I took my boy, 9, for a walk & ended up stranded in the wilderness for 10 days…we only survived by drinking our own wee

CLUTCHING her nine-year-old son’s hand Michelle Pitman could feel the blazing Australian sun beating down on her back. After almost 10 days without food or water Dylan was severely dehydrated and fading fast and Michelle was terrified. Michelle Pittman and her son Dylan were lost in the Australian bush for 10 days Credit: Bauer Michelle and Dylan (pictured above) went into the bushland without any food or water Credit: Bauer Their situation was so desperate they’d even been forced to drink their own own urine for hydration. “We’d been incredibly lucky to be alive,” says Michelle. Sign up for the Fabulous newsletter Thank you! “I’d gone into the bushland without any water or food and hadn’t told anybody where we were going. “I was a mother and should never have taken my son into such a hostile environment and put his life in danger. “The area was so vast it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Police were just hours away from calling off the search when the couple was eventually discovered. “[By the time we were found] we’d been missing for 10 long days and nights and were suffering from severe dehydration, starvation, swollen legs and insect bites.” Michelle used survival expert Bear Grylls’ advice about being lost overnight in the wild Credit: Bauer They suffered with severe dehydration, starvation, swollen legs and insect bites Credit: Bauer Michelle and Dylan were big fans of Bear Grylls’ noughties TV show Man Vs Wild, which saw the survival specialist roaming through forests and woodlands, when she decided to “plan some adventures” of her own. Most read in Fabulous A mother to four children, Michelle’s youngest boy Dylan was the only one still living at home when she began researching hiking trails in Mount Royal National Park, a vast, 17,000 acre terrain of bushland and mountains close to their home in New South Wales, Australia. “Looking at my watch, I saw it was only 11am and I was struck by a bit of a mad idea,” she recalls, of the reckless decision that nearly cost her her life. “‘We could go and check out one of the routes now,’ I said. “‘Just have a quick look and see if we want to go walking there some time?’” Driving down her street which soon gave way to trees and scrubland, Michelle and Dylan travelled for an hour before parking up and heading down a track winding through some trees. “We wandered along for a while, taking in the sights and breathing in the fresh air,” she says. “Isn’t this lovely? I thought. Dylan was just 9-years-old when he and mum Michelle became lost in the wilderness Credit: Bauer Michelle said her feelings of guilt deepened when she realised how close they had been to death Credit: Bauer “We should definitely do this more often. “We strolled a bit further, changing direction, but after a while it was time to go back. “Only turning around, I felt disorientated.” Michelle felt a prickle of fear as she scoured the landscape looking for the right way to go, fearing she was heading deeper into the bushland, located north of Sydney, instead. With daylight fading and no sign of the car park, the fearful mum turned to her phone but had no signal. “Realisation hit me,” she says. “We were stranded and no one knew where we were. “We had no equipment – no food or water – and I had no idea what animals could be lurking nearby. “Dylan looked terrified.” Running out of ideas and feeling increasingly desperate, Michelle asked herself: “What would Bear do?” “Remembering his advice about being lost overnight in the wild, we gathered branches and laid them on top of ourselves,” she says of the British survival expert. “We cuddled up together. “In the dark we could hear noises of animals pattering about, but I didn’t know what they were.” Michelle and Dylan woke up the next morning and spent the day searching for the right route but to no avail. “All we had were the clothes on our backs, and we were tired, scared and hungry,” she says. “Soon, the pair of us were licking the moisture on the leaves of plants. “With no choice, we trampled on. “I had to somehow get us out of this horrific ordeal, reasoning that if we went downwards, we might find a track.” Reassuring Dylan that he’d be home soon, by the fourth day his mother realised drastic measures were needed with no water source available. “‘I’ll go first,’ I said, taking the phone out of its case,” she recalls. “Manoeuvring myself, I peed into the case, braced myself, and tipped the liquid into my mouth. “It tasted foul. “But we needed to drink our urine to stay hydrated. “‘Just think of it as apple juice,’ I said. “Bravely, Dylan did the same.” The pair also removed ticks and leeches from each other, shared one pair of shoes and tied grass around trees to mark their location over the ten days they were lost. In the middle of their ten-day ordeal, Dylan asked Michelle a heartbreaking question: “If we’re still here at Christmas, will Santa know where to bring my presents?” “Desperately I tried to stay enthusiastic, even pointing to some little ferns in the shape of Christmas trees,” she says. “But of course, the truth was, if we were still here in two months’ time we wouldn’t be alive.” Then, on the seventh day, Michelle woke up to find Dylan lying prone on the ground, stiff and purple. With her son growing weaker, her phone battery died and she was losing hope. Michelle urged her boy to keep walking alongside her, still heading downward, they eventually came across a puddle of water next to a dried up creek, thirstily gulping it down. Barely able to lift one foot after another, they then reached a wider track and on day ten, as they continued to walk, their ordeal ended. “I blinked, shielding my eyes in the sunlight,” says Michelle. “It was a car – and people. “With every last ounce of strength, I flapped my arms, shouted and urged myself forward. “The figures were police officers. “They came running towards us. “Relief coursed through me.” “We’d been saved.” The pair had been found thanks to Michelle’s daughter Sarah, 19, who had gone to the family home and spotted details of potential walks her mother had jotted down before calling the police. Spotting Michelle’s black four wheel drive in the national park’s Youngville Camping Ground car park, officers from Hunter Valley Police launched a search. When the mother and son were found, the pair were taken to hospital to be treated for their minor injuries: severe dehydration, starvation, swollen legs and insect bites. Michelle had learned cops were 48 hours from calling off their search and her feelings of guilt deepened as she realised how close they had been to death. “I was certain we would’ve died had it not been for facts we’d learnt watching Bear Grylls,” she says. “Soon word spread of our incredible survival. “Even Bear heard, describing us as ‘resourceful and courageous’. “His words buoyed me but at the same time, I was consumed by guilt.” Michelle would never forgive herself for risking the safety of her beloved youngest child, fearing he would hold their ordeal against her in the future. Instead, kindhearted Dylan reassured his mother it was an accident and nine years on, they remain a loving mum and son. “I’m so proud of him and what we overcame,” says Michelle. “In a way, our ordeal forged a bond which is stronger than ever. “Having said that, I certainly wouldn’t recommend anyone else doing what we did.” LOST by Michelle Pittman is out now. Visit, michellepittmanlost.com.au Comment now