An injured teen kayaker was rescued from a remote Bay of Plenty river gorge on Wednesday. File photo / NZME
Rescuers hacked through dense bush to reach an injured teen kayaker in the Bay of Plenty on Wednesday night, carrying him to safety up a steep track through “sheer manpower”.
Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre has described Wednesday’s hours-long rescue effort as “complex” because of the “very poor weather” and hazardous location in a steep river gorge.
The kayaker dislocated his shoulder on the Tuakopae River (also known as the Tuakopai River or Stream), a popular whitewater kayaking spot in the lower Kaimai Range, about 20 minutes north of Tauranga.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand Bay of Plenty assistant commander Brendon Grylls said they were alerted about 8pm Wednesday after the kayaker activated his personal locator beacon.
He said the alert was picked up by the Rescue Coordination Centre in Wellington, and other members of the kayaker’s group ran to get help from a nearby farmer and called 111.
Grylls said the rescue site was in a remote area of a river gorge about 4.5km up Soldiers Rd.
He said police led the rescue on the ground, assisted by Fire and Emergency, Tauranga Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) and Hato Hone St John.
The Tauranga rescue helicopter was also called, but the weather repeatedly stopped it from flying into the area.
A rope rescue team from Hamilton, a specialist swift water rescue crew from Rotorua and seven volunteer firefighters from the Tauranga station were among those involved.
Grylls said by the time the firefighters arrived, the LandSAR volunteers had cut a track through the bush, enabling the rescuers to reach the kayaker.
He said the rescue was achieved through “sheer manpower”.
“It was an awesome co-ordinated effort by all the volunteers using a haulage system, and climbing hand over hand up the 150m steep track to get the stretchered kayaker back up to the roadside.
“It took about 30 minutes. It was extremely steep terrain, thick bush and bloody hard work, but with everyone coming together, we managed to do so in about 30 minutes.”
Grylls said the injured teen was “incredibly brave and stoic”.
“He didn’t panic despite being bumped as he was hauled up the steep track, which made our job easier.”
He was taken to Tauranga Hospital by a Hato Hone St John ambulance.
“This was an awesome team effort by everyone involved, and the kayaker and his group did all the right things when they got into difficulties.”
A Rescue Coordination Centre statement said it co-ordinated the “multi-agency response” after a beacon was activated at 3.10pm by a kayaking group member.
“This was a complex rescue with a good outcome in the face of very poor weather and a hazardous location, in a steep river gorge.
“All organisations involved should rightly be proud of their commitment and work, and the situation required constant appraisal and reassessment for the safety of the responders and the patient.”
The first communication with the Tauranga rescue helicopter service was at 3.24pm, but the weather was “below minimum operating limits to safely fly”.
Over the next few hours, the weather and flying conditions were constantly reassessed.
The centre also worked with the police, who activated a LandSAR team at 3.32pm.
“The team of volunteers were briefed on the situation and their task, prepared themselves and their equipment, then travelled with ambulance staff to the incident site, firstly by vehicle, then on foot.”
They reached the injured kayaker at 5.35pm. Ambulance staff provided an initial assessment and treatment to keep him stable.
By then, the weather conditions had eased enough for the rescue helicopter to attempt to access the scene and recover the injured person.
“But the weather deteriorated again, and the helicopter crew had returned to base.”
At that point, the statement said the Fire and Emergency swift water and rope rescue teams were called on.
“Together in co-ordination with the LandSAR team and ambulance staff, they were able to carry the patient by stretcher to a point where they could be transferred to a waiting ambulance.”
The centre’s statement said careful planning and the ability to change plans quickly were key to achieving the successful response and keeping everyone safe in the trying conditions.
It thanked all those involved in the response.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.