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A naked man who got lost on a Northland beach after skinny dipping has been found safe - but covered in scratches after scrambling through gorse bushes.
Police and coastguard launched a search for the intoxicated 21-year-old Aucklander, fearing he had been swept out to sea.
He went missing from a party on Ocean Beach, 36km southeast of Whangarei, early Sunday morning.
He was found at 8am, about 1km north of where he had last been seen.
He told searchers he became disorientated in the dark and wandered along the beach, struggling through gorse and scrub.
Whangarei Search and Rescue Constable Steve Jenkins told the Northern Advocate said the man's skin had been "badly ripped up".
- NZPA
