Taupo man's clifftop wheelies end in 15m dive

Rescuers of a Taupo man who drove his car over a 15m cliff "Thelma and Louise style" are amazed he survived.

The 23-year-old escaped with two broken bones after driving head first over the sheer bluff at Lake Taupo on Sunday night.

Police said he was doing wheelies in a paddock before the accidental plunge and is likely to face driving charges.

Fire and ambulance staff had to abseil down the cliff near Acacia Bay to rescue the man and were stunned to find him conscious in the upturned vehicle.

Senior firefighter John Dawkins said the car had "flown off the cliff Thelma and Louise style", referring to the Hollywood movie in which Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis drive a convertible over a Grand Canyon precipice.

"We think it landed on its nose, then flipped," Mr Dawkins said.

The driver suffered a broken right leg and collarbone and underwent surgery at Rotorua Hospital yesterday.

A hospital spokeswoman said he was in a comfortable condition but not yet up to talking about his unintentional stunt.

Emergency services were alerted to the crash soon after 7pm by a friend of the man who witnessed the dramatic drive from the unfenced cliff.

The area below was in darkness and firefighters used lights from a fire truck parked at the cliff's edge to illuminate the crash scene.

Taupo chief fire officer Charlie Turei said they feared the worst for the driver when they saw the wreck on a patch of ground about 20m from the lake.

"He's just very, very fortunate he lives to tell the tale," Mr Turei said.

The quickest way for rescuers to reach the car was from the cliff, so two Fire Service and two St John ambulance staff rappelled down the drop, encountering dense blackberry and scrub.

After cutting a path through the vegetation, they found the man with no seatbelt and his legs hanging from the wreck.

"He was very quiet," Mr Dawkins said.

"He was quite badly hurt and couldn't move his collarbone and [injured] leg."

Equipment from the Taupo Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter was away being tested, so the man could not be airlifted to safety.

The Coast Guard was called and it manoeuvered a boat into the shallow water to allow the man to be carried out on a stretcher.

St John area manager Graeme Harvey said the man thanked emergency workers as he was loaded aboard.

"When he managed to turn round and see the cliff, he said 'I'm very lucky'."

Mr Harvey said the outcome could have been worse if the man's friend had not witnessed the crash. "Luckily he had a mate there with him and he was able to go and raise the alarm."

Senior Sergeant Tony Jeurissen of Taupo said the driver would be interviewed and charges were likely.

He said the clifftop paddock, which is slated for housing development, had not come to police attention as an area for boy racers.