Injured hunter rescued in Aorangi Forest Park in South Wairarapa

An injured hunter was rescued by helicopter in strong winds yesterday after setting off an emergency beacon in the Aorangi Forest Park in South Wairarapa. Photo / Google

A hunter was rescued after falling and injuring his leg in the Aorangi Forest Park in South Wairarapa today.

He set off an emergency beacon shortly before 10am, alerting the Life Flight helicopter.

Life Flight rescue helicopter crewman Mike Beausoleil said the crew attempted to winch the injured hunter but because of "strong and turbulent" winds, they could not do so safely.

The helicopter then had to land about 300m from the patient, and the three-men crew carried him by stretcher to the helicopter, he said.

The hunter had injured his lower leg, and was transported in a stable condition to Wellington Hospital.

Beausoleil said the hunter and another man were well-prepared with food, appropriate gear and the emergency beacon.

They were found in the north-east part of the park, near Sutherlands Hutt, he said.

The park is near the South Wairarapa coast, about 34km from Martinborough.

The 19,400-hectare Aorangi Forest Park is a recreational hunting area.

A permit is required in the Department of Conservation park for deer, pig and goat hunting.

Wayne Jephson of Palliser Bay Station said there were many hunters going into the forest each weekend and "never had any problems with a hunter hurting themselves".

The station is private land within the forest park.

On April 7, 2012, Alexander McDonald, 29, from Auckland was killed while hunting in Aorangi Forest Park.

McDonald was shot by a secondary hunting party in the area who heard a "stag roar", and proceeded to shoot, subsequently killing McDonald.

- Wairarapa Times-Age