Teetotaller, stranded in Australian bush for 5 days, survives on wine

When push comes to shove, you do what you have to do to survive.

It was a situation 48-year-old Lillian Ip recently found herself in, according to Australian media.

On April 30, she had set out for a short trip to visit her mother in the Australian state of Victoria.

Her trip took her through dense Australian bush, or a naturally undeveloped area, where things took an unexpected turn.

Ms Ip found herself at a dead end after taking the wrong road, and her vehicle then became stuck in the mud, according to 9News Australia.

She found herself stranded at least 60 km away from the nearest town, and was not getting any signal on her mobile phone.

“Due to health issues she was unable to try and walk for help so (she) stayed with her car,” Wodonga Police Station Sgt. Martin Torpey told 9News Australia.

Ms Ip only had some candy and a bottle of wine in her car, something she was planning to give away as a present.

She does not normally drink, but given the circumstances, she spent the next few days surviving on the wine and candy.

Having lost hope of being found, Ms Ip wrote a letter to her family telling them she loved them and that they should not cry for her.

But on day five, help came in the form of a search helicopter, after police began a search following a report lodged by her family.

Sgt Torpey said Ms Ip was right to have stayed with her car.

“She used great common sense to stay with her car and not wander off into bushland, which assisted in police being able to find her,” he told the BBC.

Ms Ip was eventually taken to a hospital to be treated for dehydration, and has since returned home to Melbourne.

As for what she made of the life-saving wine, she gave a single-word response not suitable for publishing, to suggest she was not a fan.