Family lost in Otways forced to sleep on makeshift bed of ferns

A FAMILY lost in the Great Otway National Park slept on a makeshift bed of ferns and had to jump around to keep warm after becoming lost in the bush on the longest night of the year.

Deirdre Gartland, her 16year-old twin daughters, Eliza and Rebecca, and their dog Buddy became lost on a walk from their holiday hut off Killala Rd, near Apollo Bay.

The trio, from Brunswick, set off about 10am on Saturday but within hours realised they were lost.

They called Ms Gartland’s mother, Geraldine, who advised them to walk down a ridge to a creek that would lead them out of the bush.

They soon lost the phone signal and, as darkness fell, were forced to huddle together on a makeshift bed made of ferns.

The trio could see a search helicopter overhead, which Ms Gartland’s husband Greg Aronson said “was reassuring”.

They were found about 9.30am yesterday when Ms Gartland emerged in a clearing just as her brother, Tim, shouted “cooee” from a roadside about 1km away.

“They spotted each other. It is so amazing,” Mr Aronson said. “It was a very sleepless night for us. We had hoped that they were going to be found.

“The SES and police were out until about 1am and we were getting constant updates, but the longer it went on the more we worried.”

It took about an hour after they were discovered for police to lead Ms Gartland and the girls out of the bush — with no injuries other than blackberry scratches.

“It was absolutely heartwarming and a massive relief, particularly to see that they were unharmed and beaming,” Mr Aronson said.

“It was the winter solstice so they happened to spend the longest night of the year on some ferns they had arranged.

“Buddy kept them warm and they kept Buddy warm.

“They shivered all night and didn’t really sleep because they had to keep getting up to jump around to keep warm.”

Mr Aronson said he was grateful to the police and SES volunteers who helped search for his family.

“The professionalism of the response and the care and effort that was shown by Victoria Police and the SES was absolutely first rate,” he said.