Having been faced with the prospect of drinking his own urine to stay alive while lost in the Ureweras, a bacon and egg breakfast never tasted so good for Desmond Kuik.

The wife of a hunter found after three days lost in the Ureweras was last night able to tell their three young children: "Papa is coming home."

A hunter who has been missing since Sunday in the Ureweras has this afternoon been found alive and well.

A hunter drank puddle water to slake his thirst and snuggled up to his pig dogs to stay warm after getting lost in a rugged area south of Dunedin for more than 24 hours.

The parents of a man washed out to sea while whitebaiting on Sunday are urging people to wear lifejackets, even if they are on shore.

The whitebaiter swept out to sea at the Rakaia River mouth last night has been named by police.

An 11-year-old Christchurch boy survived the night in dense bush on the West Coast at the weekend, while wearing just a pair of shorts and singlet.

A man whose 60-year-old son drowned at sea said he `lived for fishing'' and was happiest whenever he was out on the ocean.

Later today a decision will be made whether to send divers down to look at a fishing vessel, believed to be the boat that disappeared off the Fiordland coast on Saturday with two onboard.

Hopes are quickly fading for a fishing boat skipper and his teenage crewman missing at sea off the South Island's West Coast since Saturday.

Search teams will be back out this morning looking for a fishing vessel which is missing off the coast of Fiordland.

A massive search was due to resume this morning for two fishermen whose boat capsized near Fiordland.

After spending a month in a snow cave to fundraise for avalanche dogs, Blair Whitaker and two guests were forced to dig their way out, thanks to a blizzard.