"His face didn't look like a face ... you couldn't even recognise him."
Both suffered lacerations and bruising. The woman, who was still able to speak, also suffered facial and arm injuries, including fractures.
The youths had been ransacking their pup tent when police arrived. Four were caught soon after, two of them by a police dog and handler who tracked them to a river.
Three males, aged 14, 17 and 18 and a 15-year-old female, all from the eastern Bay of Plenty, have been charged with aggravated robbery. All four have been remanded in custody to reappear on New Year's Eve. Their identities have been suppressed.
Police were still looking for a fifth youth who was also believed to have been involved in the incident.
Offers of support for the couple were continuing to flow in from around the country.
Several offers, including one yesterday from a luxury hotel in Auckland, have been made through the Herald.
Police asked people to email messages of support to ebop.cib@police.govt.nz.
"These young people are here having an adventure and thugs ruin it. What an advert for our country."
- Alison Taylor
"The worst and the best sides of New Zealand coming to the fore."
- Jamie Kahn Genet
"I am ashamed to call myself a New Zealander when I hear of such dastardly acts done by the minority who act in this manner."
- Joy Urlich