Ricky Megee – 71 Days in the Desert

The story of Ricky Megee is quite a strange one, as it has never been established exactly how he ended up in his situation in the first place. He survived for 71 days travelling across the Australian outback with no food, equipment or even shoes, but his story of how he ended up there in the first place has changed numerous times.

One of his stories is about how he picked up an aboriginal hitchhiker along the road who must have drugged his drink at some point, with him waking up hours later in the middle of nowhere with dingos scratching at him.

Another tale of his claims he stopped to help 3 men who had run out of gas, but was set upon when he got out and knocked unconscious. He says they stole his truck and his shoes before abandoning him in a shallow grave in the desert, though they were kind enough to leave him with just over 12 dollars in his pocket.

Whatever the reason he was there to start with doesn’t change the fact he was in a desperate survival scenario. He didn’t know where he was and had nothing of any use on him, so he began to walk. Over the next 70 days he travelled across the hot Australian outback not knowing when he’d reach safety, if ever, but luckily for him it was the middle of the wet season.

He claims to have come across numerous puddles and watering holes, and at one point found a large dam were he stayed for a day to rehydrate. During the day it can get as hot as 40 °C, meaning if he had been stranded at any other time of year there’s a very good chance he would have died of thirst.

Megee claims to have come across the occasional edible plant, but for the most part his food source consisted of ants and insects, and sometimes small reptiles when he could catch them. He even says that at one time he was so hungry he resorted to eating leeches.

There’s one point of his journey were he talks about how he developed an abscess under one of his teeth, and fearing that it could get infected and possibly become fatal, he prised it out of his mouth using his car keys.

After 71 days of eating bugs and drinking puddles he finally ran into some animal herders who arranged for him to be flown to a nearby hospital. On the 5th of April 2006 Megee arrived at the Royal Darwin Hospital after being stranded in one of the most remote regions on the continent. His original weight before the incident was 230 pounds, but when he arrived at the hospital he weighed 105 pounds, over half his total body weight.

Apart from being severely malnourished and sunburned, he was able to remain well hydrated throughout his ordeal and didn’t require any serious medical attention.