Stuck in the savannah, the British walked dozens of kilometers surrounded by lions

Two graduates were reportedly stuck in Makgadikgadi salt marshes in Botswana when their car sank. After the incident, they had to walk 70 kilometers through the thickets. Todd Benny and Henry Harrison decided to cross Africa by car. Six weeks after the start of the trip, they went on a long trip through the salt marshes, but the engine began to falter even before they moved off the embankment. Once in the wilderness, they tried to walk 30 kilometers towards the village for help, but when it got dark, returning to the car, they noticed traces of animals. After walking 14 hours over two days, the friends were able to get help from emergency services to get the car back.

Todd said: The car could be heard driving, driving, driving and then disappearing. She was completely submerged in the ground. We have already driven 35 kilometres off-road and we have not seen any tyre marks or anything else.” He added: "We didn't think we could get the car out; it just seemed impossible.".

The buddies began their journey, driving through South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe before arriving in Botswana, and planned to travel eight countries in three months. Henry said, “It was the idea behind the drink that just materialized.” The engine began to "plamble" after 15 kilometers of the way on the salt marshes of Makgadikgadi, and the car stalled heavily on the road before failing after 35 kilometers on the plain.

It was about 6:30 p.m. and it started to get dark and we weren’t even a step closer. That's when we noticed animal footprints leading to bush thickets, Todd recalls. “That’s when we first thought we were in trouble and the only way out is to walk through the bush, risk being eaten alive, or go back and try to find a car.”.

The guys decided to return using a Google Maps screenshot to try and find the car. Todd said, “We spent hours wandering around thinking we’d have to sleep on salt marshes.” However, Henry recalled that he had listed the car's location in an app that was able to provide the car's exact coordinates. Fortunately, the British filled a 20-liter bottle with water before heading out, but ran out of water on the way back. Henry noted, "At the end of the day, we just poured water down our mouths, the water boiled and there was no shadow." Henry suffered heat stroke and spent his first day wearing sandals, leaving his feet to shreds.

After a long walk, the young men found a security post and were taken to a police station and then to a hospital for check-ups.

“The police chief asked us how we got out and how we managed to escape from the beasts. He said a couple had been lost a year ago and they were never found, Henry said. Three days later, the car was finally found. Although the jeep was sunk in salt for four days, the British were able to continue their journey through Africa, visiting Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya before returning to their homeland. Todd concluded: At the end of the trip, we sold the car in Tanzania to someone else who was traveling, and they took it to South Africa and sold it to someone else. I really want to find her for our next trip.