Police have described the rescue of missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga as "sheer luck".
Ms Wilga was discovered on Friday afternoon, after spending 11 nights exposed to freezing temperatures in WA's Wheatbelt region.
"The area out there, there's mixed terrain. It can be quite dangerous if you don't know what you're doing or where you're going," WA Police Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo said.
Police discovered her abandoned vehicle deep in a nature reserve 36 kilometres north of Beacon in WA's Wheatbelt on Thursday afternoon, and conducted a large-scale aerial search.
About 4:20pm on Friday, Ms Wilga was able to flag down a passing motorist on Mouroubra Road, about 24 kilometres from her stranded van, ending her ordeal.
Ms Wilga is in a stable condition in a Perth hospital.
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