Hired locator beacon means quick rescue for woman with broken ankle in Kaweka Ranges

Auckland couple Kerry and Raewyn Rodger were enjoying a late-winter tramp in the Kaweka Ranges when Raewyn fell, breaking her ankle. Photo / Kerry Rodger

A broken ankle two days' walk from the nearest road end could have spelt disaster for an Auckland couple tramping in the Kawekas.

But luckily Kerry and Raewyn Rodger had had the foresight to hire a personal locator beacon in Taupō en route to their destination.

The pair, in their 50s, were tramping in the eastern Kaweka ranges on Friday, September 4 for a six-day loop tramp from hut to hut in the area. They had organised to hire a personal locator beacon from Taupō Freemasons, which has a stock of PLBs it hires via a website, using Hunting & Fishing Taupō as a drop-off and pick-up point.

The Rodgers were well-prepared, despite cold weather which brought snow and wind on the third day. Raewyn had not been into the area before but Kerry knew it fairly well from trips in with mates.

On the fourth day of Kerry and Raewyn's trip, the weather was beautiful, with blue skies as they tramped along a beech forest-covered ridge.

"The track was covered in snow and parts of it had six to eight inches, so it was up to the boots," Kerry says. "But it was lovely. The day before it had been really exposed in really gale force winds, but that particular day was a beautiful fine day and there was hardly any wind."

Raewyn Rodger tramping a snow-covered ridge in the Kawekas. Photo / Kerry Rodger

But disaster struck as just before midday, with the couple less than an hour's walk from Mangaturuturu Hut, their destination for the night.

"We just went up a little rise and came down the other side of it... and [Raewyn] just fell forward and went down in a screaming heap. And I think basically her ankle folded under the full weight of her body on top of it, and broke it in three places."

Raewyn was unable to move and in a lot of pain. It was obvious her ankle was badly damaged. There was no way of getting her to the nearest hut and the two days' walk out was not even an option. There was only one thing for it. Kerry activated the PLB.

PLBs work by sending a signal which is picked up by satellites and relayed on, eventually reaching the New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre. At Kerry's end, he could only trust that the PLB was working as he set about making Raewyn comfortable. He got her in a warm jacket and sleeping bag and laid out a yellow pack liner in a clear area as a signal to passing helicopters. The couple prepared to wait for help, a long time if necessary.

"I knew from other rescues a lot of times they say if they can't get a rescue team in because of conditions you've got to be prepared to hunker down for the night and my immediate thought was we would need to prepare to stay the night possibly," Kerry says. "And also at that point it was the cold [that was a concern] because once you go into shock you get cold quickly."

They had warm clothes, cookers and a tent. But Kerry had hardly got the tent pitched before they heard the welcome sound of rotor blades.

It was the Hastings-based Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter, tasked by the NZRCC, and it arrived, Kerry estimates, within just half an hour.

Raewyn Rodger being winched into the Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter from a ridge in the Kaweka Ranges. Photo / Kerry Rodger

A paramedic was winched down to examine Raewyn and before long and despite her fear of heights, she was winched out and whisked to Hawke's Bay Hospital. Kerry walked out the next day and the couple were reunited, this time with Raewyn sporting a plate and screws in her ankle.

Kerry praised the skill of the rescue helicopter staff and says he's grateful for his decision to hire a PLB to take on the trip. He recommends taking a PLB to everyone, even if they're just going for a day adventure.

"Preparation is key. I've gone in there before without them and the odd time, I've hired one but after this experience I'd never go without them.

"I said to them [Freemasons] the beauty of what they were doing was that they didn't make it too expensive that it would put people off. It was $25 [to hire] and that was really important."

Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter crewman Ian Clarke (left) and intensive care paramedic Steve Lynch at the Hastings base. Photo / Kerry Rodger

Taupō Freemasons has been running its beacon hire scheme for four years via its website taupoplbhire.com. It owns eight beacons and while most users pay a small fee to hire them, they are loaned to not-for-profit groups for free. Taupō Freemasons member Stephen Spargo says as well as hiring out the PLBs, the group also monitors any activations.

"It's about supporting active people in a safe way... it seemed like a good community project."

Hunting & Fishing Taupō act as the agent for people picking up and dropping off beacons and do not charge a fee. Store co-owner Marty Noakes says when he's hunting he always takes a PLB in case of emergency.

"It's just peace of mind if something happens."

Kerry says after this experience, his suggestion to others is not to go into the bush without a PLB, even just for a day walk.

"When you hear the sound of that chopper, you know 'whoa, we're going to be okay'."