It was the 2026 roar. Three of my friends and I headed into the bush for what we expected to be a great day of hunting. We split into two groups, and with stags roaring all around us, it felt like we had hit the jackpot. Robert and I followed one down into a large valley, moving through thick bush and dropping about 200 meters in elevation.

At one point, I slipped on loose dirt. As I went down the slope, my foot suddenly stopped and twisted back into my leg, and I heard a pop. I knew right away I had broken my leg. When I tried to stand, I couldn’t put any weight on it and knew I wasn’t getting out on my own.

We were about a two-hour hike from the nearest road and had just lost cell service. Thankfully, I had my ACR PLB-400. Robert climbed back up to regain signal and called 111, while I activated the PLB at 10:20 am. We were able to share our GPS coordinates as well, which matched the beacon signal.

A helicopter arrived and eventually located us using the PLB signal, but the dense bush made it difficult to lower a paramedic. Using a folding saw, Robert cleared a small area so they could safely winch someone down. After a short delay to refuel, the helicopter returned and we were winched out and flown to the hospital, where I had surgery on my leg.

This experience showed how quickly things can go wrong and how important it is to always carry a PLB when you’re out in remote areas.