Oamaru police are "not impressed" with a hunter who used his cellphone to tell police he was lost on Mt Misery near Waianakarua on Saturday morning.
Acting Sergeant Jason Martin said the 28-year-old had several medical conditions, was an inexperienced tramper and was ill-equipped for the conditions.
A helicopter and ground crews spent an hour searching for the man, only to find him at noon, uninjured and less than 200m from his vehicle.
