When Tony Templeton headed on a family outing with his two young daughters on Tuesday, little did he foresee the ordeal that was to follow.
Mr Templeton (40), of Oamaru, had previously been to the Oteake Conservation Park and he wanted to show his daughters, aged 11 and 9, the "incredible country" on a 4WD day trip.
He understood the track, which he accessed from near Omarama, went "up and over" but he ended up lost on private property.
Yesterday, a grateful Mr Templeton wanted to thank everyone involved in searching for the trio, including police, Search and Rescue volunteers, Central South Island Helicopters, 4WD club members, Otematata Station owner Hugh Cameron - who located them on his property using his helicopter about 9pm on Wednesday - and neighbouring farmer Dave Anderson, who drove the trio back to Otematata in their vehicle.
After being checked by ambulance personnel, they made it back to Oamaru about midnight.
"I feel pretty stink about the whole thing. At the end of the day, there's only so much you can do," Mr Templeton said.
It was getting dark on Tuesday when they inadvertently ended up on private property and the country opened up "like a big table top", with tracks "branching off everywhere", Mr Templeton said.
It got to the point where they had travelled so far that he felt it was best to keep going forward, rather than going back.
The trio came across a hut and parked beside it for the night.
Mr Templeton figured it would be warmer staying in the vehicle and, while it got cold, the family huddled together.
He had taken plenty of water, a "huge" container of sandwiches, a large box of fruit which they bought at an orchard on the way, and blankets, along with extra diesel.
Mr Templeton said he did not call for help then, because they were not in trouble at that stage.
"We just ran out of daylight."
It rained during the night and Wednesday morning dawned foggy.
"Everything was lost in fog - that was the main problem. We couldn't determine which track to take."
That was when he decided to call police on his cellphone, about 10.30am, because he was not sure which track to follow.
"It's all tussock-land up there. It just goes for miles and miles."
Mr Templeton said once he was advised not to move, he did not move until they were rescued.
He believed there would not have been a problem if it had dawned fine and clear on Wednesday, but the country was so vast, tracks went in "every direction" and "you couldn't see a ... thing".
Mr Templeton realised, about halfway through Tuesday night, that they should not have been up there on their own.
While he was keen to go four-wheel-driving again, he would not take his children, unless there was a second vehicle.
He would also make sure he had decent maps.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Anderson said it was fortuitous Mr Cameron acted so quickly as there was not a lot of light left.
He knew the country, was concerned about the children and, from the descriptions Mr Templeton gave, was fairly confident he knew where they were.
People going into the high country needed to take care, read their maps and know where they were going, he said.
He said better signage in the conservation park could prevent people ending up on private property.
Mr Templeton was well-meaning and "trying to do something nice for his kids", Mr Anderson said.
