After suffering hypothermia in Fiordland bush and being rescued by helicopter on Thursday, it will be back to work on Monday for one Invercargill man.
A man in his 50s was rescued from near Dusky Track, a remote part of Fiordland, at 4pm. His hunting companion had activated his locater beacon after seeing his friend had serious trouble with his health that morning.
They were found one hour away from the next camp site. The second hunter, who was in good condition, opted to walk out with the remainder of the gear.
"I could see he wasn't good.
Couldn't talk, couldn't walk.
"He was [exhausted]. At 8am I noticed he was no good."
The two hunters, who wished not to be named, arrived in Fiordland 10 days ago for their first deer hunting trip in that particular area and planned to be there until October 22.
The man said they were experienced hunters and had prepared well for the weather, but 30 hours of heavy rain had meant cold temperatures and flooding.
"It was bucketing down and when it came I just thought 'she's all happening'."
The pair credit the locater beacon and the rescue team with saving the man's life.
"It always pays to take one.
"If we didn't get out of there, he'd be dead now."
The pair decided to get a beacon before entering the bush as they knew they would be in dense bush and if they were to strike trouble there would have been no radio reception.
Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand search controller Conrad Reynecke said the pair had got into difficulty and the man was in serious condition when they found him.
"He was hypothermic, and suffering from chest pains, so it was important to get him to a place of safety."
Southern Lakes Helicopters spokeswoman Erin Robertson said the pair had not intended on taking a beacon, but were talked into it.
"They had just been planning to take a radio, but there's no guarantee there will be reception, and given they were going to be away for a considerable period, if something went wrong it would be some time before anyone would be able to assist."
The man was transferred to Invercargill by the rescue helicopter, and he is now recovering at his Invercargill home.
"He will be relaxing and taking it easy. Back to work on Monday."
