Australian father and son found after being lost in wilderness for three days

An Australian father and son have said they are lucky to be alive after spending three nights lost in the Tasmanian wilderness.

John Ward, 41, and his 13-year-old son Stephen were hiking near Scotts Peak Dam in the Southwest National Park on Monday when they became lost.

After a three-day search and rescue effort, the duo was found late on Thursday.

John Ward was diagnosed and treated for mild hypothermia but Stephen was declared healthy.

"It was tough; really, really tough," Stephen told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.

"We came across a hiker, he said we were on the right track, the one we were on, but it wasn't, we were on a big, big track."

He said that he guessed they had ended up 20 kilometers away from their camp site.

"We found a river and made a hut down there," he said.

"I thought we were on the way out."

The pair had water and managed to find scraps of food left behind by other hikers.

Sergeant Chris Williams, the coordinator of the search, said that building the shelter had "probably saved their lives."

"They've been able to protect themselves somewhat from the elements, from the heavy rain we had, they still did become wet and damp in that shelter," Williams told reporters.

Speaking from a stretcher, John Ward thanked emergency services for conducting the search.

"They did a really good job, they're real heroes," he said.

Grave fears were held for the father and son since the alarm was raised on Tuesday night after they failed to return from their hiking trip on time.

Police said the pair had never hiked in Tasmania before but a log book indicated they were going to be hiking the Scotts Peak track, which usually takes four or five days.

Wendy Ward, John's mother, said she had not yet spoken to the pair.

"(I am) very relieved. It has been a terrible couple of nights, we are all so relieved," she said. Endit