KEY POINTS:
A pig-hunter and his 7-year-old daughter spent a night huddled under ferns with their four dogs after running out of daylight during a hunting trip near Lake Taupo.
The 39-year-old man and his daughter, both from Kuratau, north of Turangi, went into the bush off State Highway 41 between Kuratau and the Waitui Saddle at 2pm on Sunday and were due home at 7pm.
When they did not return, friends and family mounted a search but could not find the pair and told police at 4.30am yesterday.
Turangi search-and-rescue teams, locals and police scoured the area for the hunter's quad bike, using their own quad bikes and the Lion Foundation rescue helicopter.
During the search the man and his daughter emerged from the bush, having returned to his quad bike when it was light enough and ridden out.
Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said the pair were well dressed, but did not have a torch or any means of communicating with home.
"Apart from being a little cold and hungry they were none the worse for their unscheduled night out."
The weather had been cold overnight and the morning broke with light drizzle and low cloud.
In another rescue, tramper Derry Kingston was airlifted from Golden Bay's Cobb Valley yesterday afternoon after a night in the open.
He was winched to safety by helicopter about 3pm - 24 hours after he was last seen by his tramping mates.
Police said he was wet and cold but generally all right and would not need hospital treatment.
He was found on the side of a creek between the Cobb and Waingaro Rivers in a gully off the Lockett Range.
Mr Kingston had set off on Sunday for a day tramp with seven other members of the Golden Bay Tramping Club but was separated from his party.
-additional reporting NZPA
