Long before 60 Minutes got in trouble overseas, the Getaway crew found themselves in a foreign jail.
To mark the show’s 25th anniversary (yes, it’s really been that long) hosts including presenter Catriona Rowntree have told the travel horror stories they couldn’t share until now.
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According to Rowntree, who has presented on the show for 21 years, one such tale involved being locked up in Indonesia.
“The crew had their passports confiscated and the boys had to spend time in a jail cell before our fixer sorted things out,” she told news.com.au.
The 45 year old claimed she’s also been mugged “a couple of times” and was tear gassed when she was doing the “nativity trail” from Nazareth to Bethlehem about 15 years ago.
Listen: When travel goes very wrong: Why are we so obsessed with Cassie Sainsbury’s story? Post continues after audio.
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“I remember having to jump into the car and my sound guy going, ‘just drive!’ and just having to put my foot on the accelerator, all of us with stinging eyes,” she said.
It didn’t end there either – according to the veteran host, their car was also stoned during the same assignment as the local political climate became heated, and violent.
Despite being on the show for over 20 years, Rowntree says she still hasn’t seen everywhere yet.
“I’ve been to around 80 different countries, which for me I’m almost frustrated by that number because I have so many more to go! Annoyingly the more you travel, the more you realise how much of the world you haven’t seen,” she told news.com.au last year.
Jason Dundas, who joined the programme in 2006, has a slightly different terrifying experience.
“There’s an ongoing joke that I’m the most scaredy-cat person out of any of the presenters. I once was seen running from a chicken in Fiji — it chased me,” he said.
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It’s reassuring that even those who travel for a living don’t have always-to-plan holidays.
On the bright side? Those mishaps often make the best stories – once you’re home, of course.
