An experienced kitesurfer whose disappearance sparked a land and air search buried himself in sand during a night on a remote beach on West Australia's Mid-West coast.
Matthew Wing, 48, was found walking along a beach north of Geraldton on Saturday after a sleepless night on a thorny beach.
He had intended to go on a 10km, 90-minute kite surf from Drummond Cove, north of Geraldton, to Coronation Beach but failed to arrive as scheduled about 4pm AWST on Friday.
The father of two said that was because his kite had torn mid-trip.
"That's when I realised I was in a bit of trouble," he told Seven News.
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He eventually made it to land 10km further north near Bowes River and then tried to walk through dense bushland to reach a highway.
Meanwhile, his concerned friends began searching for him before alerting police.
After realising he couldn't walk much further through the bushland, the exhausted kitesurfer bunkered down for the night by wrapping himself in his torn kite and slightly burying himself in sand dunes.
A marine rescue crew spotted him walking along the beach about 9am on Saturday.
WA Police Inspector Dave Hooper urged kitesurfers to consider using a personal location beacon and carrying a waterproof mobile phone.
