I wasn’t going to include this in my blog but it was a pretty big deal so couldn’t really leave it out!…
After a long week of practically sleeping on the floor in a pretty small tent, 5 days of surveys and lots of early starts it was over and our journey home had begun.
I’m not gonna lie I was a little tired, but the journey was going well. We stopped for a loo break and some fresh air about 2 hours in then got back on the road.
Bearing in mind in the UK we have right hand drive and drive on the left, driving on the opposite side of the car and road is a little challenging. So driving along I try and avoid a MASSIVE pothole! Instead of avoiding it, I drove straight over it. I have never felt impact like it. Jen and I thought we had got away with it (wishful thinking) when the car started pulling to the right!
So I pull over and my worst nightmare had been confirmed. Not only did we have 1 flat tyre, but 2!! I couldn’t believe it, was in total shock. And to make matters worse we had no phone coverage to ring anyone.
After a couple of minutes of absolute panic we decided to flag down a car for help. A lovely couple, Liz and Jim, stopped to help us. He looked at the car and told us he would take us to Lake Louise to get help. So we bundled as much stuff as we could into their car and headed to Lake Louise, abandoning the car in a layby on the highway!!!
I called Sarah when we got the Lake Louise who came to pick us up and take us back to the car to pick up the rest of our belongings. It was a long drive home and was so shaken up by the whole ordeal!
It ended OK, Sarah was understanding and we got a replacement car within a few day. Relief!!
My Placement Year - 30 weeks of wildlife, travelling, data analysis and everything in-between 