Key Points
- Lilian Ip had planned a day trip in Victoria's high country.
- But her car got bogged and she couldn't turn around.
- Police praised her decision to wait by the car which made it easier for a police helicopter to find her.
Lilian Ip doesn't drink, but she has wine and lollies to thank for her survival in the Victorian bushland for five days.
Last Sunday, Ms Ip, who was on holiday in the town of Bright, had planned a day trip around the state's high country near Mitta Mitta, about 400km north east of Melbourne. She had only limited snacks in her car and no water.
But she took a wrong turn while trying to drive to Dartmouth Dam and her car got bogged on a track. The area had no mobile coverage and she was unable to call for help. Because of health issues she was unable to walk far.
A bottle of wine that Ms Ip had bought to give her mother as a gift ended up providing hydration while she waited to be rescued, police said.
The Melbourne woman was found on Friday next to her car, waving to a police helicopter as it flew along a dirt road in thick Mitta Mitta bushland.
"After being lost in the bush for five days, she was extremely relieved and grateful to see us and we were just as happy to see her," Victoria Police Wodonga Sergeant Martin Torpey said.
"While she couldn't move her car, she was able to use the heater overnight to give her some warmth," he said.
Ms Ip said she thought she wouldn't survive.
"I thought I was going to die out there," she told Nine News.
"My whole body shut down on Friday."
By the fourth day, she was convinced she wouldn't survive and wrote a letter to her family telling them she loved them and to not cry for her.
"I'm just sitting there thinking, 'what am I going to do, how am I going to survive this?'" she said.
"I was about to give up."
She was overjoyed to hear the helicopter overhead the next day.
"I'm an adventure person, but next time I'll be better prepared," she said.
Missing woman Lilian Ip was lost for five days in the Victorian bush with only wine and lollies. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed / Victorian police
"She used great common sense to stay with her car and not wander off into bushland," Sergeant Torpey said.
She was found by the helicopter crew 60 km from the nearest town, and a police van was sent to pick her up.
She has since been taken to hospital for observation and treated for dehydration.
