Three kayakers who were reported overdue on the Tongariro River last night have been found safe and well and returned to Turangi.
The trio - a 56-year-old man, his 24-year-old son (both from Lower Hutt) and a 26-year-old woman from Whangarei - started their trip near the Poutu Dam, andintended to paddle to the Blue Pool. This is a trip of about 12km on the grade 3 section of the Tongariro River.
The man's wife reported them overdue just before 7pm when they had not returned to Kuratau, so Police and LandSAR Volunteers started a search.
The Taupo-based Greenlea Rescue Helicopter crew used night vision goggles and found them about 4km from the end of their journey. The trio was not seen on the first pass up river, but when the helicopter returned, the crew saw the flash from their camera.
The helicopter landed on the river bank and picked them up and flew them back to Turangi. There were no injuries.
Meanwhile teams from Tongariro River Rafting and LandSAR Turangi were on standby, just in case the poor weather stopped the helicopter getting into the area.
It turned out that two of the kayaking trio had lost their paddles, but continued downriver paddling with their hands, said Senior Constable Barry Shepherd.
When they ran out of daylight and options to walk out, they took shelter under a rock on the river bank, and then made themselves as comfortable as they could to sleep for the night.
