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Aspiring / Supplied Guides
A homeless man was rescued from the Rees-Dart track in Mt Aspiring National Park around 7.45am on Friday. (File photo).
A homeless man has been rescued from a popular Otago national park.
Maritime NZ and Rescue Coordination Center spokesman Vince Cholewa said the homeless man, a 56-year-old woman from Whangarei, activated a personal locator beacon on the Rees-Dart runway in Mt Aspiring National Park around 7.45 a.m. Friday.
The woman, who was walking alone, had fallen and broken her wrist about a mile from Daleys Flat Hut. It was unclear how far it had fallen.
A helicopter equipped with winch equipment and a paramedic were dispatched from Queenstown to rescue the woman.
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They were able to find the woman and land near her around 8.45am before taking her to Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown.
Cholewa said the woman should be applauded for using a personal locator beacon and for making sure an emergency contact has been recorded on her.
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It was important that others heading outdoors follow suit as well, he said.
This most recent rescue comes after two experienced climbers miraculously survived an avalanche at Mt Earnslaw / Pikirakatahi also in Mt Aspiring National Park on February 12.
The couple, both men in their 20s from Auckland, decided to attempt to cross the southeastern ridge of the mountain by crossing the Birley Glacier when the entire slope collapsed below them.
It took two and a half hours before rescuers reached the couple, who were huddled in the snow. Both were taken to Lakes District Hospital and one of them suffered serious injuries to his chest and pelvis.
