‘I WAS LOST for 120 hours’
JULIANA SHARES HER STORY OF SURVIVAL
Walking through the Far North Queensland rainforest, Juliana Jaramillo Castrillon soaked up the sounds of calling birds and insects buzzing around her.
The 36-year-old had spent the last three days on a nature retreat at Cedar Bay, a remote area in Ngalba Bulal National Park only accessible by boat or a 16-kilometre hiking track.
“It was peaceful, a long way from civilisation,” Juliana, who is from Byron Bay, tells New Idea.
This remoteness had been the appeal of the adventure, but on September 10, Juliana learnt how alone she truly was.
“I’d hiked in with 12 people, but I’d told my sister Lina I’d be home by the weekend, so I left by myself,” Juliana explains. “I had enough water, and pink flags marked the route [home] so I was confident I’d be fine.
“After five hours following the flags, I crossed a creek. Then I must have missed a turn because I ended up in the jungle.
“I tried to go back but there was no track.”
Overwhelmed with frustration and after two hours walking in circles the reality set in. She was lost.
“I was dizzy and tired and crying,” she says.
Juliana found the river again and a lone pink flag she hadn’t seen before. Giving her hope she wasn’t too far off the track, she pitched the tent she was carrying and got ready to camp the night.
“I had half a protein ball and a small bag of oats which I ate one by one,” she says. “I knew there were dangers; snakes, insects, crocodiles, but I decided not to be afraid.”
That night Juliana slept intermittently, trying to put into practice the spiritual teaching of acceptance she lived by.
“At one point a little voice inside told me I would be there for four nights,” she says. “The next day I still packed up my tent thinking I could find my way out sooner but this time it was worse. The jungle was so thick.”
Back in her camping spot Juliana waited, hoping her sister would raise the alarm.
“I started a routine. I washed in the river then I sat meditating and praying on a rock. I tried to stay positive, but the doubts would creep in.
“I was sometimes scared I would die.”
After three days and four
nights, Juliana was weak and exhausted but hopeful her prediction was correct.
“I woke up thinking today’s the day I’m going to be rescued,” she says. “But I didn’t put my tent down because you never know. Then as the day went on the anxiety started. What if nobody came? I tried to be positive, but I was crying a little bit when I heard a sound.”
And then Juliana saw them: two men!
“I called ‘hello’ and then I was crying. They said they’d been looking for me. I was so relieved.”
Despite being vegan, Juliana recalls how she wolfed down the cheese sandwich they offered – her first meal in almost five days.
“They had a GPS and a machete and cut a way back to the path. I was only 1.5 kilometres off,” she says.
Incredibly, after meeting with SES and having more food to eat, Juliana turned down the offer of a helicopter rescue. She insisted she walk the two hours out of the rainforest.
Her sister Lina was waiting as she emerged.
“I had thought about what
‘I was sometimes scared I would die’
I would do if I got out and hugging my sister was the first thing,” Juliana recalls. “It was amazing.”
After being checked at Cooktown Hospital, Juliana spent the next few days in Cairns before flying home.
“I felt guilty for worrying my family but so grateful to my rescuers. They told me they had never found someone alive and with my energy after five days, so I know I was lucky.
“I never gave up hope and I know I didn’t do it alone. My prayers were answered.”