A South Australian woman has revealed how she survived six days in the Outback by drinking pasta sauce, windscreen wiper water and her own urine.
Brooke Phillips, centre, was found after spending six days in desert near the tri-state border. Photo: Supplied to ABC / Blackstone Police
Brooke Phillips was travelling from her home in Mount Gambier across the state to a community near the Western Australian border last month when she took a wrong turn and her car became bogged.
The 40-year-old, who was travelling with her cat and dog, said she underestimated the danger and drank all her water on the first night.
The temperature inside her black four-wheel-drive soared despite her efforts to cover the windows with towels and use the air-conditioning until she ran out of fuel.
On the second night she collected a few millilitres of rainwater, but as the days wore on she began to ration liquid-based food.
Among the items in her car were pasta sauce, coconut cream, a tin of tomatoes, lemon juice and pure red cordial.
"I was trying to eat a Cruskit, and if you don't have anything to drink with it then it's just sticking to your mouth, it's not going down," she said.
"I won't lie, I drank my own urine on the last day because I was thinking I'm getting to desperate measures and no-one is coming out here.
"I suppose that saved me."
Western Australia Police Inspector Craig Davis said her family raised the alarm after a few days, triggering a land and air search involving 12 police officers and about 20 community members.
She was found by her 16-year-old daughter who was travelling with community members as part of a large land and air search involving emergency services.
"I started to think 'no-one is going to find me, no-one loves me, why hasn't anyone found me yet?'"
Ms Phillips described the "awesome" moment when her daughter found her, 30km from the closest community.
"When she came to my car I was actually in shock, I didn't hear them pull up behind," she said.
She was taken back to the Blackstone community for a medical check where she shocked nurses who thought she would be in a worse state of health.
Her pets also survived the ordeal.
The police said she was lucky to survive.
Inspector Davis said she was not prepared for the harsh environment but praised her for staying with her vehicle.
- ABC
