A German backpacker who survived 11 nights in the Australian bush described on Monday how she got lost and confused after crashing her car.
Carolina Wilga, 26, was found on a scarcely used track in Western Australia late last week miles from her vehicle after going missing in remote bushland, and police said she was lucky to have survived.
They found her abandoned van stuck in dense bushland north of the town of Beacon, with plastic orange traction boards placed beneath the rear wheels.
“Some people might wonder why I even left my car, even though I had water, food, and clothing there,” Wilga said Monday in a statement issued through Western Australia Police.
“The answer is: I lost control of the car and rolled down a slope.
“In the crash, I hit my head significantly. As a result of the accident, I left my car in a state of confusion and got lost.”
Wilga thanked those who had helped to track her down.
“The thought of all the people who believed in me, searched for me, and kept hoping for me gave me the strength to carry on during my darkest moments,” she said.
“For this, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Hungry, thirsty and covered in insect bites, Wilga was airlifted to a Perth hospital for treatment after she was found on Friday.
The backpacker had lost hope of being rescued, police said.
“She 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,” Western Australia police said last week.
“She sought shelter at night where possible, including in a cave.”
Wilga was suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, sunburn, “extensive insect bites”, and an injured foot, police said.
The driver who spotted her, Tania Henley, told public broadcaster ABC that she saw Wilga waving her hands by the side of the road.
She appeared to be in a “fragile state”, bitten by midges and suffering from the cold.
“Everything in this bush is very prickly. I just can’t believe that she survived. She had no shoes on, she’d wrapped her foot up,” Henley said.
Until her rescue, she had been last seen on June 29 arriving in the van at a general store in Beacon.
