Lost in FNQ

Just goes to show: Far North Queensland can be a dangerous place.

A 60-year-old woman who survived eight days trapped and tormented by ants and mosquitoes after crashing down a deep creek bed is in a serious but stable condition.

Mrs Kathryn Ellacott's family, who went to great lengths to track her down, told smh.com.au today they were "just ecstatic" after being on an "emotional roller-coaster" for the past week.

Mother of four Mrs Ellacott was found alive yesterday more than a week after her Holden Commodore plunged about 70 metres down a steep embankment in the Paluma Range, after crashing off a winding mountain road about 60 kilometres north of Townsville.

She had survived by drinking water from a nearby stream and sheltering under a rock in the rugged bush. (via Sydney Morning Herald)

I know that road - we were going down that road two weeks ago when visiting my uncle and aunt in Townsville, on the way back from a sidetrip to Paluma. And trust me - you really really don't want to crash there. Australia in its stark remoteness and the fact that this could happen to someone barely 60 kilometres outside of Townsville (population: about 100.000 people - we're not talking sleepy hamlet here) is just mindboggling. Man, 60 k's outside Hamburg and you're in the next city, not so isolated that no-one can find you for a week.

Australia - truly a land of extremes.