A camper with diabetes, who had been lost for over a week in the rugged wilderness of Victoria, shared his harrowing experience of fearing for his life.

Sixty-one-year-old Troy Milne was finally discovered around 5 p.m. near Buchan in the East Gippsland area. His rescue was made possible when he set a fire to signal his location to those searching for him.

Upon reaching Essendon Airport on the outskirts of Melbourne for medical care, Milne gave an exclusive interview to 9News.

“I truly believed I wouldn’t make it… I just kept hydrating as much as possible,” he recounted.

The fire he started near Kirby Cross Track was what ultimately caught the attention of the firefighters, leading to his rescue.

They finally found him after spotting his Jeep Wrangler SUV close to the small blaze.

The vehicle had bottomed out on the terrain and was not drivable, prompting Milne to light a fire in the hope emergency services would respond.

He was taken to a local hospital for treatment and observation.

Milne went missing after leaving his campsite at Woodside Beach for a quick trip collect supplies last Tuesday.

It triggered an extensive nine-day search to try and find the insulin-dependent diabetic amid fears he had suffered a medical episode.

Police said finding Milne alive was a remarkable result.

“We really feared the worst so to be able to contact Troy’s family and give them the fantastic news was a wonderful result,” Inspector Wayne Rothwell said.

“Troy was without his medication for a long period which left him disorientated and confused so we believe he turned off the highway at some point and became lost in the bush.

“It was a challenging search due to the huge area that Troy had been spotted travelling around so it was extremely difficult to narrow down where to concentrate our efforts.

“Once Troy lit the fire, it drew the attention of our fire crews who quickly responded and located him.”