When Karma Norman and Barry Lovell set out with their three children to spend Christmas afternoon at a NSW swimming hole, they were not expecting to spend the night in the bush.
After enjoying lunch, the family from Wauchope decided to head for a swim in the Mount Boss State Forest's Cobrabald recreation area, west of Port Macquarie.
It is an area accessed by an unsealed road and, on their return home while following their GPS, the family took a wrong turn and soon found themselves in rough conditions on a forest fire trail.
"On the way back, we put in, 'Home' and followed the GPS and it said, 'Turn here' and I did, and kept going and got stuck," Mr Lovell said.
No way out
Initially the family thought they could continue going and access a different road they knew.
But they reached a point where the road ahead was washed out and overgrown, and were not able to make it back up a steep hill they had travelled down.
They only had limited supplies because they had planned for a short outing with their children aged 14, 13, and four.
"I have never been in a situation before where we were stuck … digging ourselves out, pulling logs out of the way and then getting to a spot where we just couldn't get past it," Ms Norman said.
"It was getting dark, and we were very tired and just wanted to go home at that point."
But then their 4WD's clutch gave way.
"That was the most challenging part … being stuck out in the bush with a car that was not 100 per cent functional was my nightmare," Ms Norman said.
"It was a bit daunting, looking at spending the night in bush, especially with the kids and only water and stuff to drink."
A call out for help
After doubling back on a "difficult track" to find a patchy mobile phone signal, Ms Norman turned to local social media to see if somebody could help them with directions and terrain advice.
When it became clear from a "huge overflow" of responses that they were in a difficult area, they called the police.
The police responded but were not able to locate their position that night. A couple of local 4WD enthusiasts, however, were able to reach them.
"It led to a couple of gentlemen actually finding us about midnight and bringing us some food and more water," Ms Norman said.
"They were absolute godsends. When I saw their torch lights coming, I thought 'Wow' … it was just amazing.
"It was dark, so it was deemed safest for us to just stay put with the car at that point."
Community support 'fantastic'
The next morning, the same two men returned and led Ms Norman and their children to where local police officers were able to meet them.
"We had to walk down the road and across the creek and up to where the police car was waiting to take me and the kids home," Ms Norman said.
"It was such a relief to know that our part of the ordeal was pretty much over.
"It could have been a whole lot worse … if we had not been able to get signal, I don't know what we would have done."
The men, plus some others, then towed the family's vehicle back up the steep hill.
"The community support was fantastic," Mr Lovell said.
"We had a lot of people giving advice and concerned … a lot of 4WD enthusiasts were ready to help."
He said nobody was injured and it was a Christmas the family would not forget.
"We will definitely have stories to tell for many Christmases to come," Mr Lovell said.
"It puts a whole new meaning on a quick trip down to the waterhole for a swim."
If in doubt, 'walk it first'
Mr Lovell also had some advice.
"Don't just follow your maps, and if the road looks too rough or you aren't sure, walk it first and make sure you can go back if you need to," he said.
Mid North Coast Police Inspector Stuart Campbell said many unsealed roads were in poor condition or damaged after repeated rainfall events.
"Our advice is to make sure you plan your trip, let people know where you are going, take plenty of water and refreshments and make sure you have the right vehicle for the roads," he said.
