An ill-prepared solo tramper has been rescued after spending a night in the bush on the Kapiti Coast.

At 11.30pm on Monday, Police received a distress call from a man lost on a track near Waikanae. The man hadn’t intended being in the bush after dark, but was ill-equipped when he became disorientated and lost his way.

Wearing only light clothing and with no food or water on him, the man faced a long night in the bush while search and rescue teams tried to work out where he was. The man was tracked by this cellphone’s coordinates, up until his phone went flat.

Wellington Search and Rescue Coordinator Sergeant Jonathan Westrupp says rescuers finally found the man about 11.20am on Tuesday – 12 hours after he first called for help.

“Search resources were deployed quickly, but the search became very difficult as it descended into a river with steep hazardous terrain and log jams.

“Thankfully, a Police dog team eventually located the man and by that time he was very cold and hungry, but otherwise unharmed.”

The dying cellphone battery complicated the search, along with the man ignoring advice to stay put after getting lost.

“It’s vital to stay put if you get lost. You put yourself at greater risk by moving around and can make it even harder for us to find you.

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“This is another example why you need to ask yourself ‘what if’ before venturing into the wilderness. Make sure you’re prepared – even when you’re on day walks, and especially if you’re going alone.”

The rescue is the second in less than a week where an ill-equipped person was rescued by search crews. On Saturday, rescuers tramped for six hours to reach a hypothermic man on Mount Taranaki who was caught out by poor weather.

“In this case, he’s lucky he could walk out with rescuers and wasn’t seriously hurt, or worse,” Sergeant Westrupp said.

Police would like to thank the volunteer groups of Wellington Land Search and Rescue and the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (AREC) group for their support in rescuing the man.

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