Queensland bushwalker crawled for two days with shattered leg
A Queensland bushwalker who fell down a waterfall crawled for two days with one of his legs “snapped” above the ankle before finally being rescued.
Neil Parker, 54, fractured his leg and wrist in the six-metre fall on Sunday while walking by himself in Cabbage Tree Creek on Mt Nebo, northwest of Brisbane.
Mr Parker, who is an experienced guide with Brisbane Bushwalkers, used hiking sticks to splint his leg and then spent two days crawling back to a clearing.
Speaking with ABC News, he said it took him a full two days just to travel three kilometres, having to stop every one-and-a-half metres for a rest.
Mr Parker had set off on what he intended to be quick day trip, but hadn’t told anyone where he was going, as he thought it would be “pretty straight forward”.
His expedition took a turn for the worst after he fell while climbing a waterfall, even though he had scaled it “many times before”.
“With it being so dry and the lime on the rock, instead of sticking, I slipped and gave way. I caught myself the first time as I started to slide, but I had too much momentum and over I went.
“I slid about 20 feet, cart wheeled and slammed into the rock and then landed in the creek at the bottom. So straight away, I thought... I'm now in a lot of trouble because no-one knows where I am.”
His phone was destroyed in the fall and he hadn’t brought a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) with him, as he normally would.
The Brisbane Bushwalkers community launched a search party on Monday, with a rescue helicopter finally spotting him on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Parker was winched to safety and transported to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he spent the night.
He said his experience working with the State Emergency Service for seven years and extended bushwalking background was what helped him to survive.
Gradually, he made his way back to a track he knew was a popular exercise track among locals: “basically scrambling and lifting inch-by-inch”.
‘Not a nice way to die’
He used a walking stick and some bandages that he was carrying in his pack to splint his injured leg.
“I had thermals, I had a head torch, some extra food, and because it was only meant to be a three-hour trip, I only took a handful of nuts, a protein bar and some lollies because I thought I'd be back home by lunch time.”
He also had Panadol and Nurofen in his pack, which also “came to great use” throughout his ordeal.
“We have people in the club saying: ‘why would you carry 10 kilos of equipment every time you go for a walk?’ This is the reason why,” he said.
Mr Parker said it was the pain of sitting and laying on the hard rocky surface which was the worst part of the ordeal along with the “worry of not seeing my kids again”.
“It was getting very emotional thinking - it's not a nice way to die, just laying here waiting.
“I thought that I would go to sleep and I wouldn't wake up again.”
With AAP
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