Boy's 7-hour walk to find help for father

The pair were hunting in the bush near Matawai. Photo / Alan Gibson

A son's seven-hour walk to get help may have been crucial in the survival of his 50-year-old father, who started having chest problems while on a hunting trip near Gisborne.

The man was airlifted from the isolated Makakoere Hut, about 70 kilometres inland from Matawai off Moanui Road, to Gisborne Hospital at around 6.30pm on Saturday.

The pair was on a hunting trip when the father started to have "fluctuating chest pains".

Detective Sergeant Wayne Beattie said the son left his father at the hut so he could get help.

When the son reached a phone seven hours later, he contacted emergency services immediately.

Land Search and Rescue teams started to look for the man but low cloud and rain forced the ground search to be called off. The ECT Rescue Helicopter was called in to rescue the man.

It is believed the son started his walk around 9am on Saturday.

Mr Beattie said if the pair had had personal locator beacons, the son could have stayed to help manage his father's health issue while emergency services tried to reach them.

"We encourage anyone who is going into the bush to hire or buy personal locator beacons," he said.