Fiordland emergency call-outs escalate

Te Anau police have been called out 18 times in the past nine days to help people missing, overdue and injured in Fiordland.

The latest incidents are among 100 search and rescue callouts dealt with by the town's five-member police team since July 2004.

Sergeant Peter Payne, the officer in charge at Te Anau, said the number of people going into the Fiordland back country was rising every year. The number of search and rescue operations was rising in parallel.

"The tracks are chocker with people, and literally hundreds of hunters are in there at the moment for the roar," he said today.

About half those needing help in the recent burst were hunters and half were trampers.

The number of hunters needing help appeared to be a "statistical blip" as there had been hardly any problems during the roar in the past two years, Mr Payne said.

The problem this year was being attributed to a lack of snow, meaning the deer were high and hunters were climbing to get to them.

Hunters were also going to more isolated areas than they would have some years ago because helicopter trips were available at reasonable prices.

In such cases, if something went wrong, it took longer to get to someone needing help, he said.

Among the trampers, some were more exhausted than anything else. In such cases age could be a factor, with some of the people pulled off recently being aged in their 70s.

But people of that age could be fine.

"It comes down to being prepared, equipped and physically fit enough to do it," Mr Payne said.

He thought more education could help reduce the number of people needing help, and was concerned tourists might not understand Fiordland's risks.

"They pick up these beautiful glossy brochures, but there's no warning saying the weather can change in an hour, drop a foot of snow."

The area could be beautiful but it could also be harsh.

Having said that, the recent surge of activity happened during a period of beautiful weather, he said.

While search and rescue was considered one of the main tasks for police in Te Anau, it had, unfortunately, been starting to take over recently.

It worked because of goodwill. Police staff had to be called in from days off or leave, and volunteers in the area were exceptional.

- NZPA