A Chinese woman lost for five days believed she would be dead if she spent another night in the Queensland bushland.

Yang Chen has spoken about her ordeal, revealing her mistaken belief that brown snakes were not dangerous and telling how she survived.

Watch the video above

The 26 year old was found on Monday morning, five days after vanishing amid flooding while walking in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Her disappearance on Wednesday last week while walking near Gorge Falls in the Tallebudgera Valley sparked an extensive search.

Chen has thanked her rescuers, saying she knows how lucky she is to be alive, and has apologised to her loved ones “for putting them through so much worry”.

Yang Chen (second from right) with her rescuers, five days after losing her way walking in the Gold Coast hinterland. Credit: Queensland Police Service / Supplied

“I think I would have died if I was out there for one more day,” she said in a statement.

“People have asked what I was thinking when I was alone in the dark.

“I thought, ‘If I can get out, I will cherish my life’.”

Bush adventure

Chen ventured into the bush with a friend - a local - to visit a waterfall.

Two hours into the hike, they became separated when she fell behind him.

“I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I had to stay calm,” she said.

Chevron Right Icon ‘I think I would have died if I was out there for one more day.’

“I did have a phone but I could not get service, so I kept trying to go higher to hopefully get a phone signal but I could not get one.

“I could see that the river did not run in a straight line and it was too dangerous to walk down.

“The river looked like it went around in circles.”

She was lost.

Fight for survival

She found “bottles of water which were wrapped in a big white plastic bag with rope” and ate berries which “didn’t taste right”.

“I saw a really pretty blue lobster or crayfish in the water and walking around on land a couple of times, I even took a photo of it but I lost my phone,” she said.

Chen was found 30m up on a rock ledge in the Tallebudgera Valley. Credit: QLD Police

She waved at searching helicopters, to no avail.

“They felt so close,” she said.

“They could not see me under the trees.”

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Chen said she used plastic bags on her legs to stop being bitten by insects.

‘Little snakes’

She saw some “little snakes” but thought they weren’t dangerous because they were brown.

“I thought it was only the coloured ones that were poisonous,” she said.

“Since I was rescued, I have been told brown snakes can be dangerous, so I was lucky.”

Reflection

Chen has expressed gratitude to her rescuers and love for Australia and the Gold Coast.

Her recovery, which includes lots of rest, is ongoing.

Injuries suffered by Yang Chen after her ordeal in the Gold Coast bushland. Credit: Supplied

But she is looking forward to returning to her normal life.

“It has been really hard mentally, and my legs are still very sore but I am starting to feel better,” she said.

“I have been very tired and sleeping a lot.

“I loved being adventurous and discovering all the new things in this wonderful country but did not realise this walk was dangerous.

“I thank everyone and I will be forever grateful.”