NZ Herald editorial: Beautiful bush and coast can be deadly

Editorial

Twice over the weekend, more New Zealanders died in water. Two 17-year-olds were swept away in a flash flood in the Waitakere Ranges on Saturday, and a man was caught in a rising tide while fishing near an island off Awhitu Peninsula in the Manukau Harbour. In both cases the toll could have been even worse.

The two youths were among five Massey High School students carried away by the swollen stream. Two made it to the banks and went to raise the alarm. A third managed to cling to a tree until he was winched to safety by the Westpac rescue helicopter. The man who died in the Manukau Harbour had been fishing with his two children when they were all caught by the tide and unable to wade back to shore. The children owe their survival to a couple who were camping nearby and went out to them in a kayak but could not reach their father before he died.

Both tragedies ought to be cautionary for all who enjoy the outdoors of New Zealand and the sea around us. Water is a powerful force and often an unexpected one. A bush creek can present no danger to trampers one minute and turn into a deceptive torrent a short time later. The two Massey College students were members of the college football team. All five youths would have supposed they were strong enough to cross the stream when they saw it had risen.

They might have also heard the tramping safety rule that you should not try to cross a river unless you can see the bottom and the water is flowing no faster than walking pace. But it is easy to ignore rules such as that when you do not want to be stranded and you back your own strength.

Sea currents can be just as treacherous, and the danger even less apparent until it may be too late.

The mother at Awhitu watching her husband and children battling their way back in the rising tide did not seem unduly alarmed when she approached the campers. "Do you think they are drifting closer or further away?" she asked them. The couple looked and then decided her family were definitely drifting away.

They grabbed a kayak, took lifejackets and paddled out, reaching the woman's daughter aged seven who had not gone out of her depth. But her brother, aged 12, and their father were much further out. When they reached the boy he had swallowed water and was close to going under. When they reached his father they found no pulse.

Fighting a sea current is quickly exhausting. The sensible thing is to float with it and signal for help but, again, sensible advice is hard to take when you can see the shore and it does not look very far away.

It was brave of the couple at Awhitu, Simon Chaplin and Kathryn Williams, to go to the rescue in a kayak. By the time they reached the dead man, an oar had broken and they had to signal a jet-skier to tow them back in with the boy and his father's body.

Currents can be stronger than they look, if they are visible at all, energy can be lost before realising you are making no progress. Then panic sets in and panic can be fatal. Our bush and coasts are beautiful but be careful. They can be deadly too.