Wanaka search and rescue volunteers and police are taking in their stride the demands of dealing with six search and rescue operations in under 72 hours this week.
"The unfortunate fact of life is that we're used to it," said LandSAR New Zealand chairman and acting chief executive Phillip Melchior, also a volunteer for Wanaka LandSAR.
"We generally speaking do something between 35 and 50 operations a year ... which for a wholly-volunteer organisation is a lot. This year so far we must be pushing toward 20 operations in the first two months of the year."
On Sunday evening, a 60-year-old woman tramping in the Wilkin River/Siberia Hut area broke her wrist.
On Monday, a female climber descending Mt Aspiring with a guide fractured an ankle and a Singaporean woman activated an emergency locator beacon after injuring her back while tramping the Motatapu Track. All three incidents required helicopter evacuations and LandSAR input.
On Tuesday night, an "ill-equipped" German tourist in his early 20s was helped to safety by the Wanaka LandSAR Alpine Cliff Rescue team after becoming trapped on a ledge above the Lake Hawea-Makarora Rd.
Yesterday morning, a 14-year-old Otago Boys' High School pupil injured an ankle at Junction Flat in the East Matukituki catchment and was evacuated by helicopter, again requiring assistance from LandSAR volunteers.
The sixth search and rescue operation was launched after two United States tourists were reported overdue from a tramp in the Wilkin River/Siberia Hut area yesterday morning. They were later discovered safe and sound.
Acting Wanaka police sub-area supervisor Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw said while the intensity of the past few days had "a cumulative effect on both police and volunteers", they were far from being "stretched to breaking point", and the nature of the six search and rescue operations meant there was not a huge strain on resources.
"The good thing is there hasn't been any protracted searches ... that's when it's very resource intensive."
Mr Melchior said there was "no rhyme or reason" for the recent high number of incidents involving Wanaka LandSAR, which was one of the busiest LandSAR groups in New Zealand in terms of back-country callouts.
"It's not that people are necessarily doing stupid things ... it's just the way it is," Mr Melchior said.
"While you can manage risk you can't avoid it, so often some of these injuries are just a function of ... people enjoying the environment," Det Sgt Shaw said.
