A couple on a road trip revealed how they collected their own urine in case they ran out of water while their vehicle was stuck deep in Australia’s remote outback.
Carl and Rose Jakeway’s Ford Ranger became stuck in mud along a remote 20 kilometer track near Cocklebiddy in a remote area of the Nullarbor in Western Australia last Wednesday.
The pair spent three days trying to free the car before activating its emergency beacon after the jack broke.
Bad weather meant police were unable to respond to the couple’s plea for help until Saturday, when they were finally rescued.
Even though they had food and water left for about two days, the couple feared the worst and began saving urine to drink in case they ran out of water while waiting for help to arrive.
Carl and Rose Jakeway (pictured) spent four days stuck in the Nullarbor
The couple got stuck in the mud (pictured) and spent three days in their vehicle trying to free her before activating an emergency beacon. The photo shows the moment they were found the next day.
The couple said they were “lucky” not to have to resort to drinking urine to avoid dehydration.
Jakeway said they started rationing beer long before they thought about rationing water.
The couple from Clare Valley, north of Adelaide, were traveling west to Busselton to see their family when they made the impromptu decision to “turn back”.
Her ute suddenly sank so deeply into the ground that Ms Jakeway was unable to “exit” the car.
Footage from a WA Police aerial wing shows the ute deep in the hardened dirt when they finally found the pair.
Bad weather meant police were unable to respond to the couple’s plea for help until the next day.
In a radio recording between Mr Jakeway and a police air wing officer, he said: “We’ve been here for four days, pretty stuck, starting to run out of supplies.”
“We still have 24 to 48 hours (of supplies).”
“But the (tire) jack is broken and we’re in the middle of the weeds.”
View from the air wing showed that the stuck vehicle was recovered using a starter strap.
“The plane went around and we were very happy, I can tell you that,” Jakeway told ABC.
“We shared a big hug and a kiss together, I guess that was the first thing we did.”
The pair spent three days trying to free the car before activating its emergency beacon after the jack broke.
Goldfields-Esperance Police Inspector Mick Kelly confirmed the couple were unharmed and in good health.
He said the Jakeways’ experience as competent travelers should be a warning to those who go off the beaten track to make sure they are well prepared.
They also need to have emergency communication equipment, food, water and be aware of weather and road reports.
“The key message from this rescue is that the occupants stayed in their vehicle and had enough resources and food to stay there for several days,” Inspector Kelly added.
