A woman in her 60s has fallen 5 metres onto concrete while trying to get rid of the wasp nest on her house and has been flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.
Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter pilot James Tayler said he landed the helicopter just after 9pm last night in a little reserve in Waiomu where the woman was brought to the helicopter by an ambulance team.
"She was very obviously in considerable pain," Tayler said.
With a fall like that there was always concern there might be spinal injuries, he said.
It was suspected that she had a broken leg, he said.
"But she was very upbeat, quite chatty and very grateful that we had come to help her. She was quite a character."
Tayler said he had used night vision googles to land in the reserve, as it would have been impossible to do so without them.
"It was a pretty dark night before the moon came up, and there was quite a lot of cloud cover."
The rescue comes on the same day the crew was sent to Great Barrier Island to help a man in his 50s who had suffered a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting on his chest.
Intensive care paramedic Russell Clarke said the man had managed to self-administer medication.
He had been quite unwell but was in a stable condition when they arrived just after 2.15pm, Clarke said.
It was important that people who suffer from anaphylaxis carried an adrenaline injection, he said. "That could save your life."
Air transportation was not required for the man and the crew returned to base.