A man who attempted to trek 30 miles with little water in searing heat across Australia's parched Outback after his car broke down has been found dead just over a mile from safety.

Police said the 60-year-old was driving to Windidda Station, a cattle ranch in the remote Wiluna region of Western Australia, when his car broke down on Sunday.

After no car passed on the lonely road over Sunday night, the man set out on foot early on Monday with what police described as a "small container of water".

Station residents found the man's body late last night about one and a quarter miles from Windidda.

A coroner will determine the cause of death.