Rescued backpacker Carolina Wilga admitted to German hospital amid television bidding war

Carolina Wilga, who survived 11 nights in the harsh WA outback, has returned to her home town as rival media networks continue to pursue her exclusive story.

German backpacker Carolina Wilga, left, was found after spending 11 nights in the WA outback.

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The rescued German backpacker who survived 11 nights lost in the West Australian outback has returned to her home town amid an ongoing frenzy from rival media outlets for her story.

Carolina Wilga quietly slipped out of the country at the weekend after boarding an A380 jetliner to Europe from Perth’s international airport.

The 26-year-old made the 20-hour journey in a business-class seat, accompanied by medical personnel, and stopped over in Dubai before touching down at Dusseldorf Airport at 1.31pm on Sunday.

The university student was then taken by ambulance to the Evangelical Hospital in Castrop-Rauxel, about 75km northeast of Dusseldorf, where she was met by a nurse and a team of bodyguards.

An undated photo of Ms Wilga released by WA police. Picture: Supplied

Ms Wilga was lowered into a wheelchair and pushed through to the hospital registration desk, while one of the guards carried her orange trekking backpack, according to local media.

The business-class treatment has sparked speculation that the backpacker may have signed on to share her exclusive story with a German television network.

Ms Wilga had spent 19 months in Australia before she became hopelessly lost in the desolate outback after spinning out and crashing her Mitsubishi Delica while driving through remote bushland about three hours northeast of Perth on June 29, sparking a massive search-and-rescue mission.

A CCTV image of Ms Wilga in her Mitsubishi Delica

After spending a day in her vehicle hoping for help, she decided to attempt to trek to safety before losing her way in the dense Karroun Hill nature reserve.

Searchers discovered her abandoned car more than a week later, about 1pm on July 10, and many survival experts lost hope of finding her alive.

Temperatures in the WA wheatbelt frequently hover near zero in July and the reserve is notoriously inhospitable, with no major water sources.

Ms Wilga was rescued the next day, having survived 11 nights in the wild scrubland, after she stumbled across local farmer Tania Henley on a little-used back road.

After meeting with local police, the young traveller was flown to Perth and admitted to Fiona Stanley Hospital dehydrated, traumatised and having lost 12kg.

The moment Ms Wilga meets with police after being saved.

In a statement released from her hospital bed by the West Australian authorities, she explained her decision to leave the site of her accident, while thanking everyone who helped try to find her.

“First and foremost, I want to express a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart – a thank you that truly comes from the depth of my soul! For all the incredible support during the search for me,” she said.

“Some people might wonder why I even left my car, even though I had water, food and clothing there.

“The answer is: I lost control of the car and rolled down a slope. In the crash, I hit my head significantly. As a result of the accident, I left my car in a state of confusion and got lost.”

The backpacker’s of survival sparked fierce competition for the rights to her story, with 60 Minutes and Spotlight both dispatching teams to try to sign her up to an exclusivity agreement, in exchange for amounts in the range of $60,000.

Fiona Stanley Hospital, where German backpacker Carolina Wilga spent five nights recovering. Picture: NewsWire/Philip Gostelow

Even though both outlets staked out the hospital for much of last week in the hope of making contact with Ms Wilga, she managed to slip out of the facility undetected last Wednesday after spending five nights recovering there.

She then spent the next few days farewelling friends and bid a “great goodbye to Perth” in an Instagram post of herself with other youngsters at Cottesloe Beach at the weekend before flying out of Perth Airport, again unnoticed by trailing media.

The fact the social media post has since been deleted has only further fuelled speculation she has sold her story to a major current affairs outlet.