It’s just about every camper’s worst nightmare. You’re all tucked in for the night when a huge storm arrives, sending a massive tree crashing onto your rig.
Sadly, it can and does happen. Just ask the couple who had a miraculous escape late last week when camping at a grey nomad’s favourite. The 49-year-old woman and her 63-year-old husband were asleep in their camper trailer man near the Daly Waters Pub, about 600 kilometres south of Darwin, when the unthinkable happened.
Police Watch Commander Gary Smith said the couple’s vehicle saved them from almost certain death.
“The van was still attached to the couple’s car and the tree came to rest on that,” he told the ABC. “That basically stopped the van from being crushed completely.”
Police were also full of praise for the actions of the pub’s staff who sprung speedily into action. They used a chainsaw to cut away branches and free the 63-year-old man before emergency services arrived.
The woman suffered a possible broken collarbone, cuts and bruising as a result of the terrifying incident, while the man suffered possible broken ribs and minor head injuries.
How nervous are you of possible falling trees or tree limbs when camping? Is there anywhere where you would refuse to park your rig overnight? Have you had any stormy night nightmares or close shaves? Comment below.
