‘Brink of madness’: German backpacker Carolina Wilga details her 12-day WA outback nightmare in tell-all book

It was the extraordinary story of survival that gave Hollywood blockbuster movies a run for their money.

German backpacker Carolina Wilga was exploring the state’s Wheatbelt in June 2025 when she ran into mechanical problems, miles away from the nearest town, triggering an intense search and rescue mission in WA’s outback.

It would be 12 days and 11 nights before she would see another person again, during which time the tiny Wheatbelt town of Beacon, about 250 kilometres north-east of Perth, would be thrust into the international spotlight.

A year on from the incredible ordeal, the 26-year-old has revealed how she survived in one of the world’s harshest regions, in her tell-all book written exclusively in German, set to be released on Friday.

In a post uploaded to her Instagram stories on Thursday morning, Ms Wilga revealed: “Many of you followed my disappearance through the media last year.

“Afterwards, things became very quiet around me. The reason for this was something very special: I had the wonderful opportunity to process what I experienced by writing a book, to record my story, and in doing so, share it with you.

“The book will be available in stores (in Germany) from 4 September 2026.”

The German national went on to share that there were no current plans for the book to be translated into English, stating: “And for my English-speaking friends. Unfortunately there is no translation planned yet. But hopefully soon!”

In a preview extract of her new book titled ‘’Dem Outback entkommen; Mein Überlebenskampf in der australischen Wildnis’ which literally translates to ‘Escape from the Outback; My fight for survival in the Australian wilderness’, the backpacker begins her story with an overview of her ordeal.

“When 26-year-old baker Carolina Wilga disappeared in the Australian Outback in the summer of 2025, she left her friends and the entire world wondering about her fate,” the extract begins.

“Barefoot and dressed only in shorts and a T-shirt, she set off alone through the rugged landscape of the Karron Hills.

“Her search for food and drinking water, her battle against swarms of mosquitoes and almost impenetrable vegetation, repeatedly brought her to the brink of madness.

“Yet Carolina’s instinct to survive kept her going, so that in the end she accomplished what seemed impossible: surviving in one of the most remote regions of the continent.”

The professional baker also revealed how her journey had led her from a quiet town in west Germany across the world to a remote part of Western Australia.