Carolina Wilga: German backpacker says goodbye to Perth after 12 days stranded in WA outback
The 26-year-old survived 12 days alone in WA's Wheatbelt region this month, with her whereabouts sparking a missing persons search that had the entire country on alert.
After being discharged following several days recovering at Fiona Stanley Hospital, Ms Wilga reunited with friends and rushed straight to the ocean — something the adventurer clearly missed while she was lost.
Ms Wilga took to Instagram in the early hours of Sunday morning to share several photos of her time in the hospital, at Cottesloe Beach with friends and Monday's front page of The West Australian that included a story about her ordeal.
'Reunion with the ocean and a great goodbye to Perth with loooots of hugs ❤️ love you all,' she captioned the post, which she has since deleted.
Ms Wilga was last seen on June 29, travelling through Beacon, before she was found alive by a passing motorist on July 11.
After she met with police, the young traveller was flown to Perth and admitted to Fiona Stanley Hospital dehydrated, traumatised, and 12kg lighter.
She was discharged on Wednesday and is expected to fly back home to Germany.
Police last Saturday said Ms Wilga became 'lost and disoriented' while exploring the Karroun Hill nature reserve.
When trying to look for her way out, she later lost control of her Mitsubishi Delica van, which police found just one day before her rescue.
She survived by drinking water from puddles and sleeping in a cave.
In a statement earlier this week, Ms Wilga thanked the WA community for their dedicated search efforts.
'I am certain that I survived only thanks to this incredible outpouring of support,' she said.
'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. For this, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
'Especially to the police investigators, searchers, the German Consulate, the medical staff and the wonderful nurses who took care of me with so much compassion.
'My deepest thanks also go to every single person who simply thought of me – and of course, to my rescuer and angel, Tania.'
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7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Carolina Wilga: German backpacker says goodbye to Perth after 12 days stranded in WA outback
The German backpacker who survived nearly two weeks lost on her own in the West Australian outback has bid farewell to Perth in a heartwarming social media post. Carolina Wilga was understood to have returned home to Europe at the weekend and, despite her traumatic ordeal, was seemingly all love and smiles as she departed. The 26-year-old took to Instagram in the early hours of Sunday morning to share several photos of her time in the hospital, at Cottesloe Beach with friends and Monday's front page of The West Australian that featured her ordeal. 'Reunion with the ocean and a great goodbye to Perth with loooots of hugs ❤️ love you all,' she captioned the since deleted post. Ms Wilga was lost for 12 days by herself in the Wheatbelt earlier this month, sparking a missing persons search that had the entire country on alert. She had last been seen on June 29, travelling through Beacon, before she was found alive by a passing motorist on July 11. After she met with police, the young traveller was flown to Perth and admitted to Fiona Stanley Hospital dehydrated, traumatised, and 12kg lighter. She was discharged on Wednesday after five days recovering at Fiona Stanley Hospital. Police last Saturday said Ms Wilga became 'lost and disoriented' while exploring the Karroun Hill nature reserve. When trying to look for her way out, she later lost control of her Mitsubishi Delica van, which police found just one day before her rescue. She survived by drinking water from puddles and sleeping in a cave. In a statement earlier this week, Ms Wilga thanked the WA community for their dedicated search efforts. 'I am certain that I survived only thanks to this incredible outpouring of support,' she said. '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. For this, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. 'Especially to the police investigators, searchers, the German Consulate, the medical staff and the wonderful nurses who took care of me with so much compassion. 'My deepest thanks also go to every single person who simply thought of me – and of course, to my rescuer and angel, Tania.'
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WA news LIVE: Perth grandmother Donna Nelson to appeal Japanese drug smuggling conviction
Latest posts Latest posts 9.30am Perth grandmother Donna Nelson to appeal Japanese drug smuggling conviction The family of convicted drug smuggler Donna Nelson will today arrive in Japan to support the Perth grandmother through her appeal. The 59-year-old former federal Greens candidate was jailed for six years in December after being found guilty of smuggling two kilograms of methamphetamine into a Japanese airport. Nelson claimed she was the victim of a Nigerian love scandal, and that her partner tricked her into carrying a suitcase that she didn't know had drugs inside. The mother-of-five will front the Japanese High Court this week to appeal her conviction and argue that new evidence should be allowed to be heard. 9.30am Across the nation and around the world Here's what's making headlines nationally and abroad: The first post-federal election opinion poll has revealed the scale of the battle facing Opposition Leader Sussan Ley as she seeks to rebuild a shattered Liberal Party, with support for the Coalition falling to a near-record low. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has feted a rare intimate lunch with Chinese President Xi Jinping as a moment of 'trust' in an ambitious new phase in relations, after years of Australia pursuing a more limited policy of stabilisation. A national register of online sperm donors will be considered as part of a review of Australia's fertility sector to crack down on the booming 'Wild West' of informal donations. Albanese is under pressure to overhaul capital gains tax, delivering bigger tax incentives to investors who build new units amid warnings that without change, the government will fail to hit its 1.2 million new home target. 9.30am Today's weather Rug up! This morning could be the coldest on record so far this year. 9.30am This morning in Perth Good morning and welcome to our local news blog for this chilly Monday morning, July 21. Making headlines today, rescued backpacker Carolina Wilga has bid farewell to Perth, with German media confirming she arrived back in the country yesterday and was escorted to a local hospital in her home town. Before her departure, the 26-year-old, in a since deleted Instagram post, captioned a series of photos as 'the great goodbye to Perth' and included a photo of herself with friends at Cottesloe Beach. The backpacker managed to evade the media who were at Perth Airport hoping to catch a glimpse of her before she left. Meanwhile, for 18 months motorists heading into the city from West Perth have been denied access to the right lane on the Malcolm Street bridge for what has seemed like an abandoned project to upgrade its road barriers. Now we can reveal why the project will likely take as long as the Boorloo bridge to complete and why workers have been scarce at the site since the start of the year. And in case you missed it, the Fremantle Dockers had a thrilling win against top of the ladder Collingwood yesterday, storming home in the last quarter to snatch victory by one point.
