Germans follow navigation system and endanger their lives in the Australian wilderness. UN Security Council fights for ceasefire in Gaza – the night update without photos

Two young Germans were lucky to survive a journey through the Australian wilderness after a navigation app led them to a remote area. The tourists left the city of Cairns in tropical north Queensland at the beginning of this month, the local Department of the Environment (DES) announced on Wednesday.

Accordingly, the men traveled in a four-wheel drive vehicle to the town of Bamaga on the Cape York Peninsula, one of the few virtually untouched areas in the world.

The app then asked the Germans to leave the main road and turn into the Oyala Thumotang National Park – via a dirt road called Langi Track. It was said that their car got stuck there. “Where we were stuck, it looked very dry. The surface was dry, but underneath it was completely wet and muddy,” said one of the men. It was impossible to free the vehicle.

The tourists had no choice but to return to civilization on foot – with twelve-kilo backpacks carrying all their equipment and supplies. For days they walked mainly in the early morning hours and rested in the hottest part of the day. Then they walked on until late at night.

Along the way they also had several encounters with dangerous Australian wildlife, including a crocodile, a snake and numerous spiders, the Germans said, the statement said. Only after about a week did they arrive in the coastal town of Coen and inform the authorities there that they had to leave their car in the national park.

“They are both very lucky to be alive,” said ranger Roger James. This wasn’t the first incident where a navigation app sent people off the main road and into national parks, where they then got lost or their vehicles got stuck. Instead of using an app, they must follow signs and use official maps or other navigation equipment. (sda/dpa)