A 29-year-old man has been found safe and well this morning after spending the night lost in the Little Mt Peel/Huatekerekere area.
Police, LandSAR and volunteers searched the South Canterbury wilderness for much of last night before resuming their search early this morning.
He was found by a volunteer search team shortly before 10am.
He was airlifted out and taken to the Peel Forest Fire Station to be assessed by an ambulance crew as a precaution.
The man, known as Shaun, was wearing just a lightweight fleece jacket over a t-shirt and thin track pants.
Temperatures in the area dropped to 5degC overnight.
He was tramping with this family along the challenging loop trail near Geraldine but they separated halfway through the trek.
"About 1.30 pm, halfway along their intended route, Shaun decided not to push on," Aoraki Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said.
"The three of them agreed that he would head back to the car, where the other two would meet him after they finished the tramp."
"The pair returned to the vehicle but there was no sign Shaun had made it back."
The rest of the family walked to a nearby property and called police at 6.30pm.
An organised search effort began in the early evening, focusing on the many tracks in the area, and continued until 4am.
Police alongside five volunteer search teams, LandSAR dogs, and a helicopter resumed the search this morning.
Walker said the incident served as a reminder that if people were exploring the outdoors, they needed to make sure they had adequate supplies of food and water, and suitable clothes.
"If you get lost, the best advice is stay put and wait for help to arrive," she said.
