Aussie carries his leg for two days after fall

An Australian hiker walked for two days with a flailing leg after he snapped it "clean in half" following a 6-meter (19.6-foot) fall down a waterfall, local media reported on Wednesday.

Neil Parker broke his leg in half and fractured his wrist in the tumble while walking by himself in Cabbage Tree Creek on Mount Nebo, northwest of Brisbane.

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The hiker then walked for two days lifting his leg and scrambling.

The ordeal began, he explained from his hospital bed, when he "cartwheeled and slammed into the rock and then landed in the creek at the bottom."

"Straight away, I thought, 'I'm now in a lot of trouble because no one knows where I am.'"

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Parker, who is a seasoned bushwalking guide, used his hiking sticks to splint his leg.

He tried to make a phone call, but after dropping his mobile "into the drink" reverted to crawling.

After 48 hours, 3 kilometers (1.8 miles), "a protein bar and some lollies," Parker was spotted by a helicopter and winched to safety.

The Australian cited his experience as a hiker as essential in his survival.

However, it was the thought of his family, including his estranged son, that gave him the strength he needed to keep going.

"The family connection, to let them know that I'm OK, just kept driving me," he said. "I wanted to be around for my kids."

jsi/sms (dpa, AFP)

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