Stranded Australians touched by good deeds

James and Jude MacDonald were among the 900 people helped when heavy snowfalls blocked State Highway 5. Photo / Supplied

An Australian man says he was humbled by the treatment he received after he was trapped in his car by a snowstorm near Taupo.

James MacDonald, 62, said the good deeds from locals and emergency services that had transformed his perception of New Zealand.

"I am still in awe with how everyone pitched in," he told the Weekend Herald.

"Our rescuers, the hotel, even our taxi driver all went to great lengths for us, with not a cent paid."

Mr MacDonald and his wife Jude were caught in the unseasonally heavy snow on State Highway 5 three weeks ago while on a trip to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

"Jude was ecstatic about the snow at first ... but after 15 or 20 minutes of it I had to tell her to keep quiet 'cos I was having trouble driving."

At 4pm their car became stuck on a bank, and the danger of the situation began to sink in for the couple.

"Doctors back home have given me a list of all the things which are killing me.

"But I was most worried about my diabetes.

"I'm insulin dependent, and I hadn't eaten for about six hours."

He said the incident was made worse by the lack of stations available on his rental car's radio.

"For some reason the only channel I could get was ABC radio in Australia, where, to my dismay, I had to listen to my team [Parramatta Eels] being beaten by Melbourne in the rugby league grand final."

At 1.30am, Mr MacDonald was one of the first in the line of stranded vehicles to be rescued.

Civil Defence was concerned about his health problems, and he was helped back to Taupo by the local four-wheel-drive club.

Even once he was in a warm bed at the Lake Taupo Motor Inn, Mr MacDonald said, he could not relax because he had left a breathing device for his sleep apnoea in his car.

"The receptionist at the inn rang Taupo Hospital, then Rotorua Hospital at 3am in the morning to get the required machine.

"It arrived the next day."

He said the final gesture of kindness came when a taxi driver who returned them to the rescue co-ordination point waived most of the fee out of sympathy for the couple's disrupted anniversary holiday.

"We didn't have long to celebrate our anniversary, so this was a huge relief.

"The help, the assistance, the total care from start to finish, and all spontaneous, was something I have never experienced.

"It's like they do it every day."

More than 900 people were evacuated from the Napier-Taupo road on October 6 after snow blocked the highway.

A state of emergency was declared because there was so much ice on the road, and some travellers were blocked from returning to their vehicles for as long as 48 hours.