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A German backpacker has revealed how she considered drinking her own urine, slept in caves and suffered hallucinations during her extraordinary 12-day fight for survival in Western Australia’s outback.
Carolina Wilga, then 26, was found alive by farmer Tania Henley on July 11 last year after spending 11 nights alone in the Wheatbelt, north-east of Perth, ending a massive police and rescue search sparked when her family and friends lost contact with her.
Wilga has revealed new details of her harrowing experience in a memoir released today, titled Dem Outback entkommen (Escaping the Outback).
Her book, released in Germany and translated by this masthead, reveals how she thought she was dreaming when she saw Henley drive up towards her as she frantically waved her arms from the side of Mouroubra Road, near Karroun Hill, where she had become lost.
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She was barefoot, bleeding and disorientated and more than 30 kilometres from her Mitsubishi Delica van she had abandoned after crashing and hitting her head.
Wilga, now 27, had left food, water, clothes and supplies behind in her van before heading into the bush on foot, her book reveals.
The German backpacker had worked on mine sites in regional WA and used her earnings to buy her van. The book details her struggles with her identity, her ethical dilemma over working in the mining industry, and her efforts to discover herself through travel.
Wilga had planned to save and travel towards Australia’s east coast, with her memoir describing plans to visit a friend, surf and learn spearfishing. It was to be a three-month trip in search of independence and freedom.
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To prepare, she watched YouTube car repair tutorials and spent time learning about her van, in case she found herself in an emergency.
She left Fremantle on June 28 and was last seen the following day at a general store in Beacon, about three-and-a-half hours north-east of Perth.
While driving through the Wheatbelt, the memoir details how Wilga was blinded by an oncoming car’s headlights on a narrow road and how she was forced to turn sharply which caused her to crash through a fence, hitting a rock and smashing her head against the side window.
The injury left her confused and the next day she left the van without shoes in a dress and thin scarf, with the memoir detailing her memory loss and confusion and how she heard a voice that she followed.
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There were several moments during the ordeal when she believed she was going to die, with freezing temperatures, mosquitos and hallucinations causing her extreme distress.
The book describes Wilga becoming so thirsty she contemplated drinking her own urine, but decided against it, remembering how she had heard it could dehydrate you more.
She also recounts how she poisoned herself after eating a flower and survived on rainwater.
The first proper meal and fluid she had was with Henley, who spotted her on the afternoon of July 11, and gave her electrolytes and soup in a thermos.
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The book is available on Amazon in German.
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Carla Hildebrandt is a journalist with WAtoday. She previously worked on ABC’s Four Corners and as a court reporter at The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. For secure contact: [email protected] via email.AdvertisementAdvertisement