Rescuers plucked a climber to safety after he become trapped on a ledge about 100 metres up a sheer cliff at the Putangirua Pinnacles in South Wairarapa.
Westpac Rescue helicopter crewman Dave Greenberg said the man in his 20s, had become trapped on the rock ledge while scaling a sheer cliff at the Putangirua Pinnacles off the Cape Palliser Rd on Saturday.
The man, who was a visitor to Wairarapa, had called emergency services on his cellphone shortly before noon when he found himself unable to move from his precarious perch.
"He was sitting up there with his legs out because the ledge was not wide and he was well stuck - he couldn't go up or down," Mr Greenberg said.
"He's very lucky he had cell coverage out there. He wasn't in an obvious place and not many people would have passed if he had to shout for help. He talked us in on his phone and that was lucky too because there's a lot of ledges out there."
