Luckily, his sister had been sleeping in the back of a ute parked nearby and raced to him after hearing his screams.
The pair had been camping about 15m from a river.
Doctors say while Rowsell is unable to walk at the moment because of puncture wounds to both feet, he has been recovering well and was expected to be discharged today.
"I think considering everything he is doing quite well," Katherine Hospital's director of medical services Dr Louise Harwood told reporters.
"I think he could consider himself lucky. It may take a week or two before he's up on his feet." Harwood said while Rowsell had lost some blood due to the bite marks, his wounds had been fairly easy to treat with antibiotics.
- AAP