Well, well, well. This is a blog post I never thought I’d be writing! Thankfully, I’m alive so I’m able to write it.

On Tuesday, 17 October, I rolled my car. As I’ve been living in the car for the last 6 months while I travel around Australia, I lost both my transport and my accommodation in an instant. I’ve been joking about being homeless living out of my car on this adventure – and now, without the car, I became homeless twice over.

I’m grateful to be alive, and grateful to be unharmed. The crash was bad – I look at the pictures and I have no idea how I walked away with just a few scratches. It’s also a huge setback to my plans in Australia. I’ve been immensely, intensely, scared. However, I am resilient as fuck – I’ve been through worse, and I just have to believe in myself that I’ll get through this, too.

The Crash: What Happened

I was staying in Cape Range National Park, near Exmouth in Western Australia. I woke up early in the morning to go do a hike before the heat of the day – I’d decided it’d be my last day here, as I needed to go south to try to escape the heat and the flies. It was about 7:00am and I was only about 1km away from the campground.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and I swerved.

I was going at least 60km/hr – I was in fifth gear – and the speed limit was 80. I was going too fast for that kind of correction, and the car spun. It then rolled over multiple times – I don’t know how many, but it was at least twice because I ended sat upright.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the windscreen. All I could think was, get out of the car, get out of the car. When I got out of the car, I turned to look back at it. And then I was immediately overwhelmed about how I was able to just get up and walk away from something that bad.

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I have no idea what it was. I’d driven this road many times and had seen barely any kangaroos or wallabies. There are dingoes in the national park, but I hadn’t seen any of them. I genuinely don’t know, and I don’t think I’ll ever know.

And I know not to swerve. I know not to do this and I have no idea why I did. It was a split-second decision, and it was the wrong one. One of the most frustrating things about all of this is that I have no one to blame but myself – this was all my own fault. And I’m paying for it. I’m just grateful to be paying for it with money, and not with my body or my life.

The Aftermath

This happened in a very rural location where I had no phone signal. I found my phone but I knew I wouldn’t have enough connection to call anyone. I had been traveling with a friend, Jason, and we’d been using radios in our cars to communicate on long drives. I knew mine had low battery – I clicked on and tried to connect, but the battery died. I was stranded, alone, with no one to help me. I didn’t know if I should try walking back to the campground, I didn’t know exactly how far/close it was, I didn’t know what to do in this situation. Physically I could walk, but I was in extreme shock and was sobbing and barely breathing.

It took about 10 minutes before I heard a vehicle on the road. I walked into the middle of the road and flagged it down. Thankfully, it was a very nice manager at the luxurious Sal Salis resort down the road. He was driving a shuttle bus with two passengers; he pulled over for me and got out to help me. I remember he tried to get me to take deep breaths and I cried that I couldn’t; he was kind and calm and said to try again, breathe in and out.

He drove me to the campsite, briefly explained to my friend what had happened, and said he’d be back to disconnect the battery in my car and check in on me.

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This campground thankfully had live-in hosts, who had a radio connection. They called the National Park rangers to report what had happened, and could call the police; the hosts let me sit under their awning in the shade. They said the rangers would be coming out to the site, and then the police would come, too. I cried and panicked. I felt stupid and embarrassed and scared. I wanted to call my parents but had no phone signal and no way to do that.

When the park rangers showed up, they gave me a satellite phone I could use to call my parents. With the time difference between Minneapolis and Australia, I knew they’d be going to bed in an hour or two. If I didn’t call them soon, they’d have notifications from me turned off on their phones (something I told them they needed to do if they wanted a good night’s sleep while I was in Oz, lol) and I wouldn’t be able to contact them. I called my home phone number and my mom answered. I cried and told her I was okay but I rolled the car. The connection was terrible and eventually I repeated that I’d call again when I had phone signal, and gave up.

The resort manager (I think his name is Luke, but honestly I can’t remember) showed up again, and kindly took me to my car to get my laptop and my portable safe. The campground hosts were wanting to call an ambulance because I was hysterical and might have hit my head – the resort manager shone a light in my eyes to check my pupils for a concussion, and said I had no signs of a concussion.

Then the police arrived at the campground; I repeated the story of what had happened. I said goodbye to my friend, the campground hosts, and the park rangers, I did my first ever breathalyzer test (standard for any accident they said), and the cops drove me to my car. I was able to get most of my stuff out of my car – my suitcase, backpack, clothes, towels, shoes, medication, etc. They’d drive me into town so I could get phone signal, call my parents, deal with car insurance.

The hardest part was when they asked where I lived and I said, “the car.” When they asked where I was staying and I said, “the car.” I had nowhere to go without my car. They drove me into Exmouth and dropped me off at Potshot, the hostel/resort in town.

The afternoon was spent crying and calling people. I sobbed to my parents. I spent hours on the phone with my car insurance, to get my car towed and start a claim. I called my travel insurance. I cried and cried.

I did take myself to the hospital – I only had a few cuts on my elbow and wrist from the crash. But I had a horrible headache and knew that I’d panic about it forever if I didn’t go and get checked out. When the hospital form asked for my address, I broke down crying – “I don’t have an address,” I said, “I was living in the car and the car is gone now.” The doctor, after hearing what happened and seeing the picture, told me I was very lucky.

I came back to my room and cried some more. I took two showers – one to wash the sweat and dirt and blood and glass shards off me, one to wash my hair. At some point I realized I had no food, and needed to go to the store and get something to eat. There was no one to take care of me. I had to take care of myself, all on my own. I was exhausted and overwhelmed.

Mission: Get to Perth

I’m pretty good at problem solving; I can sort myself out in most situations. The reality is that I couldn’t stay in Exmouth, blowing all my money on hostel accommodation. I’d been planning on leaving the next day anyway, because $11/night campsite fees were looking a little pricey, and I needed to get out of the heat and the flies.

I had a blogger friend in Perth; we’d never met in person before, but had known each other through Instagram for years. Shelley (who runs Wander & Luxe) had lived in York for several years, but had moved back home to WA – when I said I was going to Australia, she’d kindly offered to host me if I came through Perth.

I messaged her right away when I got into Exmouth, I rolled my car, I’m okay but I have nowhere to go, can I come stay with you? She instantly said yes, offered to help me in any way she could, and said I could stay with her as long as I need. The new plan of attack was to get me and my stuff to Perth. I could crash with Shelley, look for another car in a big city, and sort things out.

Unfortunately, Exmouth is the opposite end of the country to Perth. A flight including extra baggage would be about $1000; a 16-hour bus would cost me nearly $500. Neither of these were great options for me.

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Enter Peter, who runs Ningaloo Blue Dive – the company I’d done a reef tour with just the day before. (PS. This was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to blog about it!!) I went into the shop in Exmouth the day after the crash to get the photos from the tour. I was telling him what happened with the car, and – without me even asking – he started making some phone calls.

10 minutes later, he asks me if I’d like a free camper rental that needs to be relocated from Exmouth to Perth. I’d just need to pay for fuel. I’d heard of rental transfers and relocations before (you typically pay $1/day and drive a vehicle between major locations), but obviously had never used them as I’d had my own car. Considering that a $1000-flight was my next best option, a free vehicle to drive to Perth – that would be big enough to fit all my stuff – was a gift from the gods. It was truly a miracle.

The following day, he took me over to pick up the vehicle. It was a massive 4WD camper rental, a Nissan Navara, complete with not one but two rooftop tents!! I’d never driven a vehicle that big before; I’d never driven with one, let alone two, rooftop tents; I’d never driven a vehicle I couldn’t see out of the rearview mirror. But this beast was what I’d drive to Perth – there was no time to be anxious about driving so soon after the crash. There was no time to turn back when I was throwing $40/night on hostel accommodation in Exmouth. There was nothing for it, I just had to do it scared.

Within 72 hours of rolling my car, I had a free vehicle and a new plan to get to Perth. I’ve never had such horrible anxiety driving – no matter how slow I drove, every gust of wind made me scared I’d tip over with the tents on top. I hated sleeping in the rooftop tent setup – I missed my car and my setup more than anything.

I drove ~1600km in three days from Exmouth to Perth, alone. I stepped out of the car, and I’ve never been so relieved.

The Next Steps

What am I going to do next? I have a housesit in Geraldton in WA from 7-29 November. I’ll be doing that, no matter what. I am planning on buying another car ASAP – Australia is definitely a car country, and I don’t know how people get around without a car. Right now, my number one priority is to get another vehicle.

Buying another used car off – in all likelihood – Facebook Marketplace, when I know nothing about cars, is overwhelming and scary. But I’m doing it.

What will I do after Geraldton? I genuinely don’t know. My plan was to spend all of December road tripping from WA to Victoria (Melbourne/Geelong), where I’d take the ferry to Tasmania at the beginning of January. Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to keep on going with my Lap of Australia as I had planned. I’ll need to work somewhere. Right now, I’m thinking of shortening up my road trip (maybe 10 days across South Australia), organizing housesits thanks to a friend in Adelaide, and settling in to earn some cash over the holidays. Hopefully, I can make enough to offset the costs of having to buy (and insure) a new car.

I still want to finish the Lap. And I’m still going to, whatever it takes. It’ll just be in a different way to my original plan.

Mourning My Baby

My car was so much more than a car to me. She was my everything. My baby, my girl, my Beauty and my Beast. I loved her so much.

I got so lucky when I bought her in Sydney for $3400 off Facebook Marketplace – she ended up being an amazing car, super reliable which was exactly what I needed. I believed in car karma bordering on superstition: that if I took care of her, she’d take care of me. I thanked her for handling tough drives, and apologized for the shitty roads and 4WD tracks I took her on.

She was my transport and my accommodation, my home, my bedroom, my kitchen, my refuge, my safe space. She was my best friend and – at times – my only friend in this country. It was just me and her, and the open road. I trusted her and depended on her completely, and she never, ever, let me down. I believe her final service to me was to absorb all the damage, so I could walk away unharmed. She kept me safe until the end.

She gave me the greatest adventure of a lifetime. I’ll love her forever.

The Good and the Bad

Obviously, the bad – I have no vehicle and no permanent accommodation. I need to change my plans in Australia so that I can find work and bring in fast cash. I have a hospital bill and a car excess to pay, all while needing to drop $3000-5000 on a new car.

My car was insured for market value. Unfortunately, as a 2002 vehicle that I bought for only $3400, and with a previous claim for damage having paid out $1044, I don’t see myself getting anything significant from my insurance. My excess is $895 – hopefully, the payout will at least cover that, and then a little bit more.

I’ve been driving since I was 15 and got my permit, I was 16 when I got my license. I struggled so much with driving in the UK – I had horrible, crippling driving anxiety for years – and finally got my full UK license in 2019. I overcame my driving anxiety in 2021, and have loved driving myself around since then. I have always been a safe driver – I’ve never been involved in any accidents before my time in Australia. I’d never damaged a car (let alone totaled one) until this one. I’ve always considered myself a good and safe driver. And that confidence is really damaged right now. I hope that getting back on the road within days of rolling the car will help. I don’t have time to be anxious or stressed about driving – no one else is going to drive me around the country, so I’ll need to just do it.

The good? Well, there’s actually a lot. Firstly, I am physically unharmed and uninjured. Secondly, thank god I have travel insurance. They will cover my medical expenses like my hospital bill. If I’d needed more serious treatment, I have up to £10 million coverage for medical expenses.

I got a free vehicle to get myself and all my stuff to Perth. At a time when my finances are in complete chaos and I’m very scared about money, that was a true blessing.

I’m very grateful I never put a fridge in the car, desperate as I was for one. A fridge and a battery would have been about $1000 that would be completely gone – there’s no way I could recoup that money or claim it back. That just wasn’t meant to be.

I’m beyond grateful to Shelley and Troy for putting me up in Perth. I’m so, SO glad I had somewhere to go.

I’m so appreciative of friends around the world who have been checking in on me.

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The hardest thing for me is asking for help. I struggle in silence, and would rather do literally anything else, than ask someone to help me and feel dependent on another person. I am independent to a fault. But I have been trying to ask for help from the people I feel best placed to help me. I’ve been overwhelmed with lovely and kind messages, from people who care and want to support me through this setback. It means the world to me, and I appreciate it so much.

So many of my friends kindly bought me birthday drinks last month, I hate asking for help, and I don’t expect anything to be able to cover the full expenses of a new car. But if you’d like to contribute £5/$5 towards buying another car, you can use my Buy Me a Coffee.

And remember, by turning off your ad blocker on my blog and viewing my site, you’re helping me make money that way, at no extra cost to you. Scroll through some of my posts and view my ads, PLEASE 🙂

Whatever comes my way, I know I’ll face it head on. I’ve dealt with worse, I’ll deal with this too. I am nothing if not resilient – this is not the end, but just a plot twist.

Thanks to everyone who’s been there for me in the last week or so, for messaging and reaching out, for wanting to help me. I appreciate it more than anything <3