The 13-year-old says his actions weren’t heroic after swimming 4km and running 2km to get help for his family swept out to sea.

The young boy who swam 4km to save his family swept out to sea has revealed the horrors he endured during the brave act, and the thoughts that kept him going.

Austin Appelbee, 13, was kayaking with his mum and two siblings when they were swept out to sea off Quindalup in Western Australia’s southwest.

Austin and his family – two siblings, aged 12 and eight, and their mum Joanne – were on inflatable kayaks and paddleboards when they were knocked out to sea by bursts of extremely strong wind.

Austin Appelbee swam 4km to the shore to rescue his family. Picture: ABCNews
Unable to return safely to the shore, Austin swam 4km through shark-frequented waters for four hours to seek help.

Once he reached the shore, he ran a further 2km to access a phone – a move that has been described as heroic.

Speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham, the 13-year-old said the decision to swim back to shore was decided by himself and his mum.

“It was me and mum’s decision. Obviously, I was trying to get back into shore either way,” he said.

Austin said having three kids and one adult in trouble made the decision to swim even harder.

“There’s three kids and one adult, you know,” he said.

“If there were two adults, obviously the younger one would go – but the adult was me.”

The teenager described the fear he felt while swimming to the shore. Picture: ABC News
The swim back to shore was gruelling, with Austin keeping himself distracted with happy thoughts as he swam back.

“I was thinking about a lot of things. I was saying to myself, ‘Are they OK? Do I need to go back and see if they’re OK?’” he said.

“I was also thinking about the happiest moments of my life.”

During the swim, Austin endured multiple jellyfish stings and hunger but kept pushing through.

”I thought I’d never actually reach the shore. It was quite frightening,” he said.

“I got a lot of jellyfish stings, so I was in a lot of pain … then the hunger, and I was thirsty and I’m cold, so I just kept pushing.”

The young boy also kept his girlfriend, Evie, in his thoughts as he endured the difficult swim.

After swimming the 4km back to the shore, his legs became “like jelly” and he collapsed on the sand – only to stand up again and continue the 2km journey to his family’s accommodation, so he could find a phone.

Thankfully, Austin’s heroic actions led to the family being rescued from the water.

After everything he endured, he still has to read about paddleboarding over the weekend. Picture: Channel 7
Speaking to Fordham, Austin said police were ecstatic they were able to find his family, but he didn’t consider his actions heroic.

“It was just a crazy day,” he said.

“I didn’t think I was a hero.”

Following his lifesaving actions, Austin said he wouldn’t be back out on the water this weekend.

However, he said it wouldn’t stop paddleboarding from being on the menu.

“In one of my classes, I have to read – and we’re doing paddleboarding,” he said.