Three young men were lost in dense bush on a night when Northland was hammered by strong winds and heavy rain.
The young men, believed to be about 20 years old, set out for an overnight tramp in the Tangihua Forest on Tuesday evening, with food, water and clothing tolast two or three days.
They became lost after steering off a track about midday Wednesday. Whangarei Police Communications manager Sarah Kennett said it was fortunate that they managed to find cellphone coverage in the thick forest and could raise the alarm at around 6pm that night.
Six police search and rescue staff and nine volunteer land search and rescue officers set out into the bush and located the trampers at 9.45pm.
"They were cold, their shoes and clothing could have been better, but they were fine," she said.
Ms Kennett said the men talked to the search and rescue operation on their cellphone to lead them to their location in the dense forest.
"It was raining, but it was lucky they got out before it got any worse," Ms Kennett said.
Ms Kennett said the search and rescue operation went well, and the men were grateful to be found. The young men were not locals and did not have GPS locaters to activate.
