A hiker who was “too stubborn” to turn back after a wrong turn before being hit by waves and then forced to cling to a remote rock edge for almost 24 hours has given an informal one-word description of his daring rescue mission. .
Daniel Hart, 27, was thrown into the ocean after spending three hours rock climbing following a wrong turn on the Coast Track in the Royal National Park, 50 kilometers south of Sydney, about 4pm on Saturday. .
The raging waves “carried away” him before he was swept onto a rocky outcrop about 20 meters below the Eagle Rock cliff, about four kilometers through thick bush from the nearest road.
Hart spent a cold night “huddled” on the cliff before another hiker heard his cries for help in the morning and alerted authorities.
Shortly after lunchtime on Sunday, a team of NSW Ambulance paramedics abseiled down the steep cliff face to help move Mr Hart to a location where he could be safely transported to a helicopter .
But when asked about his “remarkable” rescue, Hart feigned cool Australian calm.
“Yes… it was a grouse,” he told 9News, before thanking his rescuers.
Daniel Hart, 27, was thrown into the ocean after spending three hours climbing rocks following a wrong turn on the Coast Track in the Royal National Park.
Shortly after lunchtime on Sunday, a team of NSW Ambulance paramedics abseiled down the steep cliff face to help move Mr Hart to a location where he could be safely transported to a helicopter .
Incredibly, Mr Hart only suffered a few scrapes to his knees and was treated for mild hypothermia.
Inspector Jason Rutherford of NSW Ambulance said it was a “difficult extraction”.
“It couldn’t go straight up the cliff so they installed a side safety system to move it sideways to a place where the helicopter could safely get it up,” Mr Rutherford told Nine News.
When asked what was going through his head during his long night on the cliff, Mr Hart said: “You’re an idiot, why are you so stubborn?”
“It could have been much worse,” he added.
Hart was unharmed and surprisingly indifferent to his ordeal and dramatic rescue.
Hart was 50 days into a planned 4,500 kilometer journey across mainland Australia, from the southernmost point of Wilson Promontory, southeast of Melbourne to Cape York in far north Queensland.
He is doing it to raise awareness about a Universal Basic Income, advocating for everyone to receive an unconditional $500 a week to cover their basic needs.
He later shared a selfie smiling alongside one of his rescuers on the cliff before he was taken to safety.
“Posting this from Sutherland Hospital,” Hart captioned the image.
Yesterday was a little misadventure; I lost all my stuff, spent the night in a cave on a cliff and had to be flown out today.
The post was flooded with concern for his well-being, but people also saw the lighter side, with one joking that he had left his followers on a ‘cliffhanger’.
Another asked: ‘The real question is: will he return to the place where he was rescued since he didn’t technically walk to the hospital?’
