Backpacker Stranded for 12 Days in Australian Outback Speaks Out in Emotional Interview: ‘I Made a Promise I Will Not Give Up’

NEED TO KNOW

• Carolina Wilga, now 27, survived 12 days lost in the Australian outback in 2025 after she got into a car accident and was left concussed

• She opened up about the ordeal to Australian outlet 7News and spoke about how she decided to fight for survival after thinking about her mother

• Local farmer Tania Henley found Wilga and saved her life, and the two have since reconnected on a video call

A backpacker has opened up about being lost in the remote Australian outback for 12 days after getting into a car accident.

Carolina Wilga hadn't been seen or heard from since June 29, 2025 , after leaving the small town of Beacon, around 200 miles east of Perth, in her vehicle. She was found wandering the outback by a local resident almost two weeks later and was rescued on July 11.

Now, a year on from the ordeal, the 27-year-old has spoken about her experience and connected with the woman who helped save her life.

Wilga described her journey as "very emotional" and shared that she attempted suicide twice. She decided to continue fighting for her survival after thinking about her mother. 

The traveler, who is originally from Germany, said "the worst thought" she had was the realization that her parents would never know what happened to her if she didn't make it.

"They will probably never find my dead body, so they can never set a point behind something," she told Australian outlet 7News in an interview that aired on Friday, Sept. 4. "They will never figure [it] out. And that was the moment I fully broke down. I made my mom a promise that I will walk until I die. Like I will not give up. I want to live."

Wilga, who had been backpacking around the country for two years, kept her family in her thoughts as she walked across the deserted area, lost, alone and fearing she may die of dehydration. 

"I was just thinking about all the happiest childhood memories and thinking of my family, and it was actually carrying me through," she told the outlet.

Wilga explained to 7News that she was driving along the outback when she suddenly saw lights from another car in front of her. 

The backpacker, who was 26 at the time, then steered her vehicle away and ended up crashing into a fence, describing it as an "irrational moment out of fear" to the outlet.

The impact caused a concussion, and the next thing she remembered was walking along the outback in the middle of the night. 

"One realistic theory of mine was that I already died, and that this is hell," she said in the interview.

But Wilga's fate changed when local farmer Tania Henley found her near the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve, which is around 190 miles north of Perth, the nearest major city, per 7News . 

She said she "could not believe it" when she saw another person for the first time in 12 days and even questioned if Henley was real.

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Western Australia Police Inspector Martin Glynn described Wilga as being in a "fragile position" at the time and stated that she had been "ravaged by mosquitoes," to Nine News .

Henley and Wilga reconnected via a video call in the 7News interview, with Henley saying she was glad that Wilga "looked so well."

Wilga called Henley "such an angel" and said she was "kind" to her in her time of need.

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