Police recover Australian hunter's body as family head to Greymouth after tragedy

The Australian father and son were hunting in the Fox Glacier Valley when the man died after falling down a steep alpine ravine. Image / Google Maps

Police and a search and rescue team have now recovered the body of the Australian hunter who died after he fell down a steep ravine near Fox Glacier yesterday.

The 66-year-old experienced hunter from New South Wales was found by his son with whom he had been hunting in the Fox Glacier in the Westland Ranges south of Karangarua.

Family are currently making their way to New Zealand to join the son, police have confirmed.

The father and son, who had arrived in New Zealand at the weekend, became separated around midday yesterday, before the father fell down the steep South Island ravine.

The son located his father an hour later with head injuries and went to his aid.

He immediately set off an emergency locator beacon.

A rescue helicopter was unable to land in the high country and by the time a second helicopter from Greymouth was called in, the father had died at the bottom of the ravine.

The son was winched to safety about 7pm yesterday.

Greymouth police Senior Sergeant Brent Cook said the man died in an area near where Swedish tourist Hans Christian Tornmarck died last month.

"It's roughly in that area, not exactly there. It's pretty rough country through there."

Cook said he was currently liaising with the family of those involved.

He said it appeared the son did everything he could to help his father.

A formal identification will take place later and until it had been completed, police were not in a position to release his name.