Taupō athlete falls 50m down cliff face

• Louisa Redward, 43, fractured her wrist after a 50m fall at Taupō’s Spa Thermal Park.
• Emergency services rescued Redward, who was in a moderate condition and later discharged from hospital.
• Redward thanked the responders and credited her bike helmet for preventing more serious injuries.

An obstacle course athlete said she was “lucky” to escape with a fractured wrist after plummeting 50m down a cliff face at Taupō’s Spa Thermal Park.

Louisa Redward, 43, wanted to publicly thank the emergency services staff who came to her rescue.

“I’m very lucky,” Redward said.

“I think I’ll get a Lotto ticket this week.”

Redward’s fall was captured on video and the footage has been posted to her Instagram account.

“A lot of people are like, ‘OMG that’s so intense’, and messaging to see if I’m okay,” Redward said.

“It feels like I’ve broken a couple of ribs, and I’ve got plenty of bruising and swelling but it could have been way worse.”

Redward has since seen the doctor and discovered her wrist was fractured.

“Watching the video, it looks bad but I’m lucky I’ve come out relatively unscathed. It was probably a bit of a jackass moment.”

Redward was on a “recovery bike ride” on April 13 after taking part in the Ultimate Athlete obstacle course race in Mt Maunganui the day before.

Taupō mum Louisa Redward, 43, said she was lucky to escape a 50m fall down a cliff with only a fractured wrist.

She was with her friend, Laura Grant, when they decided to give the rope swing a go.

“Unfortunately, everything went wrong,” Redward said.

Redward said her hand slipped off the rope.

Emergency services were alerted by a 111 call at 6.49pm that a person had fallen down a bank at the Spa Thermal Park.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said three crews from Taupo attended the rescue.

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said one patient in a moderate condition was transported.

Police search and rescue coordinator Senior Constable Barry Shepherd was also on the scene.

“All the first responders were great,” Redward said.

“They made sure I was warm and comfortable.”

Louisa Redward wanted to thank all the emergency services staff who rescued her.

Redward said while she has been in some “sketchy situations” in the past related to her sport, she has never had a broken bone or major injury.

“I was so thankful for the Hato Hone St John paramedics and not to mention the green whistle,” she said.

Fire and Emergency station officer Sean McAvinue said fire crews used lines to get down the cliff to Redward.

They then assisted St John crews in stabilising her in a rescue basket.

McAvinue said all three emergency services worked together to get her to the top of the bank, before carrying her 700m to the road for further medical attention.

“We’ve got a great working relationship with the other emergency services,” he said.

“It’s nice and easy, everyone knows everyone here, and we’ve got good rapport.

“We all work and train together, so we understand each other’s systems and capabilities and we always have a common objective in supporting our patients.”

After being transported by ambulance to Taupō Hospital, Redward was discharged 12 hours later.

The mum of 10-year-old twins was glad she was wearing her bike helmet.

“I have a bruise on my head so 100% it would have been way worse if I wasn’t wearing one.”

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.