KEY POINTS:
A Dutch tourist was raped by a man who broke into the stationwagon where she and her partner were staying, police revealed today.
The two tourists were asleep in the vehicle at Five Mountains Holiday Park in Tuatapere, west of Invercargill, when the offender entered their vehicle and threatened them with a knife early on Thursday morning, Detective Sergeant David Nelson said.
Police originally said the woman was sexually assaulted but did not reveal the full extent of the attack.
After raping the 22-year-old woman the attacker made off with a "large amount of cash", Mr Nelson said.
Police found a filleting knife close to the scene today and were seeking help from members of the public to identify its origins.
Mr Nelson said the offender was difficult to describe because his face was covered although he was believed to be an olive-skinned Caucasian or light skinned Maori or Polynesian with a "square-shaped head".
The victims were being looked after "in the traditional Southern way" and by other agencies including Tourism New Zealand, Victim Support, the Holiday Parks Association and the Dutch Embassy, he said.
The pair planned to continue their trip around New Zealand.
The incident echoed the 2006 attack on a honeymooning Dutch couple while staying in a campervan in the Bay of Islands.
Keith McEwen and Christopher Manuel knocked on their door wearing reflective vests in an attempt to look like policemen.
McEwen then produced a shotgun, held it under the man's chin and demanded money.
The couple were handcuffed and gagged and the woman was raped inside the campervan while Manuel stood guard over the man outside.
More than $900 was taken from the couple's bank account using their bank card and the PIN number they had been forced to reveal.
Six hours after the attack began, the couple were dropped in a field and were able to raise the alarm.
McEwen received a sentence of preventive detention and Manuel was jailed for nine years.
- NZPA
