A working holiday around Australia almost ended in tragedy for two German backpackers after they escaped from their car moments before it burst into flames
Students Maya Danne, 19, and her friend Alena Nicolay, 20, are on the holiday of a lifetime driving across Australia, starting in Cairns in Queensland’s far north three months ago.
It was abruptly cut short on Thursday afternoon when they lost control of their car, which veered onto the other side of the road and crashed near Albury on the New South Wales and Victorian border.
Maya Danne and Alena Nicolay were on their way to Melbourne and Tasmania when they veered onto the wrong side of the road and crashed near Albury. Their car burst into flames moments after they got out
German students Alena and Maya (right) were driving across Australia on a working holiday when they had a serious accident
A passing truck driver helped the women get out of the car moments before it erupted into flames.
The pair were left with a phone and the clothes on their backs.
‘We’d been in the Snowy Mountains and were on our way to Melbourne and then on to Tasmania,’ Ms Danne told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I was trying to find something in the car while I was driving when I ended up on the other side of the road and had an accident. I can’t remember much of it but it was a really hard crash. We couldn’t open the passenger door so we both had to get out the driver’s door. As soon as we got out, we could see smoke and the car started burning.’
The car was gutted by the fire.
All the tourists now have is a phone and the clothes on their backs after the car burst into flames near the New South Wales and Victorian border
Maya Danne and her friend Alena Nicolay and Maya Danne are on their way to Melbourne and will then fly to Perth to stay with family friends while they get their passports and bankcards replaced
‘We lost everything we had,’ Ms Danne said.
‘But we consider ourselves very lucky as the truck driver came past only one or two minutes after we steered onto the wrong side of the road. Everyone was shocked when we told our friends and family back home.’
Stranded with no possessions, Ms Danne put a call out for help on the Australian Backpackers Facebook page.
‘Right now we are in Albury with basically nothing, just the clothes we were wearing and luckily my phone, no passport no bankcard no nothing,’ she posted.
‘We managed to get a lift to Melbourne. We have family friends in Perth who are going to help us sorting out our life so we are trying to catch a flight from Melbourne to Perth. All I’m asking for is some help when we arrive in Melbourne, maybe a place to sleep and eventually a lift to the airport the next day.’
They were inundated with numerous offers of assistance from strangers.
The German tourists hope to spend another six months at least here. ‘It’s beautiful here, we don’t want to leave,’ Maya said
Ms Danne exclusively spoke to Daily Mail Australia on Saturday morning as they were making their way to Melbourne, where they’ve been offered a place to stay for three nights until they fly to Perth on Tuesday.
They will stay with family friends in Perth while they get their passports and bankcards replaced.
They plan to find work so they can continue their holiday across Australia as the ordeal hasn’t put them off buying another car.
‘It’s made us more aware of what can happen,’ Ms Danne said.
‘It could easily happen to anyone. Our original plan was to drive to Tasmania and back to Melbourne and then on to Adelaide, Uluru, Darwin and then to Western Australia. It just means we’ll be doing it the other way round now.’
The pair have spent the last three months exploring the east coast of Australia
Left with few possessions, the friends are considering setting up a crowdfunding page.
The pair from Germany’s north west, spent one month in Thailand before their Australian adventure began.
They hope to spend another six months at least here.
‘It’s beautiful here, we don’t want to leave,’ Ms Danne said.