Just about everyone who drives has experienced moments where their navigation app of choice mistakenly sent them for a loop or failed to account for some minor roadway change. Though those errors are typically nothing more than pesky annoyances, inaccurate GPS routes can veer into dangerous territory when they occur in remote or hazardous areas.
A pair of German tourists navigating through Australia’s Queensland wilderness experienced that first-hand earlier this month after a Google Maps route allegedly sent them down a remote road leaving them trapped in the island’s isolated national park. The men were forced to abandon their vehicle and hike two days through the park, skirting their ways past snakes, spiders, and crocodiles, before finally making it to safety. A Google spokesperson told PopSci that the road has since been removed from Google Maps.
“We use a variety of sources to update Google Maps, including third party information, imagery and feedback from our community,” the spokesperson said.
What happened to the tourists?
The two tourists say they were using Google Maps to direct them towards Bamaga, a small town in Queensland’s northern region according to accounts they provided to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The app reportedly instructed the pair to enter the Oyala Thumotang National park via a remote dirt road. (The park’s website notes it has been closed to the public since December 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024) Once inside the park, the pair drove for around 30 miles before their vehicles suddenly got bogged down in wet mud. The tourists found themselves stranded and without cell service.
“Google Maps said we should go to the national park right away, and we thought just do it because maybe the main road is closed because of a high river,” Philipp Maier, one of the two men said in a recent interview with the ABC.
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