of passage. You’ve got a broad experience base in the outdoors, so it seemed a foregone conclusion that you and your best mate would take a few months to travel the country, trying to fit in as much as possible before the cash runs out.
Packed into your old four-wheel-drive, you thought you were well supplied for the most dangerous leg of the journey – a long-haul drive on a barren desert road. Unfortunately, a few breakdowns have since led to delays of about one day, but you’ve managed to keep the old workhorse going. That is, you managed to keep it going until it dies once more and no amount of tinkering gets the engine to turn over.
You have enough water in the jerry cans to last a few days at least – maybe a week if you’re lucky – but then what? Suddenly the enormity of the situation begins to rise in your chest.
Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Tanami, Simpson, Gibson – the list of Australian deserts goes on. Each uniquely beautiful in their own right, and each positively fatal when visitors fail to respect them.
All told, our country’s deserts and arid regions make up nearly 35 percent of the landmass and are so sparsely populated that the many people who go missing in them perish long before catching sight of another person.
Survival expert Cyril Delafosse-Guiramand has direct experience of getting into trouble in arid environments. Photo: Supplied.
But Cyril Delafosse-Guiramand, a survival expert and operator of Survival Encyclopedia & Training and No Limit Journeys, believes that good preparation, experience and a touch of common sense can go a long way in helping to preserve lives in these situations. He’s even been in several close-call, arid-environment situations himself, although both were in Asia, rather than in Australia.
“The first situation occurred while trekking alone in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia,” he says. “It was extremely cold and I’d been pushing hard to reach Mongolian/China border. I was beginning to drift in and out of consciousness. All I knew was there was a road some 30-40 kilometres to the east and at some point my survival instinct must have kicked in because I made a sharp, 90-degree turn in that direction and began heading for the road.”
At least, that’s what the French-born, Canberra-based survival expert thinks happened. Due to a combination of dehydration and lack of sustenance his memory seems to have been offline for a period of some 24 hours.
“The next memory I had was of someone picking me up off the side of the road. Luckily my GPS unit was still running otherwise I’d have no idea how I’d gotten there.”
In the second scenario, Delafosse-Guiramand found himself in trouble while hiking through the Himalayas towards Afghanistan. During a dry spell he found himself sucking on a pebble to keep his mouth moist, while navigating downhill along dry stream beds in the hope of coming across a village of some kind.
“This method of following watercourses is sound in most places, I wouldn’t recommend it in Australia,” he cautions. “Many creeks and rivers in Australia run inland and meander for kilometres before petering out. During the wet season they may run into an inland sea or floodwaters, but won’t lead you to much else.”
As a European, Delafosse-Guiramand says he is generally more used to the northern hemisphere, but that Australia’s landscapes are unique compared with other southern hemisphere countries he’s visited.
“Australia is a very big country, and while there are subtle changes in the landscape, you can travel for hundreds of kilometres without seeing any major difference. This can make it very difficult to navigate without a GPS or at least a map and compass.
“To survive in the bush, even where water is plentiful, you need to develop skills that are suited to Australia, and unfortunately it’s the people that are born here that are most likely not to realise the danger.”
Before You Leave Home
Preparation is a key aspect to any journey no matter how big or small, or how remote it is. As a general rule of thumb, the further you are from help, the better prepared you want to be.
As always, make an itinerary and leave it with friends or family who know when and where you are at any given time. That way, if you do get lost and fail to check in at a predetermined time, they’ll know to alert the authorities.
“There should be the development of a clear plan of action for trip even for when things are normal and everything’s going right,” says Delafosse-Guiramand. “But there should also be contingency plans for when things go wrong.”
Ensure each person in your group are clear about what their roles are in each situation to avoid bickering and confusion in the case of an emergency.
“Doesn’t matter what the scenario is, if you’re unprepared for what happens then everything is made immeasurably worse. Don’t rely on reflexes and instinct because when everyone in a group thinks they know the best outcome without a consensus it’s a recipe for disaster.”
Part of this contingency planning means having a working knowledge of first aid, navigation, fire setting and methods for collecting potable water. It also means including the right gear in the first place.
While our fictitious survivalist has managed to misplace their PLB, this would be a critical mistake for anyone else planning to drive through any remote part of the outback, let alone go hiking in it. Other key inclusions on your gear list should include high-SPF sunscreen, mosquito repellant and full-length, loose-fitting clothing. The broad-brimmed hat goes without saying.
Should The Worst Occur
The car has become permanently immobile, limiting your options. In the hot, dry air you’re losing large amounts of water through perspiration, and the sense of impending danger is only making you sweat more.
Looking out across the landscape, there’s not much beside shimmering waves of heat causing distant mirages on every horizon. You know roughly where you are, but it’s not a simple walk to the nearest town and your map doesn’t have any prominent features of any kind marked on it. Your world now consists of a road, the desert and the scorching sun.
Discussing the matter with your friend, you both decide the best course of action is to wait out the hottest part of the day in the shade provided by the vehicle and, with luck, a passing vehicle will come along before the sun goes down. You both settle in as the impossible heat climbs towards its zenith.
Hours pass and you try not to constantly sip on your limited water supplies. Who knows how long it needs to last? As the day begins to cool off and light begins to face, hope of an easy solution begins to fade as well. The danger you feared earlier is fast becoming a reality – a slow death by dehydration may be only a day or two away at most.
This scenario is predicated on the fact that the survivor is under prepared. The lack of key equipment and planning indicates a lack of experience and that is ultimately what kills people in these situations.
However, even armed with some basic knowledge, an inexpert survivor can maximise their chances of living long enough to get rescued. Nearly all of these depend on your presence of mind, says Delafosse-Guiramand.
“The very first thing you should do in any situation where you realise you’re lost is, ironically, not to do anything for a minute. Don’t take any immediate action. Stop, sit down, calm down and take the time to collect your thoughts.
“The simple act of structuring your thoughts will maximise your chances of survival. Every action you take from that point needs to have been questioned by a deliberate mental process that rules things in or rules things out. Once you make a decision, stick with it and manage the outcome.”
Delafosse-Guiramand recommends using the SADAM acronym, which stands for Stop, Assess, Decide, Act and Manage.
Step By Step
1. After taking stock of your situation, including an inventory check, the first decision you will need to make is whether to stay in your current location or take the risk of striking out in search of water, food and rescue. “Each situation is different, so there’s no simple response to this question,” says Delafosse-Guiramand. “If you break down in the middle of nowhere with very little traffic, but you know you’ve left a good travel plan with someone you trust, then it’s probably best to stay put. A car is visible from a long way away in flat, open terrain and it’s likely to contain various things that can help sustain you.”
On the other hand, if nobody is aware of where you are or one of you has become injured or sick, then it may be necessary to make a move. The key here is to choose the option that takes into account your energy expenditure versus the likely benefit. “In a survival situation you have to conserve your energy and your body as long as you can, so everything you do hinges on your ability to predict the best outcome for your health in the long run.”
It’s for this reason that preparation and experience are so critical to survival, but once you’re already in trouble it’s important to take each decision slowly and deliberately.
2. Regardless of whether you need to leave your non-functioning transport or stay put, in arid environments, choosing the correct time of day for any exertion will extend your chances of survival. Likewise, employ any method you can to stay cool and hydrated. “It’s best to move at cooler times of the day,” says Delafosse-Guiramand. “However, you’ll also need adequate light to avoid putting yourself at risk of a fall.”
Travelling at night may be possible with clear skies and moonlight, but even then the danger of snapping an ankle in a rabbit or wombat burrow should give you pause for thought. During the hottest part of the day, seek shelter and be sure to wear full-length, baggy clothing to avoid any risk of sunburn. “Staying cool is critical. Beyond your clothing and choosing the time of day to keep active, there are other tricks that may help you avoid heatstroke and dehydration.
“If you’re in a survival situation you need to leave your prejudices behind. Be prepared to collect and use your urine to increase your chances of survival,” Delafosse-Guiramand instructs.
The survival expert recommends carrying a scarf or other piece of absorbent cloth in the case that you don’t have a spare vessel handy, purely for the collection of urine. While you may need to drink it as a last resort, moistened material can be useful for staying cool. Alternatively, adding these fluids to a jerry-rigged water condenser or bush still as a source of water will allow you to conserve the water while leaving the salts behind.
Finally, Delafosse-Guiramand does recommend using the pebble method if you find your mouth has dried out. “Putting a pebble in your mouth won’t help you stay hydrated, but it will help you feel a little cooler and more comfortable a little while longer by stimulating a little saliva production. If it helps get you through those hottest parts of the day, then it’s worth doing.”
3. Employ as many different techniques as you can to indicate your presence in the landscape. These signs should be aimed at allowing people at both ground level and from the air to easily see where you were and where you’re headed. The type of signaling used will depend on the type of environment you’re moving through. “Be sure to leave a trail of information behind you so that people can track your position,” advises Delafosse-Guiramand. “Break branches into cross or arrow shapes at regular intervals, arrange stones into directional shapes or tie scraps of cloth to trees at eye level.”
In a sandy desert it may be easy to write words into the sand, but keep in mind these may not last very long in windy conditions. If there’s a lot of scrubby brush available, consider lighting signal fires to create a column of smoke that will be visible from kilometres away.
4. Similar to point two, no matter what you do, staying hydrated must be your chief priority. This extends beyond water conservation because at some stage you’re going to need to use skills to find water.
Once again, Delafosse-Guiramand recommends that you choose carefully – expending more energy than what you gain in benefits could spell your demise, and most common water collection methods will only work in certain conditions. “In an arid environment, anything that’s well-shaded or has indications of plant life may hide a source of water. However, unless you have a lot of experience with digging for water, you may find you waste a lot of energy without ever finding a moist spot.
“Many animals can’t survive long without water, so following animal trails might also lead you to fresh water,” he says.
Likewise, many small birds, like finches, don’t tend to go far from a source of water. If you see a flock of birds wheeling above a stationary point, there’s a good chance there’s water below them.
Exit Strategy
Despite the searing heat you and your friend have managed to last almost a full 48-hour period in the desert. The lack of water has driven you to resourcefulness and, having decided not to leave the car, you have made regular excursions in widening circles around it in the search of water and potential food sources.
While you’re yet to find open water or substantial animal life, you did manage to discover a soak in depression in the ground, shaded by a small hill and choked with a hardy scrub. Scrabbling around their roots has yielded a few litres of water so far, which you filtered through some cloth to remove the excess sediment. The tarp you rigged to catch condensation overnight hasn’t worked – the cool, dry winds appear not to be favourable to the effort – and there are no significant sources of moist foliage with which to use a plastic bag for transpiration capture.
The bottom line: without more water, you’re still in extreme danger.
Just as the shadows begin to lengthen on the second day, your friend nudges you awake. The sound of a car engine on the breeze is unmistakable.
Jumping up to work on a signal fire, you barely get a whiff of smoke before an outback patrol vehicle pulls alongside your broken down vehicle. Luckily your friend’s family had been expecting a call and had a rough idea of where you both were travelling.
People who survive extended periods of dehydration may sustain organ and muscle damage, as well as not being able to think or speak coherently. No matter how well you believe you stayed hydrated, after spending time lost in an arid environment it’s recommended you seek immediate medical treatment to ensure proper treatment.
This article originally appeared in Wild issue 156, subscribe now to ensure you receive our January-February edition.