Heartfelt thanks to woman's rescuers

 Pavlina Pizova thanks Department of Conservation Wakatipu operations manager Geoff Owen (left)...
Pavlina Pizova thanks Department of Conservation Wakatipu operations manager Geoff Owen (left) and search and rescue co-ordinator Senior Sergeant John Fookes, of Queenstown, after her ordeal on the Routeburn Track. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
A Czech  woman who survived a month alone in a snowbound Fiordland hut after the death of her partner has penned heartfelt notes of thanks to the agencies who rescued her.

Pavlina Pizova also visited Queenstown police station yesterday to hand over a donation to the Department of Conservation (Doc).

In a note to police and Search and Rescue volunteers who found her in a hut on the Routeburn Track last Wednesday, she thanked them ``from the bottom of my heart''.

``Nothing can express how grateful I am that our tragedy happened just in this area, with your expertise,'' she wrote.

``Beside the professional part, I'm overwhelmed by your empathy and gentle support.''

In another note to Doc, in whose Lake Mackenzie warden's hut she sheltered for four weeks, she explained her ``little donation'' was to compensate for the damage she caused when she broke into the building.

``Your well-maintained infrastructure literally saved my life.

``Thank you and my apologies for any inconvenience caused.''

A postmortem examination into how Ms Pizova's partner died on the track was held yesterday.

Ondrej Petr (27) died on July 28 after he and Ms Pizova became disoriented in bad weather and fell down a 7m slope.

Ms Pizova went through an ``extensive interview'' with police last Thursday.

She is now free to return to the Czech Republic and be reunited with her distraught family, police confirmed yesterday.

Ms Pizova, who is in her early 30s, has been recuperating at the Glenorchy home of Czech Republic honorary consul Vladka Kennett.

Mrs Kennett said Ms Pizova was ``doing really well'' but desperate to get home.

``That's the main thing she is concentrating on at the moment.''

``There's lots of communication going on between the family and her. She has lots of support back from the Czech Republic, lots of supportive emails.

``We are still waiting for more information from the coroner and ... availability on planes. It's very rushed.'' - additional reporting The New Zealand Herald

guy.williams@odt.co.nz

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