Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Man's 40m fall after wild goat chase

By Harrison Christian
Hawkes Bay Today·
17 Jun, 2014 07:47 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Paramedic Ryan Sutherland assists with winching a man into the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter after a fall in Tangoio, north of Napier, yesterday. Photo/Supplied

Paramedic Ryan Sutherland assists with winching a man into the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter after a fall in Tangoio, north of Napier, yesterday. Photo/Supplied

A 26-year-old man's habit of chasing wild goats has resulted in him being winched by a rescue helicopter and flown to hospital after falling 40 metres down a cliff.

It was not the first time the man had found himself in hospital after chasing goats for fun, flatmate Serah Taylor said.

The 26-year-old had been chasing goats on nearly vertical terrain yesterday morning when he lost his footing and fell backwards.

Ms Taylor heard the man yelling for help on the Tangoio farm, north of Napier, where they live. She initially thought the sound was a cow.

It was the second time the man had injured himself while chasing goats. The first time, he broke his ankle.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He likes to catch them," she said.

"Maybe now he's learned not to play with goats."

She said she discovered him lying immobile and "still slipping" down the steep cliff face and called emergency services.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hawke's Bay fire area commander Chris Nichol said the man had avoided a few large rocks on his way down the cliff, which was "very steep".

The man was lying about three-quarters of the way down the cliff when emergency services arrived.

St John Heretaunga territory manager Brendon Hutchinson said he found the man in a "moderate to serious" condition.

Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter pilot Jeremy Bruce said due to the nature of the landscape and the amount of pain the man was in, he was put on a stretcher and winched up to the hovering helicopter.

Discover more

New Zealand

After falling off cliff, man regrets chasing goat

21 Jun 02:39 AM

He was in "an extreme amount of pain" and had to be given "a fair amount of pain relief", Mr Bruce said.

The man was flown to Hawke's Bay Hospital for further treatment. A hospital representative said the man was in a stable condition last night.

Ms Taylor said paramedics at the scene suspected the man had broken his spine but the family was relieved to learn last night that he hadn't.

However, he had injured a few ribs and had minor leg injuries.

Mr Nichol said St John, the fire service and the rescue helicopter "worked well together" at the scene and it was "a good team effort, really".

The wild goats the man had been chasing were long gone by the time emergency services arrived.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale and Pirate set sail for Hawke's Bay club rugby final

05 Jul 11:55 PM
Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Couple behind lauded cocktail bar call it a day: 'I don’t think people are prioritising social lives'

05 Jul 06:00 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

Flaxmere Woolworths site work begins, supermarket built by mid-2026

05 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale and Pirate set sail for Hawke's Bay club rugby final

Taradale and Pirate set sail for Hawke's Bay club rugby final

05 Jul 11:55 PM

Dominant first halves were the difference, with Maddison Trophy final spots on the line.

Premium
Couple behind lauded cocktail bar call it a day: 'I don’t think people are prioritising social lives'

Couple behind lauded cocktail bar call it a day: 'I don’t think people are prioritising social lives'

05 Jul 06:00 PM
Flaxmere Woolworths site work begins, supermarket built by mid-2026

Flaxmere Woolworths site work begins, supermarket built by mid-2026

05 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
End of swimming pool weeds: Family's delight as cyclone-hit home gets green light

End of swimming pool weeds: Family's delight as cyclone-hit home gets green light

04 Jul 06:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP