Stephen Currie endured 40 degree heat and was forced to eat butterflies, freshwater mussels and fruit after 
becoming disorientated in bushland near Chillagoe, in north Queensland.
Authorities had given up the search for him three weeks ago and few expected to see him again.
But that all changed on Tuesday when locals found him on a remote track about 10km outside the west Tableland town wearing just a pair of shorts.
Described as a bit of a loner, the 40-year-old sparked a massive air and land search when he disappeared on December 29 with his family in Victoria fearing the worst.
Even Mareeba police Det Sen-Constable Vince Marcel said it was unbelievable the man, who had lost 15kg, had been found at all, the Courier-Mail reported.
Sleeping on bark and sand, police and local landowners say his decision to follow the Walsh River, which provided him with food and water, saved his life.
Unbelievably, stories such as this one aren't uncommon.
Here are a few other tales where people have survived after undergoing extreme lengths in order to live.
