HELP - A Message in the Sand

 The following is from the UK's GUARDIAN.

A desperate message written in sand has saved the life of a British tourist who vanished in the Australian outback after he made 'the stupidest decision of his life'.

Geoff Keys, 63, was stranded for two days in the Jardine National Park in far north Queensland, when the self-described explorer got himself lost when trying to reach an isolated part of the park.

Mr. Keys was barefoot, alone, without food and fearing for his life as he tried to retrace his steps and return to safety. However, the Briton wound up more than 12 kilometers from his camp and, in a moment of madness, tried to swim to the Eliot Falls.

The desperate message left by Geoff Keys, the British tourist who survived two days lost in the Australian outback

In an act of desperation, the 63-year-old from Kent, scratched an SOS message into the sand - hoping someone would spot it.

The carving read 'HELP 2807' and had an arrow pointing downstream to where Mr. Keys was resting. 

'It seemed a good idea to help myself as much as possible so I got out of the water, found a stick and wrote a message in the sand, just in case the helicopter came down that way,' Mr Keys said.

'HELP. 2807. –>. Help, today’s date and my direction of travel. I thought this would be enough to get any helicopter that saw it looking in the right place.'

To read the complete post of Mr. Key's ordeal go here.