Biker saved from second night in bush

A trail-bike rider lost in the Akatarawa Forest Park near Wellington was ready for a second cold night in a "crappy little shelter" when searchers found him.

Phillip Coffey, 35, failed to return home from a ride in Akatarawa Forest Park, between Upper Hutt and the Kapiti Coast, on Sunday.

He was preparing to bed down in a tree hollow again when he was found in darkness about 6.15pm.

"I was sitting in my little tree and I heard these whistles and I saw some torches. It was the most amazing feeling," he told The Dominion Post newspaper.

The first night in the bush was "freezing" but Mr Coffey was prepared for a second.

He made a "crappy little shelter" using a tree hollow, and stuffed his jacket with ferns to try to keep warm.

"I looked like the Michelin man."

Mr Coffey said he was near the middle of the park when he became lost and his Kawasaki trail bike got caught on a tree root. When he could not move the bike, he left it behind and returned to a main trail to wait for rescue.

Sergeant Jo Holden, from Wellington Search and Rescue, said Mr Coffey was found in an area of the park known as "the rock garden". He was cold and hungry, but otherwise unhurt.

- NZPA