Australia family found after 10 days in wilderness

SYDNEY — A 5-year-old boy and his 7-year-old brother were recovering in a hospital Monday after surviving with their father for 10 days in the Australian wilderness with little food and in weather conditions that ranged from stormy to scorching.

Their ordeal began Dec. 11 when dad Steven Van Lonkhuyzen took a wrong turn during a family road trip and then got his four-wheel-drive vehicle bogged in mud. The family was rescued Sunday after farmer Tom Wagner went searching and found them in the remote Expedition National Park.

"They were pretty hungry by the time I got to them, and pretty happy to see me," Wagner said.

He said the younger boy, Timothy, kept asking him if he had any eggs, while the older one, Ethan, appeared dehydrated. He said the father had given the limited food he had to his sons, who themselves had gone with little or nothing to eat for a week.

He said the boys were getting their strength back after their ordeal, during which temperatures rose to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The boys were both listed as being in a stable condition at the Taroom Hospital.

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