Australians are a hard bunch, and that’s especially true for those Down Under who enjoy a long hike in the Outback.

Temperatures can soar, there are far too many poisonous and venomous creatures to name, and if things go wrong, rescue efforts can resemble trying to find a needle in a haystack.

54-year-old Neil Parker can consider himself quite lucky to have been rescued, although he deserves some credit for soldiering on in the face of what must have seemed like some incredibly daunting obstacles.

This from the Guardian:

A Queensland bushwalker has said he had to “carry his leg” as he crawled for two days to safety after it “clean snapped in half” in a six-metre fall down a waterfall…

Speaking from a hospital bed on Wednesday morning, Parker shared details of how he survived with “the whole bottom of my leg [hanging] loose”.

Parker, who is an experienced guide with Brisbane Bushwalkers, used hiking sticks to splint his leg and then spent two days crawling to a spot where he could be rescued by a helicopter.

“My left foot just below my ankle, clean snapped in half,” he said. “The whole bottom of my leg came loose.

“It’s not a compound fracture. Close to it. It didn’t break the skin but I have what’s called compound blisters on my skin which are eight or nine inches long … I had to carry my leg, and legs are very heavy when they’re not connected to anything.”

Good to know, and still less grim than what happens to many of our hikers.

Parker says he crawled around three kilometres to the rescue spot, and survived on a protein bar and lollies which he had packed in his bag.

Thankfully, he also had a few painkillers in there to take the edge off.

A search party was launched on Monday, with the rescue choppers locating him on Tuesday afternoon.

Let’s hear from the man himself:

Another solid reason to stay on good terms with the ex.

Indeed, a classic Ozzie yarn for the grandkids.

[source:guardian]