Police are urging anyone venturing into the wilderness, be it a day trip or longer, to always take enough food and equipment if they inadvertently have to stay out longer than expected.
Senior Sergeant Jason McCoy, of Oamaru, made the call after a team from North Otago search and rescue found two missing tourists in Herbert Forest, south of Oamaru, about 8pm last night.
Snr Sgt McCoy said the 27-year-old man and the 24-year-old woman, both from Sweden, used a mobile phone to alert police to their predicament about 5pm after trying to walk out of the forest for about three hours by themselves.
They had become lost on the paths, he said.
It has been reported by Fairfax the tourists wandered off their track when they tried to use their cellphone's GPS system to navigate.
However, Snr Sgt McCoy could not confirm this or where in the forest the tourists went missing, as the incident report writer did not include that information in their handover.
Snr Sgt McCoy said the tourists were found in good health, but they only had some water with them when located.
The North Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club voluntarily maintained the tracks in the forest.
Club spokeswoman Jane Green said there were maps posted at the forest's entry points and at the start of tracks.
``We do our best to maintain the tracks for a safe and pleasurable experience.''
A spokesman from Blakely Pacific, the company which owns the forest, said the paths were all ex Department of Conservation tracks.
