text: The parents of an 11-year-old autistic boy who miraculously survived four-and-a-half-days alone in the bush after he vanished from their favourite campground have vowed to continue holidaying at the camping spot. Luke Shambrook, who went without food or water since Good Friday, has been going to the Candlebark Campground at Lake Eildon National Park, northeast of Melbourne, since he was just one year old, his parents Rachel and Tim Shambrook revealed in an emotional press conference on Thursday. A desperate search for Luke in the park was mounted after he disappeared from the campground on Friday. The hunt ended on Tuesday when a police helicopter guided on-ground searchers to Luke's location. ‘One thing in his favour is he has been going there since he was one-year-old, every year he’s been up and down the hills and visiting the lake,’ Luke’s father Tim said. Scroll down for video . Rachel and Tim Shambrook thanked everyone for their efforts in helping to find their son Luke . Luke Shambrook's doctors are amazed he is in such a good condition considering he was missing without food and water for so long . His relieved mother Rachel added: ‘He has a real sense of belonging there. I guess that gave him lots of confidence but ultimately that place gives him lots of pleasure and that’s what we are on about regarding spending time there.’ His parents believe the communities prayers and Luke’s own resilience is what saw him survive the terrifying ordeal. ‘Sometimes we don’t give our kids enough credit for their resilience - but he sure showed us,’ Rachel said. The moment Luke was found was captured on video, he was seen peering out from behind trees before a uniformed police officer reached him and took his hand to reassure him he was finally safe. Tim said: ‘We admire everyone’s professionalism, determination and commitment to finding Luke.’ The 11-year-old autistic boy was found just three kilometres away from where went missing at Lake Eildon National Park - north-east of Melbourne . The Shambrook family with (left to right) Luke, 11, Lauren, 7, and Matthew, 10 and parents Rachel and Tim . Luke's parents revealed he has been going to the Candlebark Campground at Lake Eildon National Park, where he went missing, since he was just one year old . The couple vowed to take him back to the campground for more holidays. ‘He has a real sense of belonging there,' Rachel said . ‘We were acutely aware of the thousands of prayers… we felt them,’ Rachel said. The mother-of-three admitted: ‘We found it difficult to keep our hopes up.’ ‘He’s showed a side of him that we knew was there but his resilience has just blown us away,’ Rachel said. ‘To have such an amazing outcome it’s hard to express it in words.’ The parents are still at a loss to know how their son spent his long days alone in the Victorian bushland. ‘If only we could have a snapshot of what his time out there in the bush was like… the concept of trying to understand what he did and how he survived is beyond what we can imagine,’ Rachel said. ‘We’d like to have a glimpse of what he did at night.’ Luke Shambrook was lost for four nights alone in the Victorian bushland and on Wednesday he was reunited with his rescuers at Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne . Doctors said on Wednesday they are stunned with how healthy Luke appeared when he was found. Sitting up in his hospital bed, the young boy was greeted by two people from the search and rescue team who made the dramatic find on Tuesday, just three kilometres from where he went missing at Lake Eildon National Park. Luke has been comforted by his family at Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and after suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and hypothermia when he was found. He is unlikely to suffer any long term effects from his traumatic ordeal. A camera on the helicopter captured the dramatic moment rescuers reached Luke on the fourth day of an increasingly desperate search . A police officer was first on the site, and he knelt down and offered Luke reassurance he was finally safe . Other rescuers quickly followed, with one wrapping the terrified boy in a foil blanket, before he was gently taken from the bush to where he could receive proper medial attention . Paediatrician Amy Gray said Luke was still a bit weak and tired, but asking for food. His parents revealed he had eaten some Weetabix on Thursday and tasted his first Easter egg after completely missing the occasion over the weekend. 'It's an amazingly happy outcome after what has clearly been an incredibly stressful, traumatic experience,' Dr Gray said on Wednesday. 'I don't know that any of us know exactly what he's been through, but ... we think he's doing fabulously for someone who has been through what we can only imagine, and certainly in much better condition than what we'd expect.' Dr Gray said he was improving with each hour and doctors did not expect him to have any ongoing physical problems from the ordeal. 'Aside from the dehydration he's tired and weak, again as you would expect, but there's no other real major physical issues at this stage,' she said. Luke Shambrook has been found alive after he went missing from the Candlebark Campground near Lake Eildon on Friday . He suffered from dehydration and hypothermia but has been reunited with his mother Rachel (pictured left) His parents Tim and Rachel were reunited with Luke as he was put into an ambulance in a stretcher, with his mother giving him a kiss . Luke was found just before midday AEST on Tuesday in bushland off Skyline Road, 3km from the campsite . 'He seems very content and settled in the ward and happily interacting with the family.' Luke's autism and limited speech could mean he never reveals what happened. 'He may have been wandering around lost and clocking up the k's,' Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Rick Nugent told Fairfax Radio on Wednesday. 'I'm not sure we'll ever know.' Mr Nugent on Tuesday said Luke's survival in the cold, wet, rugged terrain was a miracle. SES spokesman Brent Sergeant said the more days that passed during the search for Luke, the harder it became for volunteers. But finding the boy's beanie on Monday and realising he had walked away from water, rather than toward it, lifted their spirits. When his parents were reunited with Luke as he was put into an ambulance his mother gave him a big kiss. Luke gave his father Tim a 'big thumbs up' when they saw each other, the family said. 'When the rescue team found him, he was in high spirits and was walked out of the bush on his own two feet,' they said in a statement. 'The family are very happy to be reunited.' The Candlebark Campground in Lake Eildon National Park, central Victoria, where Luke went missing on Friday . Luke went missing near Lake Eildon is located north-east of Melbourne and is located within the national park .
target: Luke Shambrook, 11, was found after he went missing on Good Friday .
  He went missing in Lake Eildon National Park - north-east of Melbourne .
  His family had taken him to the park since he was just one year old .
  'Every year he's been up and down the hills,' his dad Tim said .
  The autistic boy was found on Tuesday by a police helicopter .
  Doctors are amazed at how well he is doing considering his four-day ordeal .
  The boy was suffering from dehydration, hypothermia and exhaustion .