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Three trampers were airlifted to safety after becoming stuck on a remote track in Mt Aspiring National Park today.
A spokesman for the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand said a beacon was activated about 1.30pm on the Rabbit Pass track, between the Wilkin and East Matukituki Valleys.
The beacon was traced back to a single male tramper and a helicopter arrived at the scene about 4pm to find three trampers who had become stuck, he said.
The single tramper had met a separate party of two and ``all three of them ended up stuck in some pretty difficult terrain and decided that it was better to not go forward or backgrounds and instead be airlifted out''.
Asked if the trampers did the right thing by activating the beacon he said: ``If people end up in a situation that is beyond their experience and it's dangerous then they are probably better off getting help than risking themselves and getting into trouble.''
The man who activated the beacon was airlifted to Wanaka and the other pair were dropped off a nearby valley to continue tramping.
As per New Zealand policy they were not charged for the helicopter ride, as the ``last thing'' authorities wanted was for people not to set off beacons because they were worried about the cost.
Meanwhile, a 40-year-old man has been transported by helicopter to Southland Hospital in Invercargill with minor injuries after getting into trouble in Stewart Island.
The alarm was raised after an Auckland couple who came across the man set off their emergency beacon.
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Theloneranger
Fri, 30/12/2016 - 2:09am #
A fantastic decision by those trampers to activate their beacon in what is well known as a very hard route not a tramp, which is for the very experienced only,with the correct gear..Rabbitt Pass is an area in which there have been a number of fatalities in the past,and in respect to which trampers are advised to go in one direction only.