The Tararua Ranges, taken from Moutere Hill. Photro / Horowhenua Chronicle
The Tararua Ranges, taken from Moutere Hill. Photro / Horowhenua Chronicle
A tramper who has been stuck in the Tararua Ranges since Sunday will be uplifted today.
The man walked into the bush on Sunday with the intention of walking to the McGregor Hut along Pinnacle Ridge – however, severe weather conditions forced him to activate his emergency locator beacon at9.24pm on Sunday night.
With winds of up to 130km/h and torrential rain lashing the ridges, search and rescue (SAR) teams were unable to get to him, forcing him to stay in the ranges overnight.
He was instructed to make his way to a nearby bivvy hut for shelter overnight and SAR teams remained on the ranges in huts to wait until they could rescue him.
Just before 3am on Tuesday, SAR teams made it to the hut where the man was sheltering – he is reportedly in "good spirits" according to a police spokesperson and rescue teams will make arrangements to get him out of the ranges once the weather settles enough to allow it.
The Tararua Ranges are currently under a heavy rain warning, which could see up to 45mm of rain accumulate on top of what has already fallen – thunderstorms could also roll across the ranges.
MetService warns the heavy rain could cause surface flooding, slips or flash flooding and people are urged to take caution.
