Two 4×4 vehicles were found stuck and abandoned in a protected salt pan in North Queensland, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. These stuck vehicles not only cost thousands of dollars to rescue, but they also cause significant environmental damage, disturbing the ecosystem and wildlife species that live there.
Drone footage from the ABC report shows the two vehicles bogged down in the Bowling Green National Park salt pans, a short distance from each other.
Salt pans, or salt flats, are large areas of flat land covered in salt, where the body of seawater evaporates more quickly than precipitation can replenish the area, per the Salt Association. This leaves behind a crust of salt and minerals that solidifies under the sun. This crust is hardened but not completely impenetrable.
Photo Credit: Department of Environment, Tourism, Science, and Innovation
Photo Credit: Department of Environment, Tourism, Science, and Innovation
“Once you break that crust, it’s never-ending mud,” said tow truck driver Steve Colbourne.
According to the report, it seemed the driver of the first vehicle got stuck venturing out on the salt pans and, in an emergency, called on a friend with a capable 4×4 vehicle to come to the rescue. The friend, however, experienced a similar fate, becoming bogged down about one kilometer (just over half a mile) before reaching the first vehicle.
The two drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles and call for assistance, which Colbourne responded to.
This wasn’t Colbourne’s first rescue call from the salt pans.
So far this year, Colbourne had rescued four other vehicles that became stuck trying to drive on the salt pans. He explained that these rescues require the right conditions to execute, which could cause the car to be stuck in position for weeks or even months before retrieval.
“It can cost thousands to have them retrieved,” Colbourne said, per the ABC report.
Salt accelerates the rate at which metal erodes, causing car frames to slowly rust and deteriorate while stuck in the salt pans. If and when rescued, these cars may return to their owners completely destroyed.
These stuck vehicles also leave behind significant disturbance and damage to the salt pans, including a damaged crust, uprooted vegetation, compacted or eroded soil, and potential contamination of the salt pan ecosystem.
The Bowling Green National Park salt pans, specifically, are recognized and protected as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention — an international treaty that aims to protect wetlands, which helps preserve global biological diversity.
In addition to paying the exorbitant rescue fee, these 4×4 vehicle owners are looking at a penalty fee that can cost up to $3,226 for illegally driving on protected salt flats.
Trucks have been stuck venturing into areas where they are not supposed to go. A truck became stuck after driving onto the sand of a San Francisco beach. Two truck owners visiting the Oregon Coast suffered a similar fate on the beach.
Many Australians were furious when they learned of the incident after it was shared on the r/Australia subreddit.
“$3k fine is a joke. I’m an avid offroader, and this is the stuff is that gives us all a bad reputation and gets us locked out of the bush,” one commenter shared.
“This should get treated no differently to hoons racing illegally and have their cars crushed,” another commenter chimed in.
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