A missing tramper has been winched to safety after a successful Search and Rescue (SAR) operation.
Police were alerted last night that two 60 year-old males were overdue from a four day tramp in the western Tararua Ranges.
Levin Senior Constable Mike Tate said at 11.30am today one of the men was met by a Levin SAR team at Otaki Forks after he walked out from Waitewaewae Hut.
He told the team that his companion was still at the hut and was unable to walk out due to the poor condition of his feet.
He said that his feet had suffered when the day before they had walked for several hours in the snow while working over Mount Crawford.