Family found after 10 days in the Australian outback

A father and his two young sons survived for 10 days in a remote national park in Australia by collecting rainwater, their rescuer said.

Steven Van Lonkhuyzen and his sons, Ethan, 7 and Timothy, 5, left their home in Brisbane, Queensland, for the northern city of Cairns, 1,059 miles away, on Dec. 11. They were last seen at a gas station later that day, Queensland Police said.

The family, which had little food and no cellphone reception, were found by a farmer in Expedition National Park on Sunday.

The boys were in a stable condition in a hospital Monday.

Queensland Police Acting Superintendent Mick Bianchi said Van Lonkhuyzen planned to drive to Cairns using an inland route. Their vehicle got bogged in mud in the national park.

"Quite simply, he took a wrong turn," Bianchi said.

He said the family had limited provisions but were able to collect rainwater in a plastic container during storms.

Farmer Tom Wagner was tending to cattle when he remembered seeing a vehicle matching the description of Van Lonkhuyzen's white four-wheel-drive enter the national park, News.com.au reported.

"I realized where they had been and thought they could be in the park next to us," Wagner said, according to the website.

"It's 100,000 acres of really rough country, it's massive and easy to get lost in.

"I thought, if it was my own kids, just how frightening that would be. I had to go and find them, I just hoped I would find them alive."

He searched for the family on his four-wheeled farm motorbike and found them after several hours. They were found about 186 miles from where they were last seen.

"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 Ethan appeared dehydrated. The father gave the limited food he had to his sons, who themselves had gone with little or nothing to eat for a week, he said.

"Luckily it rained," he said. "Otherwise they would have perished."

"They were very trying conditions, and it would have tested the family's relationship," Bianchi added.

He said Van Lonkhuyzen tried to establish routines with his children and keep them occupied.

Bianchi said the national park is not usually visited at this time of year because of the extreme weather conditions. Temperatures rose to 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the family's ordeal.

Contributing: Associated Press