Police are warning people not to go into the high country unprepared after an Oamaru man and his two young daughters, facing their second night lost in the hills, were rescued last night after being spotted from a helicopter.
The 40-year-old man took a 4WD into the area on a day trip on Tuesday, accompanied by his daughters, aged 9 and 11, the eldest of whom had health issues, Sergeant Pete Muldrew, of Oamaru, said last night.
It was understood they started following a track from Broken Hut Rd, at Omarama.
It appeared the man had wanted to head back through Dansey Pass.
No alarm was raised on Tuesday and police were advised the trio were in trouble about 10.30am yesterday, via contact from the man's cellphone, and calls were made to him to establish his position.
He had become lost and fog and wet weather had made things even more difficult.
The man believed he was somewhere between Omarama and St Bathans, Sgt Muldrew said.
Police sought assistance from Telecom to establish which repeater his cellphone calls were going through.
As concerns mounted for the trio, who were prepared only for a day trip, it was decided to send a helicopter to try to find them.
The aircraft left Oamaru at 5pm.
The last time police spoke to the man, he only had "a little bit" of water and some fruit to drink and eat.
He was also down to half a tank of fuel and his cellphone battery was running low.
The man was advised to stay where he was but it appeared he did not, which "made our job a lot harder", Sgt Muldrew said.
When the search was later upgraded, Search and Rescue staff and volunteers from Omarama, Alexandra and Oamaru headed to the area yesterday.
Otematata Station owner Hugh Cameron took his own helicopter up and located the trio on his property last night.
Police were advised they had been found about 9pm.
One of Mr Cameron's staff was driving the vehicle and the trio back to the station homestead and ambulance staff would to check them.
Sgt Muldrew said there were important lessons from the incident.
People should not go into the high country unprepared and, if they got lost, should "stay put".
Police would speak to the man, he said.
