It’s some of Australia’s harshest, most unforgiving terrain.
In Kosciuszko national park, the bush can be so thick in places you can’t see far beyond what’s in front of your face. The ranges are steep and remote. Extreme UV radiation belts down throughout the day and winds whip at you in the afternoon.
For 13 days missing hiker Hadi Nazari, 23, managed to survive in these conditions – a result police described as “incredible”. The odds were stacked against him. Last week, three hikers died in Tasmania.
Nazari had been with two friends, hiking the challenging Hannels Spur trail in the famous park in New South Wales when he went off track to take some photos. The three men had planned to meet at the Geehi campground but Nazari failed to arrive.
Concerned, his friends reported him missing.
For almost two weeks, while hundreds of people searched for him on land and from the air, Nazari drank fresh water from creeks, foraged for berries and ate two museli bars he fortuitously found in a hut, police said.
“He relayed that he found a hut up there in the mountains,” the Riverina police district commander, Supt Andrew Spliet, told media on Wednesday afternoon. “And there were two muesli bars up there that he’s eaten, and that’s pretty much all that he’s had to consume over the last two weeks.”
The Hannels Spur trail is one of Australia’s most difficult bushwalking routes, noted for its undulating 1,800m change in elevation.
Speaking in the days after Nazari went missing, Doug Chatten, an experienced bushwalking guide, reminded people how unforgiving the area is.
“If you’re off the track, it’s bloody tough country,” Chatten told AAP.
“It’s no easy walk, that’s for sure … you’d be a hard person to find.”
A rescue team of more than 350 people, including NSW police, the State Emergency Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service, NSW Ambulance and volunteers scoured the thick bushland, day after day.
At the end of each day, police would update media with very little news, other than they had tried hard and would be back tomorrow.
But twice, they managed to find clues – enough to keep hopes alive.
On New Year’s Eve, search teams found some rubbish and hiking poles believed to belong to Nazari near the Kosciuszko River.
Almost one week later, on 5 January, they found the remnants of a campfire, a lighter, a camera and camera bag near the Geehi River.
Spliet said Nazari’s fitness level and the fact he was well equipped would have played a big part in his survival.
“It’s really hard to assess how somebody would look after themselves out there in the bush,” he said.
Nazari was eventually found about 10km from a command post that was set up as a base for the search. He had stumbled across a group of hikers and called out. He told them he was lost, and that he was very thirsty.
“He’s covered a lot of ground,” Supt Spliet said. “But from all accounts … he’s in really good health.”
Nazari was treated for dehydration and taken to hospital. Officials said he was alert and walking with no injuries.
Spliet said they would debrief with him on Thursday to find out more about how he managed to stay alive.
“We really just want to find out what he’s actually done, has he rested in the shade during the day? Has he found walking tracks that he’s been able to get on?”