Desert Walker and the story of his miraculous rescue (9 photos)

This story could well begin with the words: “On December 31, my friends and I go to the bathhouse.” Then its beginning could at least be somehow explained from a logical standpoint. But her hero suffered a memory loss at this point. Or he was simply disingenuous, talking about the reasons, which as a result became a way to overcome himself and test his strength.





The story of Ricky Maggie is quite strange, because it has not yet been established how exactly he ended up in such a situation. The guy survived for 71 days, traveling through the Australian outback without food, equipment or even basic shoes. But the reasons why he ended up in this situation in the first place changed several times.



Australian desert

Ricky Maggie is an ordinary Australian, born in 1971. In 2006, he suddenly woke up in the desert - completely alone, without supplies and even without normal clothes.

According to the original version, he picked up an Aboriginal hitchhiker on the road, who apparently drugged him, and he woke up a few hours later in the wilderness, where dingoes tried to feast on him, gnawing on the man’s legs.



Ricky before his adventures in the desert

According to another version, he stopped to help three men who had run out of gas. But he was attacked when he got out of the car and knocked down. He said his attackers stole his truck and boots (out of the blue) and then abandoned him in a shallow grave in the desert. Although the bandits were kind enough to, for unknown reasons, leave a little more than 12 dollars in his pocket (leaving the money - taking the shoes - what's the point?)



Route

For whatever reason Ricky ended up there, it does not change the fact that the guy really found himself in an extreme situation. And this is not just a beautiful expression, but a fact. He didn't know where he was and he didn't have anything useful with him, so Maggie just walked. Over the next 70 days he moved through the hot Australian desert. Not knowing when he will reach safety (if ever). On the one hand, the situation was aggravated by the fact that it was the middle of the rainy season. At this time in Australia, the heat is especially difficult to bear due to high humidity.

But, on the other hand, this increased the chances of survival, since Ricky encountered many puddles on the way and could get drunk. One day he even came across a large dam, where he stopped to recuperate. During the day it can be hot here, temperatures reach +40 °C. But if the traveler had found himself in the desert at another time of the year, he would most likely simply have died of thirst.



For the poor guy it was a delicacy

After the rescue, Meggie said that sometimes he came across edible plants. But his main food was ants and other insects. And if he came across small reptiles, then it was a real stomach fest. He dried the frog until it was crispy and then slowly gnawed it. One day, hunger even forced him to eat leeches.

During a strange forced journey, an Australian man developed an abscess under one of his teeth. Fearing that in such conditions an infection could get into him and lead to death, the man picked out the diseased tooth from his mouth.



In this hospital, Ricky came to his senses for a week

After 71 days of an exciting quest that involved moving around, eating bugs and drinking from puddles, the poor fellow finally stumbled across shepherds who arranged for him to be transported to the nearest hospital. On April 5, 2006, Maggie arrived at the Royal Darwin Hospital, finding himself in one of the most remote regions of the continent. His initial weight before the incident was 230 pounds (just over 104 kilograms). But when he arrived at the hospital, he weighed 105 pounds (about 48 kilograms). That is, in more than two months he lost more than half of his total body weight.



After the desert trials

Despite severe malnutrition and sunburn, Ricky managed not to catch any dangerous diseases and did not need serious medical attention.



Ricky Maggie

The Australian wrote a book about his adventures. How did he manage to survive in such conditions? Perhaps there really is some practical meaning in the expression “God loves fools, children and drunkards.” After all, Ricky was definitely not a good boy and had already come to the attention of the police for dabbling in specific substances. Or it was simply a matter of exceptional luck, which should be considered as a clear hint of the need to reconsider and change your life.



A book about miraculous salvation