A 53-year-old Dunedin man is lucky he was found on the Taieri River bank - cold, wet and in dense vegetation in the dark - on Saturday, his rescuers say.
The man left Taioma about 2.30pm on a 17km solo kayak trip down the Taieri River to Outram Glen.
It was supposed to take him about three hours, but when he failed to arrive his friends reported him missing to the Outram Volunteer Fire Brigade, which in turn contacted police about 6.30pm.
Senior Sergeant Brian Benn, the officer in charge of Search and Rescue for Dunedin and the incident controller, said a crew was assembled and briefed and the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter was dispatched at 8pm.
Two pilots with night vision goggles, accompanied by an advanced paramedic and a crew member trained in water rescue and winching, spotted the man's kayak just above the confluence of the Taieri River and Lee Stream.
Snr Sgt Benn said pilot David Gale then saw the kayaker, waving his kayak paddle, about 500m upstream.
''The only reason he could be seen was the life jacket he was wearing had a thin bit of reflective material woven into it. If it wasn't for that tiny bit of reflective material and the night vision goggles, he would have spent the night there.''
The kayaker was winched off the river bank and flown to the helicopter base about 9pm.
He was not injured and, once checked over by paramedics, was reunited with his wife.
''She was pretty pleased to see him,'' Snr Sgt Benn said.
The man was an experienced kayaker but had not been down the Taieri River before.
He had a cellphone and some safety equipment in the kayak, from which he was separated in rapids known as the rock garden, about 4km from where he entered the water.
Snr Sgt Benn said the kayaker tried swimming after his kayak, which was carried downstream.
''He probably swam for about 1km chasing after his boat, then got out of the river and walked through dense bush along the western side of the river. That side doesn't get a lot of sun, and he was wearing wetsuit booties, so it would have been very slippery and difficult going.''
When darkness fell, the kayaker decided to stay put, which was the right thing to do, Snr Sgt Benn said.
Mr Gale said he managed to find the kayaker only after spotting the kayak and searching more keenly upriver,''He was lucky he didn't end up spending the night there. He was among quite dense scrub and willow trees and wasn't wearing any reflective gear,'' Mr Gale said.
Snr Sgt Benn reiterated the need for people to take all precautions when venturing outdoors.
''Take a friend, take a beacon and make a plan for if things don't go well.
''As for safety equipment and things like cellphones, if you're not wearing it you don't have it, because often in an emergency you are separated from your gear,'' he said.
