KEY POINTS:
Arthur Lussy was slumped over a rock, semi-conscious and partially submerged in a stream when rescuers found him in rugged bush.
The 71-year-old, who had been missing for 24 hours, was suffering from hypothermia, could not move his legs and his kidneys were starting to fail.
His elbow was smashed open and full of dirt, a large bruise covered the left-hand side of his face and his left knee was black and swollen.
His family is amazed at his survival and full of admiration for the dozens of people who helped search for the Whitianga man.
Joe Lussy does not believe his father could have survived many more hours in the stream before he was found on Monday afternoon.
Mr Lussy went missing after leaving his wife, Theresa, and a Norwegian visitor during a tramp at Broken Hills in the Puketui Valley, 19km from Tairua.
The women urged him to wait while they visited an underground mine but he wanted to head back to the car for a rest.
Mr Lussy has recalled some of his ordeal but not the final moments before ending up in the stream. He remained in Auckland City Hospital yesterday after surgery on his elbow.
Joe Lussy said his father remembered making a wrong turn on the track but did not realise what he had done for about an hour.
He then lay down for a rest and may have fallen asleep.
"He got up a bit later and walked and walked but his legs became too tired so he lay down again. By then, it was getting dark so he stayed where he was."
Fearing for his safety, 52 people worked through the night to find him.
In the morning, Mr Lussy started walking again and may have tried to take a short cut or rushed to find a clearing when he heard a helicopter.
"That may have been when he fell," Joe Lussy said.
The rescue team found him at the base of a 20-metre cliff, which they believe he dropped over after sliding down a bank. "He was waist or chest deep in the water, slumped over a rock," Joe Lussy said.
"He would have been trying to pull himself out but he didn't have the energy."
Joe Lussy was with a search team about 300m away when his father was found.
Mr Lussy was winched into the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter and flown to hospital.
He told his wife of 41 years that he was lucky to be alive and "I can't go in the bush any more".
Mrs Lussy, who spent a sleepless night in a tent, said waiting for news was "the worst thing I have experienced".
The couple had made the walk four or five times over the years and Mrs Lussy said her husband was strong and fit for his age.
The family praised the police, victim support workers and the search and rescue volunteers.
"I was overwhelmed how things went; it was unbelievable," Mrs Lussy said.
She felt "anger and relief" when told her husband had been found.
"Sometimes you say 'I could shoot that man up to the moon', you know. But when things happen like that you take it all back."
