Medical student survives 13 harrowing days in the wilderness and pledges to continue hiking

Rescued bushwalker Hadi Nazari will rest when he returns home to Melbourne following 13 days lost in the Australian Alps but is keen to go for another hike.

His cousin Hussain Ali told reporters outside Cooma Hospital he had tried to talk him out of another trek.

“When he’s completely fit and fine then we’ll see how he goes,” he said.

“When we found him … he was keen to go for another hike.

“I was like, ‘no more hiking for you, that was it’.

“Surviving on that mountain is not easy for 13 days and nights,” Ali said.

Search and rescue specialist Paul Luckin told AAP he was glad his earlier doubts about the prospect of Nazari being found alive after almost two weeks had not borne out.

“I love being wrong when I’m being pessimistic,” he said.

“I’m always delighted when we have a survivor … and it was always a possibility.”

Nazari was found by a group of hikers on the afternoon of Jan. 8, near Blue Lake in the Kosciuszko National Park, after he was last seen by friends descending the Hannels Spur trail on Boxing Day.

In a statement on Jan. 9, Nazari praised the tireless work of emergency services personnel who spent 13 days searching for him amid tough conditions.

“I would also like to thank members of the public, family, and friends for their well wishes and prayers,” Nazari said in a statement released through NSW Police.

While a lot of credit was due to the hundreds of rescuers and volunteers who dedicated almost two weeks to finding Nazari, there was an element of luck involved in him coming across a group of other hikers, Luckin said.

“He was some distance from where he was expected to be because he had kept on moving and covered such a large distance,” he said.

Nazari would have been unlikely to have had much idea where he was headed given the terrain and thick vegetation, Luckin said.

But the gruelling experience, and its incredible, positive outcome, provided some lessons.

“In most cases, the best advice is as soon as you realise you’re lost, stop—because you are then closest to the last known point,” Luckin said.

“You stand a much better chance of being found and a much better chance of being found early.”

Those setting off to a remote area should also familiarise themselves with the terrain, and bring maps and personal locator beacons.

“They are now so inexpensive and so good that anybody who goes out into the wilderness, every single person, should be carrying a personal locator beacon with them,” Luckin said.

Beacons cost about $300 to $400 and can be hired for free in several NSW national parks, including Kosciuszko.