A missing backpacker who was found alive after surviving 12 days in the remote Australian outback is speaking out for the first time about what happened.

Carolina Wilga, a German backpacker, was found alive after spending 12 days missing in the remote outback of Western Australia, according to local authorities. Wilga, 26, vanished on June 29 after her van became bogged down in the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve, a hostile and sparsely populated region north of the small town of Beacon.

Carolina Wilga, the German backpacker rescued from the Australian wilderness, has been discharged from hospital in Perth after five days, local media reported on Wednesday. It was initially unclear whether she would remain in Australia or leave the country.