He said three LandSAR teams from Taupo, Turangi and Hamilton - including a search and rescue dog - started looking for the woman yesterday following her emergency call.
They spent much of the night searching for her, and the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was also involved in a search using night-vision goggles.
After another call mid-morning today police were able to get a better position and a team was able to get to her within an hour. She was eventually found about 1.8km off the track.
She was lifted out by the Taupo-based rescue helicopter.
Mr Shepherd said the hiker was very well prepared.
"She had more gear than you could poke a stick at. It was really unfortunate she went around some windfall and couldn't find the track again."
He said if the woman had carried a personal locator beacon it would have been a quick process to find her location.
"[Phone coverage] was really marginal and she was distressed and anxious. The phone call kept dropping out."
Mr Shepherd said the woman - who is in New Zealand for 90 days - had planned to get a beacon for her hiking in the South Island but hadn't for the North Island because there were "more people".
