Sarah was amused by the quicksand she stepped in on a South Australian beach. Then ‘reality set in’
0:31 Laughter turns to fear as woman and dog sink into quicksand on South Australian beach – video Sarah was amused by the quicksand she stepped in on a South Australian beach. Then ‘reality set in’ Joy turned to panic as Sarah and her dog sank quickly. She thought ‘this is not how I’m going to go’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast “I’ve literally had my real, live Indiana Jones moment,” Sarah Darbyshire says of the frightening moment she and her dog stumbled into quicksand . The Holdfast Bay council has put up signs warning about the treacherous, liquefied patch on Glenelg North beach in South Australia . Indiana Jones famously used his bullwhip to save himself from tricky situations, while in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull he is thrown a snake (an animal he is notoriously afraid of) to pull himself out of quicksand. Darbyshire says she was videoing her beach walk with her maltese dog, Mr Bean, to show her daughter how the hills they had been climbing a few days previously had been flattened. View image in fullscreen Sarah Darbyshire with her dog Mr Bean at Glenelg North beach in South Australia. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/The Guardian At first, she was amused by the sucking sand. Then, “reality sank in”. “I couldn’t believe how quick I went down. Pulling one leg out, you just went in deeper,” she says. In a video, her feet and her dog can be seen sinking into the sand. “Shit,” she says repeatedly, along with “oh my God”. Recalling the moment, she says: “I know I meant to say ‘this is not how I’m going to go’”. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email While Darbyshire managed to extricate herself without a snake or a bullwhip, another woman – Madz June – needed four police officers and five firefighters to pull her out at the same spot. She had hopped over a stream only to feel her leg to straight into the sand on the other side. It felt like her legs had been “vacuum sealed into a bag”, she told the ABC. After 10 or 15 minutes, with the tide coming in, she called for help. Scenes of people disappearing into quicksand were popular in movies from the 1950s to the early 2000s. Journalist Dan Engber charted the rise and fall of quicksand in films after hearing that kids these days are no longer afraid of it – unlike older people. In a famous scene from the 1987 hit film The Princess Bride, Princess Buttercup steps on to lightning sand, and the hero Westley grabs a vine and dives in after her to pull her back out. In a heartbreaking scene in 1984 film The Neverending Story, Atreyu loses his horse Artex in the Swamp of Sadness, while in 1967 Batman and Robin needed their heel-and-toe Bat Rockets to escape the strawberry-coloured icing quicksand on top of a giant cake. A day at the beach: ‘Quicksand had never felt real as a concept until this moment’ Read more Quicksand, a slurry of sand, water and clay, traps legs because the initial pressure forces the water out, leaving the sand and clay to compact
Whew, mustve been a wild ride for poor Sarah and her furry friend. Hope they made it out okay. Never know what to expect on a South Australian beachjust another day at the shore.
Quicksand anyone? I thought those were only found in Indiana Jones movies. Safety first, folks!
Quicksand exists in real life too! Sarahs experience reminds us to always be aware of our surroundings, no matter where we are. Safety first, indeed!
Sarahs initial amusement at stepping into quicksand on a South Australian beach was quickly replaced by a sobering realization of the situation. The joke had suddenly become a harrowing reminder of the dangers that can lurk in unexpected places.
Natures humor can be both whimsical and dangerous. Its a stark reminder to always be mindful of our surroundings and respect the power of the natural world. Sarahs experience teaches us to appreciate the beauty of the environment while also instilling a sense of responsibility to protect it.