An 84 year-old Kiwi woman has been reunited with her rescuers after being lost in the Australian bush.
Patricia Byrne was found alive despite going nearly four days without food or water.
"I didn't think I was lost, I thought this crowd was slack and hadn't noticed I wasn't there for breakfast!" she says.
It's easy to joke from her hospital bed, but her family was ready to plan a funeral after days with no sign of her.
The grandmother stopped for a rest on a walk last Thursday (local time) near her family's West Australian home. They quickly realised they couldn't find her, and it would be days until they saw her again.
"I lost my way, but I figured if I followed the creek bed I'd end at the right place," says Mrs Bryne.
Instead, she spent three nights with no food or water and only puddles in the creek to drink.
She's still far from her Whangamata home, but even her hospital bed in Australia is a world away from where she's been.
"This is like a 10-star hotel, brilliant."
Better than the service is the company, with visitors like Stephen Ball. He was one of two police officers who found her - now she doesn't want to let him go.
"Are you up for adoption?" she joked.
Mr Ball was similarly enamoured: "To see her laughing and joking, it's marvellous to see her like that."
The good news just keeps on coming. Her new great-grandson was born while Mrs Byrne was lost in the bush.
There's much to be grateful for this Christmas - but especially two faces, old and new.
Newshub.
