Author: By Greta J. / Source: Bored Panda
Google maps is, without doubt, an incredibly useful tool. Able to guide you precisely to that bar downtown where friends are waiting, pinpoint your hostel in a foreign city (no more taxi scams), calculate the best routes with least traffic and even provide you with timetables, recommendations and opening hours, it’s hard to imagine how we ever got anywhere without it.
However, amongst all this convenience, something has been lost. Being lost! Getting lost is, for me at least, one of life’s best opportunities for spontaneity, adventure, and the joy of the unexpected. That local you meet on the street when asking for directions, the family who take pity on the weary traveler and offer shelter for the night, the breathtaking view waiting down a tiny back road in the countryside… These kinds of potentially life-changing encounters are being missed as we eschew risk and discovery, to be guided with ruthless efficiency to our destinations by satellites in the sky.
This story proves however that there’s still hope for the technologically-enslaved romantic. Even Google gets it wrong sometimes! Driving to a campsite in Australia’s gorgeous Blue Mountains, a popular area of outstanding natural beauty near Sydney, keen off-roader Bruce decided to take up Google Maps’ offer of a 15-minute’ shortcut.’ He had supplies, fuel and a rugged off-road vehicle, so why not explore a little? “I don’t generally worry as I always travel with at least 20l of water, and a full tank of diesel, so if I’m lost it’s just a matter of time,” Bruce told Bored Panda. “But Google’s representation of back roads in Australia is a bit interesting, it tends to think there are a lot more viable roads than actually exist.
”Ultimately though, Bruce’s adventurous detour led to a fair dinkum camping trip, catching up…
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