John Bentham, of Waitati, and Jo Baillie, of Purakaunui, were rescued by helicopter about 1am yesterday, after hunkering down in a cave for the night when their attempt to walk Hermit's Ridge failed.
The pair, both relatively experienced trampers, had planned their trip based on respected Dunedin guidebook Dunedin Tracks and Trails.
They expected to have a reasonably tough, but feasible seven-hour walk, and had planned for an extra 1 hours error margin.
But after bashing their way for several hours through overgrown vegetation on the route, including gorse and bush lawyer, they turned back as daylight started to fade.
When it became dark and they found a small cave in which they could shelter, they called Mr Bentham's neighbour and informed him of their situation - that they would be out for the night and were fine, but would call if they needed help.
Familiar with the area, the neighbour contacted police, who decided to launch a search and rescue operation.
"Cuddling together" for warmth, and periodically going outside the cave and jogging on the spot to keep warm, they were "embarrassed" and "a bit annoyed" when they first heard the chopper.
On reflection, it had been a good thing, and Mr Bentham praised his rescuers.
"I think we could have survived, but it would not have been comfortable, and we would not have been in the best health," Mr Bentham said.
He admitted that while they had a cellphone, torch, adequate food and water, they had made some errors in not having enough clothing for a night outdoors and only one survival blanket between them.
However, they still had serious concerns about the information in the guidebook that they used and the signs in the area.
While the book described the track as having low growth, Mr Bentham described it as virtually impassable, and, with a river crossing at the bottom, as a "death trap". He believed it "could be fatal" for inexperienced or unfit trampers, especially if caught out by bad weather.
Although he had not previously had any problems with the advice contained in the book, and believed it was still the best publication available on Dunedin tracks, people needed to be aware it did have flaws - that information could sometimes be out of date.
Mr Bentham said his advice to anyone now would be to speak to someone who had walked the track recently.
The book's author, Antony Hamel, said he last walked the track, which he described as one of the most demanding in the Silverpeaks, about five years ago.
Tracks changed all the time, for the worse and for the better, and the book had a disclaimer at the front saying that.
There was also a request that people inform him of any changes on tracks, so he could post them to his website in between editions.
As a result of this incident, he would update the site and include updates on the inside back cover for the remainder of the print run of this edition of the book.
Mr Bentham said he also had some serious concerns about the lack of, and inconsistency of, signs in the area, for example, a signpost at the top of the next track over said the route was not maintained and to use it at your own risk, but there were no signs on Hermit's Ridge, which was also clearly not maintained.
"There are inconsistencies all over the place, and in the 24 hours after we were rescued, our conversations with trampers and rescuers have revealed that many of them think the Silverpeaks is one of the worst signposted areas in the country."
Department of Conservation area manager Robin Thomas said Doc maintained, marked and had well-signposted the main track through the Silverpeaks, and there were risks inherent in anyone venturing off it.
Where problems were highlighted, staff, literature and Doc's website were updated and signs considered.
People needed to ensure they had the most up-to-date information before venturing on to routes off the main track, and the best places to get that was from the local Doc office.
Doc could not afford to maintain, mark and put signs on every route in the area.
Sergeant Jan Craig, of Dunedin police search and rescue, said trampers should always be prepared to spend a night in the open.
