Carolina Wilga: Police reveal German backpacker survived 11 nights in WA wilderness by drinking rain water

German backpacker Carolina Wilga survived an astonishing 11 nights alone in the WA wilderness by drinking rainwater from puddles and sleeping in a cave, police have revealed.

In a miracle survival story that’s gripped the nation, the dazed 26-year-old managed to flag down a member of the public who happened to be driving by about 4.15pm Friday afternoon.

Homicide Squad officer-in-charge Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo told reporters on Saturday the young woman was very traumatised and overwhelmed after convincing herself she wasn’t going to make it.

Ravaged by mosquitoes, dehydrated and hungry with a few cuts and bruises, Ms Wilga was airlifted to Perth and spent the night at Fiona Stanley Hospital, where she’s had a good night’s sleep, a shower and some food.

“She is still in disbelief that she was able to survive,” Det. A/Insp. Securo said.

“In her mind, she had convinced herself that she was not going to be located.

“(She thought) no one’s going to find me here.”

Ms Wilga was found 24km west of where her abandoned van was found in the Karroun Hills area on Thursday.

Police revealed she spent just one day with the van before she embarked on a journey to find help.

“She was essentially out in the wilderness for about 11 nights,” Det. A/Insp. Securo said.

“She basically looked at the direction of the sun and tried to head west, thinking that that would be her best bet of coming across someone or a road.”

A long-time farming resident who picked up Ms Wilga, Tania French, said the backpacker was “very relieved” to have found help.

“I was coming back from Beacon because I’d been down to pick up my trailer,” she said.

“She was on the side of the road waving her hands.”

Ms French said it was a “miracle” rescue.

“She was in a fragile state, but she was well. Thin, but well,” she said.

“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.

“She’s a very resilient person.”

The young woman is still coming to terms with what happened, police said, and she’s not expected to be discharged from hospital today.

“She still needs some emotional support around her, and she still needs some injuries tended to so once the hospital determines that she’s ready, we will work closely with them and facilitate next steps,” Det. A/Insp. Securo said.

“This is the best result we can hope for. There is a lot of effort that goes into a search of this size,” she said.

“To find Carolina safe and well is a fantastic result.”

The ordeal has not deterred Ms Wilga from continuing her backpacking journey around Australia, however.

“It’s still early days, and she’s focusing on her recovery. But she has indicated that she’d like to stay in Australia,” the detective said.

“(Ms Wilga said) she still has so much travel to do here. She hasn’t made it over to the East Coast yet, so that’s still on her bucket list. So I think if she has the ability to stay she definitely will.”