A 23-year-old hiker who survived 13 days lost in the Australian wilderness after stumbling on two granola bars has thanked his rescuers for enduring “tough conditions” to find him.

An Australian student missing for two weeks near the country's tallest mountain was found on Wednesday, after surviving by foraging for berries, drinking water from a creek and finding two muesli bars left behind by other hikers,

Police say a hiker survived on two muesli bars, foraged berries and creek water for two weeks while lost on a remote Australian mountain range

The hiker had no major injuries and appeared to be in good health, police said. He was taken to a hospital to be further assessed and rehydrated.