Police are urging people to ensure they are well prepared for outdoor activities after a full scale search and rescue operation was launched to find two ill-prepared trampers who spent the night hunkered down in a Northland forest.
Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe said the alarm was raised yesterdaymorning after an Auckland couple, in their early 40s, had not returned to their base in Waiare Rd from a day hike in Puketi Forest, 14km north of Okaihau, on Saturday.
While 10 volunteers from land search and rescue and five from police search and rescue were deployed at 7am yesterdayto look for two people. However their search lead to the discovery of four trampers who were found about 12pm.
"They met up with a couple of German tourists who gave them misleading information about the walk. They couldn't get back before dark so they all ended up staying out in the bush," Mr Metcalfe said.
Constable Jim Adamson, who was the incident control officer for yesterday's rescue, said the Auckland couple were told by the German tourists they were more than halfway along the track, but they were not.