Thread: Family Could Be Stuck For Weeks After Floods Strand Camper

An Australian family is stranded after their camper got stuck in the desert following heavy rains. They could be there for a couple of weeks as the area is impassable to rescuers.

Back in November 2020, Orios and Lindsey Zavros embarked on a journey of a lifetime with their two kids. The family took a custom Mitsubishi Canter camper from their home in Perth through Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. They wanted to “cover every aspect of Australia” reports 7News, and they’ve gone far. Unfortunately, their rig met its match on the trip back home as the family crossed the Simpson Desert.

Parts of the region were inundated with rains, flooding out roads in the remote area. The Zavros and their Mitsubishi found themselves right in the middle of it and eventually stuck. They activated an emergency GPS beacon and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority found them within hours, dropping supplies and a phone.


Thankfully, there are no injuries.

Images show the Mitsubishi to be practically glued to its current spot. To make matters worse, the area is remote and so soaked that rescuers are currently unable to reach it by land. They’re about 93 miles northwest of Oodnadatta.

The camping rig is a 2006 Mitsubishi Canter 4x4. Orios and Lindsey built the camper that’s loaded onto the Canter’s flatbed by hand, and it not only has the usual off-grid stuff like solar power and batteries, but they even included a toilet, shower and a washing machine. It works like a truck bed camper where it uses jacks for loading and unloading.



In an interview last year with Expedition Portal, the Zavros say that they’re longtime off-roaders. Part of the inspiration for the build was being able to carry a bunch of weight in a camper without exceeding legal limits. They also wanted to explore extreme parts of Australia without having to drag a trailer around.

Reading through the build sounds a lot like the campers we’ve written about here. The truck also has a low range, 37-inch all-terrain tires and a limited-slip rear differential. It has lots of recovery gear, including a 17,000-pound winch up front and a 12,000-pound winch out back. They say it’s been through a lot of harsh terrain already without getting stuck, some of it covered on the family’s Instagram.


South Australia police is mounting a ground rescue effort to recover the family and the Canter but say that there are challenges in getting there. Not only are they stuck in a remote area, but as 7News reports it may be inaccessible by land for up to two weeks depending on the weather.

In the meantime, the family is said to have sufficient supplies. When all is said and done, they’ll definitely have a story to tell. That beacon also definitely paid for itself.

https://jalopnik.com/family-could-be...cam-1848061490

Helicopter going in today to rescue them. Probably already out.

^ yup

Perth family stranded in Australian desert winched to safety by helicopter after five-day ordeal

16 November 2021

A Perth family-of-four stranded in the Simpson Desert for five days has been rescued after being winched to safety by helicopter on Tuesday afternoon.

Orios Zavros, his wife Lindsey and their children Zoe and Zane ran into trouble when their Mitsubishi Canter became bogged on Friday in remote South Australia during a cross-country holiday.

Stranded around 150 kilometres northwest of Oodnadatta, the family set off their emergency beacon on Friday.They were initially told it could take crews up to two weeks to reach them due to bad weather and recent flooding in the area.

I was going to say, has the author never heard of helicopters? What ridiculous fucking twaddle.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I was going to say, has the author never heard of helicopters? What ridiculous fucking twaddle.

Having said that, the helicopter that did go needed to refuel on the way.

Originally Posted by Saint Willy

Having said that, the helicopter that did go needed to refuel on the way.

So basically they spent five days bbqing and drinking and will no doubt now expect someone else to pick up the bill for their helicopter ride.

Meanwhile the RV will be stripped to the bone before they can scrounge a rescue mission for that as well.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Meanwhile the RV will be stripped to the bone before they can scrounge a rescue mission for that as well.

I doubt that many bogans can get out that far in the bush but ya you are right about them being total fuckwits.

It was a nice build, tho you have to give them that much.

Should have contacted JPPR2 to get em out, he'd a'been laughing while towing them back to civilization.