A man spent the night injured and alone on a creek bed after suffering a fall at Glenrock State Conservation Area on the weekend.
Police said the 40-year-old man fell down a small cliff deep in bushland on Friday afternoon, approximately three-kilometres from the nearest road.
It unknown why the man was in the area at the time, but was discovered by mountain bike riders on Saturday morning.
He managed to alert the passersby, who raised the alarm. Emergency services launched a three-hour rescue mission to get the injured man out of the reserve.
Initially a Westpac Rescue Helicopter paramedic was winched down into the reserve after seeing a person waving at the helicopter, but it was then discovered the patient was a further 900 meters up the track.
The patient was accessed by ambulance paramedics with the assistance of NSW Fire and Rescue and National Parks officers, due to the isolated location. Flood experts also had to be called in to ensure a safe evacuation of the patient.
"Crews walked over three kilometres through very thick scrub to get to the man," a NSW Fire and Rescue spokesman said.
"Once he was secured into an inflatable boat, he was carefully floated down a creek to an awaiting ambulance and conveyed to hospital.
"This was arduous work with difficult terrain, whilst wading through waist-deep water."
He was treated for suspected hypothermia and spinal injuries on scene and taken to John Hunter Hospital via ambulance.
The helicopter critical care paramedic was recovered by winch back into the helicopter and returned to base.
"This was a prolonged complex incident, that required a multi-agency response," NSW Fire and Rescue's Glen Whitehead said.
"We had to utilise a variety of specialised equipment to ensure the patient was safely removed from the bushland.
"The patient was extremely lucky that the three mountain bike riders Dan, Justin and Neil heard the cries for help and that they quickly rang emergency services, they did a great job"
