The old saying goes that ‘a bottle a day keeps the doctor at bay’, but for Aussie Lillian Ip, that bottle was possibly enough to save her life.

The Melbourne 48-year-old was heading out on a short holiday recently to Bright in Victoria state when she took a wrong turn and ended up down a dead-end muddy dirt track in dense bushland. Turning round to go back the way she came, her car became bogged down and she couldn’t move it: health issues prevented her from leaving the vehicle and with no one around to help, she was marooned in her car without a phone reception.

Despite her family notifying authorities she was missing, she wasn’t located for five days, with just a couple of lollipops in the car and no water source. Fortunately, Lillian had bought a bottle of wine as a gift for her mother and, despite being teetotal, the wine supply kept her going until her car was spotted by the police’s air wing.

Police officers on the ground then headed in her direction and she was found, suffering from dehydration but otherwise seemingly well, a fact confirmed when she was treated in hospital.

“She was only planning a day trip so had only taken a couple of snacks and lollies with her but no water,” said Sergeant Martin Torpey from Wodonga police. “The only liquid Lillian, who doesn’t drink, had with her was a bottle of wine she had bought as a gift for her mother, so that got her through.

“She used great common sense to stay with her car and not wander off into bushland, which assisted in police being able to find her.”