Aussie hunter cheats death in NZ bush
Tamara McLean, AAP New Zealand Correspondent
May 5, 2011 - 9:54AM


Tough lad

An injured Australian hunter has escaped death in the freezing New Zealand bush with some Bear Grylls-style survival techniques.

The 26-year-old Victorian man headed off into a remote North Island national park on Monday for a lone day hunt that went terribly wrong.

Disaster hit in the afternoon when he tripped and fell on a bluff, sliding 50 metres down a bank before grabbing a tree on his way past.
Advertisement: Story continues below

"This action prevented him falling over an estimated 20-metre cliff on to rocks," Detective Sergeant John Wilson, of Rotorua police, told the New Zealand Herald.

"This would almost certainly have proven fatal."

Determined not to give up, the hunter, nursing a broken rib, cuts and severe bruising, spent the rest of the day digging small holes with his pocket knife and clawing his way back up the bluff in Te Urewera National Park.

He spent Monday night sheltering from torrential rain and freezing temperatures under his emergency blanket before resuming his monotonous climb on Tuesday.

The hunter managed to make it back to a hut midday Tuesday, where he was collected by an emergency helicopter.

The officer praised the hunter's efforts, saying his experience saved his life.

"Certainly the way he managed to recover things led me to believe he was quite experienced," Det Sgt Wilson said.

"If he wasn't he probably wouldn't have made it out of there."

Heroic he might have been but the hunter "didn't seem fussed" by any of it, not even bothering to see a doctor before grabbing a flight back across "The Ditch".

Interesting story. Does it suggest we should all have EPIRBs?

He should have had a better knife ! Fixed blade , 4-6" ,of a very wear resistant steel,.Maybe CPM M4 or CPM 3V.

glad he survived!

no: i would not suggest everybody should carry an EPIRB - for sure it would be helpfull on one side, but then too many fools with no "wilderness skills" go out there, beeing aware, that they have an "emergency button" in their pocket... Be aware that this leads only to more probelems and accidents!

Do the Aussie epirbs work in NZ?