A tree came within inches of wiping out a teenager while a family clambered to the roof of a tramping hut to avoid being washed away in floodwaters.
The dramatic tales of survival are emerging as wild weather strikes the lower South Island.
An NZME radio host is among dozens of stranded trampers rescued in Fiordland.
Jamie McKay - host of The Country on Hokonui, Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport - had been taking a guided walk along the Hollyford Track when the extreme weather hit.
He told Newstalk ZB's Kerre McIvor their group of 14 trampers and five staff had got off lightly - they were staying at Martins Bay, where water rose to ankle deep.
"Talking to some of the other evacuated trampers this morning, there literally have been some near-death experiences. At the Howden Hut on the Routeburn Track a landslide ripped through about one o'clock this morning and wiped out the end of the building.
"I was talking to a young guy whose head was missed by a tree by about 18 inches. That's how lucky they were."
Grace Houpapa was on the Routeburn Track, one of many areas in Fiordland National Park that has been affected by torrential rain and flooding over the past few days.
A state of emergency was declared yesterday for the Fiordland Community Board Area, and today Emergency Management Southland followed suit as extensive flooding causes significant problems across the region, including road closures and landslips.
Houpapa was seeking shelter with about 30 others in Howden Hut on the Routeburn Track, about an hour and a half from the end of the hike, after a landslide ahead closed the track.
With the weather setting in it was decided they would likely need to be rescued by helicopter, and they settled in for the night.
But near 1am this morning, there was a huge bang, followed by screams, she said.
A landslide had crashed into the hut, toppling a large tree that crushed a section of the building.
One man would have been right in the impact zone, but had moved just a minute before Houpapa said.
But a woman on the bunk below was crushed as it collapsed under the weight of tree.
Several people worked to free her from the bunk.
"She had minor injuries, but was in a lot of shock," Houpapa told the Herald.
"We were quite lucky. The DoC ranger was awesome, and made best of the situation.
"The hut was completely shattered, toilets smashed, wall smashed in, timber frames bent and windows smashed. No one was really hurt, but we were all a bit scared."
At 5.30am they received word the search and rescue team would be flying in via helicopter to evacuate them.
Houpapa was safely evacuated to Te Anau and said the group were all pretty shaken from the experience.
"It could have been a lot worse, but because of the good group of people and the amazing ranger it all worked out as well as it could."
A Wellington family in the McKerrow Island Hut also had a close shave.
"The water kept rising and rising and rising and they were stranded on this island effectively. They thought their days were done and they had to smash some windows and get out on the roof."
The family had been winched to safety this morning.
Evacuations in other parts of Fiordland are still under way with several tramping groups safely on the ground in Te Anau at a Civil Defence centre.
A state of emergency was declared in the area as heavy rain and slips trapped tourists on tracks and roads and closed State Highway 94, the only route to the sound.
Helicopters have been in the air since 7.40am after a brief delay due to heavy rain and low cloud, with intentions of rescuing around 100 trampers.
Search and Rescue staff had told McKay the Homer Tunnel had received 55mm of rain in one hour, which was thought to be a record.
McKay's tramping group had been split in half - his wife was among those still waiting to be rescued.
He was rescued by helicopter - flown by Sir Richard Hayes - and taken to the Fiordland Events Centre, where they and other evacuees were given a hot cup of tea.
Flying out this morning, he could see entire hillsides had been eroded.
"There's going to be some incredible repair work needing to be done in Fiordland," he said.
Meanwhile, a Kiwi tramper has praised Wanaka SAR crews - and his daughter - for managing to find him after failing to return from a hike along the East Matukituki Valley yesterday.
In a post on Facebook, tramper Greg Wilkinson thanked search and rescue crews for safely evacuating them out of the track after being confronted with an impassable track due to a waterfall which had turned into a massive torrent of a water.
"We got stopped in our tracks by an impassable (to us) waterfall on our way out (only two hours from roadend) from and over night tramp to Rock of Ages bivvy," he wrote.
"We had PLBs but didn't activate them as it wasn't an emergency, only a weather delay, so we set up camp to wait it out. After 29hours the SAR team in the chopper were a welcome site - our daughter had raised the alarm when we didn't come home as per our intentions.
"A great lesson and reminder about having good gear, making good decisions and leaving clear intentions with someone. We will also now be buying a Garmin Inreach for communication."
