Travelog Australia 2015: Ayer Rocks to Port Augusta.. or not..

Date: July 2nd, 2015

We had a very long journey back, 1200km+ to Port Augusta. But this time, we had 4 drivers. Left the Park at around 11.30am and reached NT-SA border 4hrs later. Nothing much interesting to tell until we pulled over the rest area for iftar at around 5.30pm.

We departed at around 6.45pm for our journey. The moon was so bright yet it was so dark. Not a single soul was around and occasionally, trucks or pick up passed us through.

Few minutes after that, it happened... We had a collision with a herd of cow crossing the road near Marla, SA. my BIL broke his arm and I fractured my left ankle. my friend (the driver) suffered wound and bruises on her hand and leg and another one of my friend had bruises along his torso.

I wont elaborate more. Few minutes after the accident, a truck of prison wardens was on the way back and saw us. We had to wait for more than 2hrs until the ambulance arrive (nearest hospital was 170km away). We're brought to the Marla Outback rest area (a pub actually).and were pretty lucky that Marla does have an airstrip.

Me and my driver friend were accessed there and all of our clothing were cut. The guys were sat down and rested while waiting for us. 3 of us were later brought to a nearby clinic while waiting for flight clearance. I had no idea what time it was but I remembered I saw a clock while being wheeled out. It was around 4am. my BIL was sent to the hospital via the ambulance instead since his injury wasn't serious (we found out later that he broke more bone than me) and will be taking the flight the next day.

I was given morphine and the side effect showed when I threw up right after I boarded the plane. The plan was small, it could only fit 2 patient on stretcher and maybe 3 passenger on chairs. So it's basically me + my doctor; my friend + her doctor and my other friend. I could only remember the panels on my left where all the gadgets were and the doc/nurse seated on my right. I could barely opened my eyes after that and dozed off.

When i woke up, we had reached Adelaide and was heading to the ambulance. I was still drowsy, then next thing I know I was at Royal Adelaide A&E... I was scheduled for surgery the next day but after some discussion with the Orthopedist, I will have the surgery back home (5days after the MV accident).

We had to extend our stay in Adelaide, thanks to the Malaysian students there. I will forever be grateful to them and the world is small, their family resides in Sg. Petani, about an hour from when I'm living now :)

All in all, it was an unforgettable experience. One main lesson to learn is to make sure you have Travel Insurance or to confirm if you Medical does cover overseas hospitalization. Usually I do purchase travel insurance but for this trip, I was too busy to do so. Luckily, my medical insurance from work does cover overseas hospitalization although none of us really use our insurance to pay for this accident.

We pretty much ended our Oz trip here. back in Sydney, my friends went around on their own but just to few places and me? i stayed at home entertained by my 2 adorable nieces :D