Hunter's bush trip with children in wild weather 'plain stupid'

Police aghast at the poor attention motorists were paying to the wet and windy road conditions on Sunday have also hit out at the "plain stupidity" of a Tokoroa hunter.

The man took three children - aged 5, 6, and 13 - hunting in the Pureora Forest Park, south of Benneydale in the King Country, in treacherous weather.

In an "extremely isolated" part of the bush, where there was no cellphone coverage, the man's four-wheel-drive vehicle slid off a track and became stuck.

He and the children decided to walk out of the forest, but at 11am it was decided the 13-year-old boy should go ahead for help, as he could walk faster.

Fourteen hours later, at 1am on Monday, Search and Rescue found the boy alone, cold and wet in an unoccupied house in the forest. He was 12km from where he had last been seen.

The man and the two remaining children had earlier walked out of the bush, at 4.30pm.

By 7 that night heavy rain and darkness had police and Department of Conservation staff so concerned that 16 volunteers were brought in to help with the night-time search for the 13-year-old.

Sergeant Lex Soepnel of Otorohanga police is angry the hunter went into the bush in such dangerous conditions.

"To take anyone, especially young children, in such an area in these weather conditions is just plain stupidity," he said. "This, coupled with minimal food supplies and light clothing, is a recipe for disaster."

Hypothermia could have affected any of the four people involved, which might have been fatal, Mr Soepnel said.

The severe weather eased yesterday afternoon, and many farmers and district councils in the upper and central North Island began mopping up.

More than 270 Opotiki School children were forced to stay home when the primary was closed because of surface flooding in the town.

About 12km north, the Waiotahi Valley School was also closed, affecting another 85 children.

Opotiki School principal Tony Howe said that after speaking to the council he had decided to turn pupils away for the day.

"Our toilets are not operating, the town's sewage and water pumps function on the same system. They're pumping excess surface flooding in town and can't cope with the sewage system at the same time."

Mr Howe promised the school would re-open today.

However, Opotiki police said that after a brief fine period yesterday morning the wet weather had returned in the afternoon.

Environment Bay of Plenty said staff were on alert as heavy rain caused flooding in the lower Kaituna area and the Rangitaiki Plains.


FIERCE STORM

* Up to 217mm of rain fell in parts of the Coromandel Ranges and 208mm on the northern slopes of Mt Taranaki.

* Whangarei Airport recorded 95mm of rain, Whitianga 138mm and Whakatane 105mm.

* Winds gusted up to 96km/h at Cape Reinga and Tiritiri Matangi Island, just north of Auckland.

Source: MetService