Two young girls have been reunited with their families after spending a night lost in bush in central NSW in near freezing temperatures.
The seven-year-olds disappeared from their families' campsites at Ophir Reserve near Orange on Saturday afternoon after tumbling down a ravine while exploring bush tracks.
"We were climbing up a mountain, and we fell off the side of it, and we fell down this steep hill and we were down, nearly into the water," one of the girls Marley Alpin told the Seven Network.
As the light was fading, their families raised the alarm when they realised the girls weren't returning.
About 200 emergency workers and locals then searched throughout the night while their families feared the worst.
"I was running out of options, to be honest, as to where else to look," Marley's mother told Seven.
"We had the divers in the water, and so, like, a million things are running through your mind."
In fact, Marley and Rihanna had bunkered down in a safe spot to weather the cold night, where temperatures dropped down to 1C.
"We found somewhere to sleep and hugged up with each other to keep warm," Marley told Seven.
Just after 11am on Sunday, a helicopter found the pair a few kilometres from their campsite and flew them back to waiting paramedics and their enormously relieved families.
A photo posted by NSW Police of the rescue shows the two mid-flight grinning shyly despite the scratches on their faces.
"One had a little minor scratch to her face, (but they were) joking and giggling in really, really good spirits," NSW ambulance chief inspector Rhys Dive said.
The two have been taken to Orange Hospital, where one of the girls will undergo surgery on Sunday night after suffering a puncture wound to her upper thigh.
