Missing hunter walks out

A hunter missing for the past four days in the Kaimanawa Ranges walked out of the bush and flagged down a passing motorist yesterday.

The 50-year-old Ruakaka man was one of a party of three hunting deer in the Waipakihi River Valley. He went on a solo hunt last Thursday morning and failed to return that night.

Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said Andreas Thirling was in "surprisingly good condition" despite surviving in the bush for four days, with only a muesli bar and some ferns.

He was taken to Taupo Hospital.