Speaking ahead of the rescue mission, Mr Ruatara recounted his ordeal for the first time.
"The dogs were out ahead. I looked to see where they were and the ground gave out under me," he said.
Mr Ruatara was shocked, but suffered only a few bruises from the potentially deadly fall.
"I thought 's***, I'm still alive.' I wiggled my arms and legs and made sure everything was still working.
"My son found me on the GPS and said, 'What are you doing down there?' I was with the dogs so he said to stay put and he would get some help," he said.
Brody and fellow farm worker Hayden Church lowered some warm clothes down to Mr Ruatara who was trapped on the narrow riverbank from 6pm Monday until about 8am the next day.
Mr Ruatara released an "unhappy" pig he had captured for his own safety and held onto the one dog stranded with him for warmth.
He said he managed a couple of hours sleep, but awoke concerned for his rescue.
"I thought the helicopter would be there first thing in the morning and I started to worry that the other guys might have got lost as well. Then I heard the helicopter and was pretty happy."
The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter used more than 30m of cable to hoist man and dog to safety.
Rescue pilot Nat Every said using a harness lift was not ideal, but was unavoidable in this instance.
"He was in a very deep narrow ravine and there's not a lot of room to manoeuvre the helicopter when there's a bank on both sides."
Mr Ruatara, who is afraid of heights, said he didn't want to look up or down but expressed his deep appreciation for the rescue team.
He arrived home tired and hungry, eating a pork chop breakfast before retiring to bed.
Mr Ruatara recognised every rescue was different but had this advice for others in emergency situations: "Stay calm and have faith in your friends."
