Police praise lost tramper in Mt Aspiring National Park

At around 7 pm on Friday 2nd March 2011, Wanaka Police Search and Rescue and Wanaka Land Search and Rescue responded to an 'emergency beacon' activation in the depths of the Mt Aspiring National Park.

The New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre in Wellington detected a personal locator beacon activation late Friday evening in the upper Waiatoto Valley area on the western side of the Southern Divide. They enlisted the services of Aspiring helicopters, along with 2 members of the Alpine cliff rescue team from Wanaka Land Search and Rescue, and attempted to fly to the location but were forced back from the Southern Divide due poor weather and failing light.

The search was put on hold until first light Saturday morning when another attempt was to be made with predicted clearing weather conditions.

On Saturday morning the weather was still not ideal, forcing pilot James Ford to fly over the divide via Haast Pass and then up the Waiatoto Valley. They located the solo tramper in Pearson Creek approximately 2/3rd of the way from the top of Pearson Saddle.

The tramper, a 26 year old male from Canada had taken a wrong turn on Rabbit Pass and forced his way from Pearson Saddle down Pearson Creek and into very dense vegetation and steep terrain to the Waiatoto Valley. After realizing he had gone the wrong way, he attempted to retrace his steps but ended up getting caught in a step section of the creek and could not move.

Wanaka Police SAR Coordinator Snr Constable Mike Johnston commended the solo tramper for carrying a beacon with him and staying put once he realized he was lost and didn't have the skills to progress any further.

Snr Constable Mike Johnston said "the Wilkin Valley, Rabbit Pass to Matukituki Valley trip was a serious undertaking which required someone needing good navigation skills and knowledge of the route and this incident was a reminder for people wanting to do this route that a high skill level is required".

If this person did not have a beacon, it quite possibly would have resulted in an extensive search operation and a less successful outcome compared to what was achieved this weekend.