SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian hiker said on Wednesday he had to crawl for two days through scrubland before he was rescued after falling six metres (20 feet) down a waterfall, breaking his leg and wrist.
Neil Parker, 54, said he was walking alone on Mount Nebo, 32 km (20 miles) west of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, when he fell.
"Straight away, I thought, 'I'm now in a lot of trouble because no-one knows where I am'," Parker told reporters from his hospital bed.
Parker, an experienced hiker, said he tried to phone for help but his mobile had been damaged in the fall.
He decided to crawl about three km (two miles) to an area where he believed search and rescue workers would better be able to spot him.
Parker said painkillers and protein bars he had packed for his hike had helped him survive the painful and painstaking journey.
"I could only get a metre or a metre-and-a-half each time before I had to stop," Parker said.
"What took me 40 minutes to walk up took me nearly two days to crawl back down."
Parker was eventually spotted by a rescue helicopter and winched out on Tuesday afternoon.
(Reporting by Colin Packham. Editing by Lincoln Feast)
