How a backpacker survived for over a week lost in the Australian outback
Found dehydrated by the side of the road
Drinking water from rain and puddles
"She had spent 11 nights exposed to the elements and survived by consuming the minimal food supplies she had in her possession, and drinking water from rain and puddles," a Western Australia police statement said, per the BBC.
“Sheer luck”
The rescue was down to "sheer luck", police inspector Jessica Securo said in a news conference, given the terrain can be “quite dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing or where you’re going,” she added.
Lucky it wasn’t summer
Officers said the temperature at night was around 0°C (32°F) and that it rained for a couple of days. However, the detective said those were better weather conditions than the summer, when the temperatures in the area can exceed 40°C (104°F), ‘The Independent’ reported.
Rescued in a “fragile state”
Tania Henley, the driver who rescued Wilga (pictured) told Australia's public broadcaster ABC that she “couldn’t believe” Wilga survived, as she was in a "fragile state" with no shoes and an injured foot.
Photo: ABC News Australia
Last seen
The 26 year-old German had been living in Australia for two years and was traveling in a van. Before her resucue, she was last seen in the CCTV footage of a general store in the town of Beacon, Western Australia, the BBC reported.
photo: The Independent
Her car broke down
She somehow lost control of her van which had then become “mechanically unsound and bogged,” the police inspector told reporters.
Photo: ABC News Australia
She abandoned her car
The backpacker had stayed with the car for just a day before panicking and going out to find help, the inspector said, and had used the sun’s position to head west, walking 24 km (15 miles) to the road where she was rescued.
Staying with your car: a “golden rule” for survival
The search and rescue team, however, had already spotted her van a day before Wilga was found. Staying with your vehicle is the “golden rule” in the outback, survival expert Gordon Dedman told ‘The Guardian.’
