Fun tramp turns to cold, wet ordeal

It was meant to be a fun, four-hour hike in the Kaimai Range.
Instead, five hours later, three Tauranga trampers huddled together beneath the corrugated iron roof of a crude bush hut, watching the light fade and the rain pour.
Teams of rescuers scoured bush-clad hills in rain and mist yesterday searching for the missing Tauranga trio.
Karen Morrow, her son Ethan Bray, 14, and his mate, Cade Bedford, 15, - both Otumoetai College students - headed into the bush about 11am on Sunday but took a wrong turn.
Yesterday, safe but cold and wet after a night in the bush, the trampers spoke about how they coped during an unscheduled winter's night outdoors.
Bits of plastic which were stored in a hut and frequently used by deer hunters became a mattress, while a single sleeping bag was shared among them.
Ethan Bray said they headed into the bush expecting to tramp for four hours before finishing at the Kaimai Summit by nightfall but one wrong turn and the group found themselves way off track.
Lightly clad and not prepared for a chilly night in the open, the trio hunkered down in a nearby hut.
"We didn't get a lot of sleep," Ethan said. In charge of rations, he shared a Nutrigrain bar for tea.
Cade said he felt for family members who were worrying about them.
"I felt a bit sorry for the people at home who we told that we'd be back at 5pm and we weren't."
The trio contacted family by cellphone and raised the alarm.
A search team found them about 45 minutes from the Old Kaimai Rd about 11am yesterday.
"The next time I would take more food and water," Cade said.
And for Ethan the lesson was clear: "Never take the bush for granted and always prepare for the worst."
Karen Morrow was reluctant to talk about the experience except to say track signs were not as good as they could be.
"I had a map but the signs on the track just aren't that well placed."
While Search and Rescue officials have praised the trampers for staying put, better planning could have prevented the group from becoming lost.
Search and Rescue regional representative and adviser Bruce Sandford said 10 volunteers and police in four teams went into the bush about 8.30am yesterday. Another five people coordinated the operation from Greerton police station.
Mr Sandford said the boys' footwear was atrocious for tramping and one shoe totally disintegrated.
"They did have polyprops and once they found shelter they stayed put but they didn't read their maps properly and didn't know the tracks," he said.
They only allowed four hours for a trip that was clearly marked eight on the map.
"They should have left a copy of the planned tramp and a list of all their gear and food and even a copy of the pattern on the tread of their shoes which is helpful in case things go wrong."
Mr Sandford said often people who got lost in the bush were embarrassed.
"Don't worry about being embarrassed. We would rather some one got hold of us and let us know what is happening."